FEATURES
Real Estate is Flagged for Digital Disruption Within the Next Decade Mac Christian Chief marketing officer of National Land Realty, a real estate land brokerage
By Mac Christian
A
s the transport truck pulls away with your old car loaded up, your new automobile sits in your driveway, ready to drive. This transaction was driven
by an industry worth $51.04 billion in 2021, which is slated to grow to $204.94 billion by 2028 (according to Fortune Business Insights). Nowadays, people can merely download an app, enter information to value their current car, select their automobile of choice, click a few buttons and an exchange transaction for a new car has been initiated. The question we keep hearing in the real estate industry is, “When can I buy my house this way?” We first saw disruption in the service industry
into a catchall for this type of disruption, and
through the financial sector. E-Trade, founded
real estate is squarely in the crosshairs.
in 1982, was one of the first companies of its
public does not. In the past, this knowledge was a guarded
kind to take hold of the financial industry. At
The reason that real estate is such a hot topic
secret that was as opaque as the paint on your
first, this business model seemed to be some-
in the world of e-commerce is easy to see.
walls. Consumers were forced into a position
thing of a novelty, but that opinion quickly
Real estate, much like the financial and au-
of trust that left many feeling fleeced or kept
changed. Today, nearly all investments and
tomobile industries, relies on service profes-
in the dark. Commissions in the auto, financial
bank transactions can occur online without
sionals to facilitate the purchase of a product.
and real estate industries have traditionally
interaction with a banker or financial advisor.
These professionals act as consultants who
been challenging to understand. Service pro-
Even the act of portfolio balancing has been
traditionally take a commission for their part in
fessionals have been flagged as notorious be-
automated with robo-bankers introduced into
the process. Service professionals are relied
cause of a few bad actors. Finally, the answer
the mix. This is just one small piece of the “dig-
upon to have a depth of knowledge regarding
has been apparent: eliminate the middleman,
ital transformation,” a phrase that has turned
the product they work with that the general
remove high commissions for the consumer
80 MANN REPORT | JUNE & JULY 2022
