Most of us have lived through events that have changed our lives like post-9/11 and flying, to name one major change. I do believe Covid-19 will change the real estate industry for a long time, or even forever. One silver lining might be that all of us, whether real estate professionals or the public, have discovered new ways to not only work but to live – please know many of the ways we changed I don’t like, but no choice!
Many of you have seen on the circulating social media post about the Jetsons, remember them? More than likely right now you are humming the theme song. The program aired in 1962 and 1963 and was created to reflect life in 2062, a century into the future. If you are too young to remember the show it’s worthwhile to watch a few episodes to understand where I am going with this; it’s still being streamed.
Back to the post on social media, the cartoon with the Jetsons has four blocks showing different ways life could be in the future. Telemedicine was one, Elroy saying ahhh, Jane, his wife, sitting using a wireless vacuum cleaner, daughter Judy doing exercises by teleconference and, of course, Mr. Spacely firing George over video call. All of that didn’t take until 2062 to get to – back to the point of my article.
The consumer habits have been changing for years but, thanks to the pandemic, we suddenly have changed to a new era in life. Over 300 million people used Zoom during the pandemic and virtual tour companies have been coming on board almost daily and discussing a 300% increase in engagement. Not long ago we used 2D pictures, which are described as flat. Now, 3D and virtual tours dominate the market as more and more people are buying homes without setting foot in the home; it’s here to stay!
Many of the social networking sites, telecom companies and industry tech giants are introducing more ways to use the technology and real estate consumers are embracing. I have heard many agents telling how they have managed to gain inventory and move inventory of property in the past few months while never meeting the buyers or sellers or even stepping into the home.
It is not going back to just smartphones and email and, before that flip phones and PDAs or legal pads. When I started my career in 2000 I found a survey of consumers involved in real estate transactions and one of the questions was “do you feel you have more technology or less technology than a real estate agent?” The answer 70% believed they were more advanced with technology than real estate agents.
