Think of it like Geek Squad meets The Property Brothers: At last month's National Association of Realtors summit in Miami, innovators, investors and real estate pros came together to talk about PropTech, like chatbots, which is the trendy industry term for “real estate technology.”
Just as technology has transformed the way we shop, travel, and communicate, it is also fundamentally changing the way we buy and sell homes. Dan Weissman, NAR's director of emerging technologies, shared his biggest takeaways from the conference, geek-speak aside.
Q: Does technology make the home buying or selling process easier?
answer: The role of technology in the real estate industry is to streamline processes and reduce stress. Most of us are familiar with DocuSign and similar technologies that allow us to e-sign legal documents, simplifying processes that were once cumbersome. Remember when submitting an offer or signing loan documents required you to hand-sign a paper form and send it off the next day? Now, you can sign hundreds of thousands of dollars by simply auto-entering your initials with your fingernails on your phone.
We try to do that in other steps of the process, like negotiation. Submitting an offer, waiting at the counter, and going through two real estate agents is an area that needs improvement. Some companies have tried to create offer platforms, but none have worked yet because they require a level of control from the broker to ensure the information is communicated correctly. That said, technology is evolving and can eliminate lending delays. The fact that it often takes 45-60 days to close a mortgage is an area that needs improvement.
Q: What are the drawbacks of new PropTech?
answer: Risk of fraud. As much as you want to leverage technology, you need to be wary of scammers. The more data a scammer has access to, the more potential for fraud. Scammers can trick you into believing you are someone you are not. Deepfakes can essentially recreate a person and their voice. If you are asked to send money or provide bank details over the internet, contact them by phone and ask, “Is this you?” We've heard plenty of stories of money disappearing.
Q: So how will this power of AI change the way we choose a real estate agent?
answer: We are still a people business. Most sellers and buyers still need a real estate agent's help to navigate the process. But today, you also want a real estate agent who is part of a company with a great IT backbone. The first question to ask when choosing a real estate agent is, “How do they leverage technology to make the buying or selling process smooth?”
Q: What was the biggest change you saw at the summit?
answer: Perhaps the most revolutionary change we're seeing is AI technology helping homebuyers imagine what their home would look like with some renovations. The online tool REimagine Home lets you upload a photo of a room and reimagine it. For example, I took a photo of my bedroom and turned it into an office. You can change the furniture, floors, wall colors and lighting fixtures to get a glimpse of what it could look like. For exterior renovations, a company called Hover allows prospective buyers to do the same.
Q: How does ChatGPT relate to the real estate industry?
A: ChatGPT (GPT stands for Generated Pre-trained Transformers) is one of the few artificial intelligence products with access to billions of data points. It can answer questions and create written or verbal content using human-like language. You can ask how much you should pay for a house, and the program will research the market and give you a concise answer in seconds. Real estate agents use ChatGPT to create home listings, blurbs, social media posts, and blogs.
