New Technology for an Old Industry

The world continues to trot down the path of technology, and the real estate industry bears no exception.  Although technology historically brings to mind innovative tools you can hold and feel, it has been redefined to mean applications, websites, and computer programs. It has become something you can use more than a hammer, but never be able touch. 

As a broker it has become increasingly clear that those who do not align with technology will lose their edge as buyers, sellers, renters, and landlords. In 2013 real estate tips seldom come in the form of books at Barnes and Noble or Borders, instead they come in the smart phones that don’t leave our sides. Buying a home is a process that takes time, but in a market increasingly competitive for buyers, people seeking to purchase homes should use all the cost-saving tools they have at their disposal. For this reason, I am going to highlight an application that I have found both particularly mindboggling and helpful. 

Homesnap, an application previously featured on the Call Toni Real Estate Radio Show, allows you to snap a photo of a property with the click of your smart phone to reveal the number of bedrooms and bathrooms the property has, the price it was last sold for, if it’s on the market, and more. The application gives you access to MLS listings, lets you peruse open houses, and gives you copious amounts of information in an instant. Buying a house is a battle of information, and the more you have the better your deal will be and the better you will feel about that transaction.

Just ten years ago this app would seem like magic, but now apps similar to Homesnap are being created everyday by the tech generation. Real estate may be a business as old as humankind, but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use the technology of the future to help you. With an estimated 78 percent of the United States accessing technology, you do not want to be part of the minority that foregoes tools to better your real estate transactions.