How technology has changed the way we buy, sell and rent property.

We may all have very much become accustomed to the likes of internet, social media, softwares, iPads and more… But only a generation ago our property searches were very much so still traditional. Technology advancements, especially towards communications channels such as the internet and social media means that we have seen a great many changes in how we now go about our property transactions.

Online Estate Agency has now been born into the ‘Estate Agency Industry’ and many see this new trend of selling and buying homes as the new way forward over traditional estate agency. I usually say to people with these thoughts to remember that a traditional estate agency will still have a website and still be online so there is little real difference except for how they promote their businesses and costs.

We have less time and technology may have made us this way (so I think), no longer do we need to visit endless estate agency shop fronts or pick up all the local newspapers to see which property is for sale or rent where we now have the internet to enable us to browse in comfort and indeed we can carry out this activity via our mobile phones so no need to even power up the PC. Traditional ways of property search can take up valuable time for many of us so the convenience of having everything online makes our lives easier.

Not only are the estate agents / letting agents / online agents ‘online‘, but so are the easy to use property portals which gathers for us nearly all the property we are researching under one umbrella such as Zoopla, Rightmove and OnTheMarket. Who really needs to leave the screen of your mobile phone / computer when practically everything we need to research is online… We can cut out wasted time and simply pick and choose which property we are after and ask the important questions before we opt for that all important ‘visit’.

Telephone calls, faxes and popping in to your local estate agency has been replaced with emails, websites and livechat. Of course, we still do pop in to our local estate agency during the buying/selling/renting process otherwise they would have all packed their cases by now and joined the ‘online estate agency train‘. Though we must consider that many more activities relating to property can be done online over face to face, ie audio / video tours online can tell us what a property is like, a virtual tour around a home instead of having to visit the property in person (also good for the property owner selling as it is less inconvenient for them to have time wasting viewings). We can also report faults easier and have no need to pick up the phone to the letting agency or landlord if there is a leak in the roof or the boiler has packed in via softwares such as Fixflo which gives people an easy to use online platform to fill in reports. Facetime also allows you to visit a property in live mode, ie if there is an open house that you can not get to you can ask your estate agent to tour the property on your behalf with their mobile phone / tablet and live stream the video content to you.

Of course, by advances in technology and information in UK property and marketing, it doesn’t mean that the industry is any less serious or controlled and we must remember that more and more stricter guidelines are enforced to make sure that the relationship between property owner / future property owner and ‘Estate Agent / Letting Agent’ is a legal and fair one. You can of course seek an legal advice online as many solicitors now offer online consultation and live chats though you will find that most estate agents are covered by industry bodies so always look out for names such as NAEA or Property Ombudsmen.

Many more technology advancements to include 3D floor plans, augmented reality and virtual reality with the likes of Google Glass make for a technology trend that will take property into a whole new environment. This will really come to effect when the likes of the generation that have grown up with it all, ie the social media savvy generation born from 2000 onwards (and using social media, touch screen, internet etc) hits the property buying/selling/letting market – Their ways of communication and sharing content will be different by quite some way to the generation before them.

 

 

Christopher Walkey

Founder of Estate Agent Networking. Internationally invited speaker on how to build online target audiences using Social Media. Writes about UK property prices, housing, politics and affordable homes.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Rent and run? Agents warn of new ‘Stopover Tenant’ epidemic

Nearly 1 in 3 letting agents report tenants walking away from 6–12 month tenancies – some after just a few months Experts warn rental reforms are fueling relocation-style, short-term renting Almost half of agents now advising landlords on how to manage early exits A new trend is sweeping the rental market and it’s leaving landlords…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 11/09/25

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   A ‘workplace companion that’s not just about managing buildings’ Smart Spaces has launched Space Agent, its new agentic AI-driven workplace concierge designed to transform how people manage and engage with buildings and their workplaces. Space Agent – introduced through its friendly persona, Max – is fully…
Read More
Breaking News

Where can you still buy a home for under £150k?

Zoopla reveals Great Britain’s property bargain hotspots Just 12 per cent of all homes for sale across Great Britain are priced under £150,000 making location key for home buyers looking for a bargain In the North East, a remarkable 41 per cent of all homes for sale fall within this price range, followed by Scotland…
Read More
Breaking News

Landlord repossessions soar as Renters’ Rights Bill looms

Landlord repossessions soar as Renters’ Rights Bill looms, with some areas seeing increase of over 2,500% The latest analysis from Dwelly, one of the UK’s leading lettings acquisition and success planning experts, shows that landlord repossessions have increased by 6.8% across England and Wales. However, in some areas of the country they have soared by…
Read More
Breaking News

These are Britain’s most active housing markets

New research from The Property DriveBuy reveals that the busiest homebuying postcodes in Britain right now are found in Croydon, Buckinghamshire and Waltham Forest, however, for those hopeful homebuyers facing tough competition, shifting to a neighbouring postcode could see them secure a property. The Property DriveBuy analysed latest housing market data to discover which of…
Read More
Breaking News

Downsizers can bag 2 for 1 on property purchases

The latest research from over-50s property specialists, Regency Living, reveals that downsizing retirees could own two homes for the price of one, combining a comfortable home in England with a sunny escape in Europe. According to Regency Living’s latest analysis, retirees who sell a traditional bricks and mortar house and purchase a park home can…
Read More