Emerging technology in the real estate industry was one of many hot topics highlighted at the NAR Legislative Meetings hosted in National Harbor, MD during the first week of May. Blockchain, cryptocurrency, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and the metaverse were the focus of several seminars and how their applications will impact the real estate industry in the years to come.
Jane Dzielski, the Principal Analytical Lead at Google provided background on industry trends and data regarding current housing market trends. She summarized that emerging co-buyer and offer assistance upstarts are available to buyers researching the market, moving activity has escalated since the start of COVID and will likely continue into next year, and the demand for second homes appears to be on the upswing through the second half of 2022.
REACH, which puts REALTORS® in touch with start-ups in the real estate tech industry, was presented by Ashley Stinton with Second Century Ventures. She predicted that these upcoming technological trends should be embraced by members as they will likely become the norm in the years to come. Over $600,000,000 has been invested in technology relating to PropTech, which includes transaction management, CRM, and the mortgage process. Ms. Stinton reported that Meta has pledged to invest $10 billion per year over the next decade to expand and improve the metaverse, which in our industry will allow home buyers to experience “living” in a property that they are considering purchasing among other experiences.
Finally, Dave Conroy, Director of Emerging Technology with NAR described how blockchain and cryptocurrency will dominate how real estate is owned and financed. He also highlighted how technology is moving commerce from a physical transaction (going to a brick and mortar store) to a virtual one in which purchases are made in the metaverse and delivered to a physical location.
Conroy stressed the importance of familiarizing the concept of blockchain as crucial due to the fact that the concept insures a verifiable and incorruptible record of a transaction.
To hear the seminar recording, follow this link.
For details on REACH, follow this link.
And to read more on Emerging Technology, visit NAR's blog.
Mainstreet is also providing the tools and resources necessary to familiarize members with upcoming technology and trends to implement successfully in their business.
Please consider joining us on June 24th for Xplode, a three-hour intensive conference that will cover social media, video, results-driven email marketing, and more.
You can attend in-person or via livestream.
Lastly, Mainstreet will offer Propel, scheduled for August 23rd. Details to follow in the coming months!