How Technology Is Disrupting The Real Estate Industry

Technology touches almost every aspect of today’s real estate industry. Mobile and technology advancements mean that buyers can see a birds-eye view of their potential new neighbourhood in just a few clicks and that you can now buy a home or property without even using a pen. Searching for new listings is easy, as all you need to do is download an app and choose your location and away you go. Need to find out information on the nearest schools or crime statistics? This is now included on estate agent website and apps, meaning that it is easier now than ever to make decisions about potential properties.

Around 70% of house buyers now search for their homes online and 85% of estate agents use text or digital messaging as a way of communicating with clients, or send over documents via email or digital services. Tech has completely changed and disrupted the way that the real estate industry works, but how?

Blockchain

Blockchain makes it possible for both people and companies to process big transactions without the need of going through credit card companies, banks or even governments. Of course, all real estate counts as a major transaction, and if blockchain fulfils its promise within real estate, then it can bring with it security, efficiency and transparency to real estate payments and transactions. There are two parts of blockchain which are expected to bring the biggest changes in real estate:

  • Tokenization in real estate is the use of cryptocurrency to split assets into tokens, which are then stored on the blockchain. Landlords can sell off a portion of their property and investors can resell their shared on an open market through the use of secondary exchanges.

  • Smart contracts bring together transactions between the buyer and seller, or renter and landlord. Buyers can submit their information through an encrypted block directly to the seller, rather than having to go through a bank. This removes the middleman, and all human interaction in general, which can both reduce the risk of fraud and speed up the transaction.

Mobile apps

People do everything on their phones now, and they also expect to browse, sell and buy property in the palm of their hand as well. Real estate apps mean that clients and agents have a central platform where they can browse, buy and sell property, get in touch with an agent and get notifications when new listings get added to the market. App platforms house data for real estate, mortgages and property values, which is easy to access and use.

Thanks toapp development, mobile real estate apps are also disrupting the renovation sector too. It’s now easier than ever to find landscapers, plumbers, painters and cleaners to work on your property.

Artificial intelligence

Whilst there is yet to be robot estate agents showing potential buyers around homes, artificial intelligence is impacting the real estate industry in less obvious ways. Machine learning is where computers learn from data, rather than being specifically programmed to carry out certain tasks. In real estate, machine learning is helping to influence smart business decisions through pattern recognition, which is then used to determine important information, like when a property or certain neighbourhood will become popular or in demand.

Virtual reality

For estate agents and broker companies, virtual reality has huge potential to speed up the sales cycle as it allows clients to get a better sense of the property and puts estate agents in touch with buyers further along in the buying process.

Virtual reality allows people to “try before you buy”, without the need to spend time and money looking for and viewing properties. Instead, thanks to the use of high-quality photos and 360º videos, realtors can now offer clients 3D virtual property tours. In the past, estate agents had to spend both time and money staging a home and showing people around, but this may no longer be the case. Instead, clients and potential investors can personalise a room with virtual furniture, paint and wallpaper colours and choices and potential renovations.

Changing for the better?

If people don’t that technologies are existing and how to integrate them into their daily lives, then there are opportunities which are being missed. Whether it’s shortening the sales cycle to providing a top-quality tenant experience, technology will continue to transform the way that we search, buy and sell real estate and property. If you need assistance with your technology, BCA IT in Miami is a managed IT support company that can help you.

EAN Content

Content shared by this account is either news shared free by third parties or sponsored (paid for) content from third parties. Please be advised that links to third party websites are not endorsed by Estate Agent Networking - Please do your own research before committing to any third party business promoted on our website. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

You May Also Enjoy

Rightmove logo
Breaking News

Rightmove’s Weekly Mortgage Tracker – 01/07/25

Average rates for 2-year and 5-year fixed-rate mortgages   Term Average rate Weekly change Yearly change 2-year fixed 4.57% -0.05% -0.83% 5-year fixed 4.55% -0.04% -0.45%   Lowest rates for 2-year and 5-year fixed-rate mortgages   Term Lowest rate Weekly change Yearly change 2-year fixed 3.69% -0.13% -0.98% 5-year fixed 3.87% -0.01% -0.36%   Average…
Read More
Breaking News

Housing Insight Report Covering May 2025

Sales On average, there were around 11.5 homes placed for sale per member branch in May 2025. Lettings The average void period reported by member agents increased to just over three weeks in May 2025. We are seeing an average of 37% of housing transactions taking longer than 17 weeks to complete. The timescales are…
Read More
Breaking News

Rental Market Hotspots Drive National Growth

New analysis from FCC Paragon reveals modest national growth in rental demand across England in Q2 2025, up by 1.2% to 29.4%. However, this overall increase masks significant regional variation, with several counties experiencing substantial quarterly surges that are driving the market forward. The research shows that rental demand across England strengthened in Q2, up 1.2%…
Read More
Breaking News

Nationwide House Price Index for June 2025 – Thoughts from the Industry

Nationwide House Price Index for June 2025 shows House prices fell by -0.8% between May and June of this year. On an annual basis, the average house price increased by 2.1% although this rate of growth had slowed from 3.5% the previous month. As a result, the average UK house price now sits at £271,619.…
Read More
Breaking News

Clarity still needed on key areas in Renters’ Rights Bill

Ahead of Report Stage of the Renters’ Rights Bill in the House of Lords later today, 1 July 2025, Propertymark is urging the UK Government and Peers to amendment Bill, so it is fit for purpose. There remain long-standing concerns about the capacity and capability of the Courts, with the time from claim to hearing…
Read More
Cozy Pet Cat Tree Grey
Breaking News

Pet deposits only option following UK Government U-turn on Renters’ Rights Bill

Ahead of Report Stage of the Renters’ Rights Bill in the House of Lords which kicks off later today, Tuesday 1 July 2025, Propertymark is urging Peers to support an amendment that would allow for an additional pet deposit now that the UK Government has tabled amendments to remove pet insurance requirements. Since the introduction…
Read More