Page 8 - Best Magazine Summer Edition 2019

4
ECONOMY AND FINANCE
Technology: A Major Trend in Real Estate?
Fast environment | Rezoning of areas | Home Offices | Country lifestyle | Sharing Commute | Software to easy everything
(scanners, electronic signature etc.)
BY FRANCISCO GARZÓN & GABRIELA GARZON
It seems everywhere we turn people or headlines are discussing the latest technological advancement, and the undeniable changes that they bring with them. But what does this mean
for Real Estate? It doesn’t take much speculation to realize technology has sped up many aspects of real estate, for example parties no longer having to be present at negotiations, programs like DocuSign or e-Signature enable signing and sending documents on the go, and having the internet readily at your fingertips has made real estate information that was once exclusive to realtors publicly accessible. Changes in the industry have created dynamism and forced a shift in the skill set of a Real Estate Agent to one of consultancy, and market and negotiation knowledge.
This article will examine 3 consequences the Canadian Real Estate industry faces as products of existing technological tools and renderings to come: the
growing recreational market, virtual and augmented reality, and increasing quantities of urban spaces to be repurposed. For one, technology has made it possible for most people to work remotely, in many instances reducing office use. This together with soaring housing prices in major Canadian cities, millennials and baby boomers have developed the tendency to move towards cheaper areas away from the city, spurring the growth of the recreational real estate market. According to and article by the Real Estate Professional Magazine this
is being driven by strong employment and economic conditions, and by Millennial buyers who find themselves on the outs of the pricy urban market; so much so that 51% of Canadian Millennials are in the market to buy a recreational property.
On the other hand, virtual and augmented reality in real estate means people can imagine spaces, views, neighbourhoods, etc without having to be physically present. 3D virtual tours are already common and large development companies are using this technology to create life-like content to show the locations and designs of projects that don’t even exist yet. It is not hard to imagine a future where people will be able to walk through any property without needing to physically be present, and where homes can be virtually staged. According to a Property Me article, with Virtual Reality
a property will be open for inspection 24/7; allowing agents and clients to save time and money, and having homes spend less time on the market.
However, shifting consumer tendencies of purchasing online versus brick and mortar has also modified real estate as physical stores close down given the combination of high costs and low foot traffic. Instead these stores are moving to warehouses in order to compete in the online space, creating a key ripple effect of repurposing those abandoned locations (stores or even commercial plazas) for high density home projects, repopulating the residential real estate market. Another key consumer trend that is anticipated to have a lasting impact on real estate in coming years is the use of Autonomous Vehicles. As per the Automotive Design and Production website, in the U.S. 40 to 60 percent of all urban land areas are devoted to transportation, including about 800-million parking spaces. As Autonomous Vehicles grow in popularity, they will reduce the need for parking. According to the Automotive Design and Production website, in the U.S. there will be a 5 percent annual decline, which will free up 40-million parking spaces for other land uses each year. Much like with the repurposing of land used for brick and mortar stores, coming years are anticipated to see the rezoning of parking spaces.
It seems inevitable that technology will revolutionize, and is already revolutionizing, the real estate industry. Much like in every other industry realtors and clients alike will need to adjust to the pros and cons that steam from a major trend like technology.
8 THE BEST MAGAZINE SUMMER 2019
WWW.THEBESTGROUP.CA
N
E
-
T
R
E
P
S
R
S
E
E
N
E
N
U
I
R
S
U
S
B
-
-
M
S
A
E
E
T
R
-
s
V
I
C
E