So what is the next evolutionary step for Real Estate Technology? Web 3.0? Is it too early to start thinking about it? No way. If the recent wave of fresh ideas and new technologies is any indication, the rate of technological advancement within the real estate industry (and in general) is doing nothing but accelerating. As a technologist I see this rapid change as great, but as a real estate technologist I take a slightly different approach. The fact of the matter is that in real estate, most agents are not tech savvy and it is fair to say that most don't take near full advantage of the technology available to them today. This will over time have multiple effects, however there will be two major ones : it will further separate agents who do embrace technology from those who don't and it will change the ways the industry works even more than it already has.  It is inevitable. It is more a matter of who will be driving this change. Short answer: the consumer.

We need to look at the tasks, processes and activities that agents routinely do (or "should" do) and make them simple and intuitive so that people of any level can use the tools with limited training and most importantly consistently. This will be the key to Web 3.0 in real estate. Technology companies although they will argue otherwise, for the most part do not understand what agents are looking for. If they do understand they haven't done a great job translating it into tools for the most part (granted there are some notable exceptions). Most are trying to drive agents to run their businesses as dictacted by the technology, as it (and they) apparently know better. Guess what, this doesn't work. We have some great tools today, but the vast majority agents do not have the time, know-how, motivation or need to use them. Is this the average agent's fault? Not really. If they are making a good living, why complicate it further for a questionable return on what for most is a large time investment? The next generation of technology tools for agents will be taking basic concepts that have been around for decades, that have been extended through the current Web 2.0 phase (mapping, instant communications tools, newsletters are being replaced by blogs) and making them easier to use to the extent that they are based on achieving a very high goal -  satisfying the consumer's ever growing demand for information, control and accessibility while remaining complementary to the agent/client relationship. 

Key Real Estate Web 3.0 Concepts:

1. Integration  - kill redundancy and increase knowledge power, taking the idea of a google maps mashup to the next level with now disparate data sources and tools coming together to create truly useful tools. 
2. One Stop Shopping - consumers are looking for easy and best. As brokerages and agents start to truly understand the value in providing a complete home buying or selling solution as opposed to just having a role in the transaction. There have been attempts to do this (rateplug, being a notable player) Consumers are demanding this and the next generation real estate website and back-end tools will be a conduit for marketing, capturing and managing this business.
3. A Semantic Web Experience - by taking all the disparate data sources available, online user behavioral patterns and a fair bit of common sense;  Real Estate Web 3.0 websites will  be able to learn from what the user is looking for directly (property search) and indirectly (from their onsite behavior) to provide the user with hyper-relevant content.
4. Intelligence - with more knowledge you can make better informed business decisions. The problem today is that knowledge and information are not accessible or understandable for most agents. This works for consumers as well. This will be a key value that agents will have to bring in the future.
5. Alignment - producing quality automated (and refining manual) processes that provide valuable benefits to agents and consumers. This will start with real estate technology companies learning more about their customers (consumers, agents and brokerages) and building applications that work with them and not against them in many cases. Right now this is a major issue.
6. Transparency - consumers will not feel good about dealing with a company that they feel has something to hide or is  in  some way not out for the client's best interest. Don't be scared to divulge!
7. All of the above, in one solution - the key to Real Estate Web 3.0 is that it is the sum of it parts, not the discrete concepts individually.

Will the advancement of these technologies effect the profile of what an agent is (and does) over time? Absolutely. It is important to note that although it has been shown that even with the recent rise of discounters and alternative online (and offline) business models over the past 5 - 10 years, there is no substitute for good service. If  this wasn't the case, we would have seen a similar chain of events that killed the majority of the once established travel industry's agents. We have not seen this at all, in fact; as this is a little different than buying a plane ticket or booking a hotel room. Can a high level of service and satisfaction be achieved though an automated website? rarely right now (and I'll add that a blog or a fancy map search ain't going to ever get you there). Can this service goal be achieved by over-stretched tele-agents who will only speak to you over the phone? Not often in my experience. Web 3.0 will provide today's full-service oriented brokers and agents an opportunity to provide a great online experience that complements the value and service that is at the core of their respective business models. It will be a challenge, but one that will make those who embrace it more valuable and competitive over discount and limited service models that we have today and will have more of tomorrow. 

At the end of the day, through using emerging and established technologies and concepts, putting this puzzle together into one cohesive platform will be the ultimate goal and achievement of what will be Real Estate Web 3.0.

Scott Lockhart
Chief Technology Officer
RE/MAX Greater Atlanta
www.atlantarealestate.net