There I sat in a classroom full of fourth graders all given the task to write what the year 2000 would look like. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind. I scratched down flying cars, smell-o-vision, fingerprint scans on doors; I had it all.

It amazes me to see how many people will try to predict the real estate industry in 15 to 20 years. Those types of predictions can only be fantasies. The last 5 years have been impossible to predict let alone trying to guess 15 to 20.

I have a few insights to what the next couple of years will bring. The information comes from conversations and writings from many decision-makers for the real estate industry. What makes these important is that they will be here, and they will be here soon. Get ready.

Real Estate in 2010

Real Estate Stores-There has been a lot of chatter about retail real estate storefronts. There is also a lot of speculation about who will be the first to launch them. The first to launch them will certainly set a precedent, a ‘blue goose’ if you will, in the industry. Although most everyone agrees that these retail outlets will be pursued by a high-end real estate company, the details are still being debated. I’ve heard and read everything from Apple Store layouts, to 4-D projection of homes, to 24-hour closings, to commission discount sales. The details will work themselves out but one thing is for sure, there will be much hype surrounding this new development.

Blogging On Company-owned Sites-Companies like Coldwell Banker, Re/Max, Prudential, Century 21 are catching on that search engine optimization and blogging are correlated. This is why these companies and more will be offering their agents the ability to blog using a company domain. Ex. www.JaneRealtor.ColdwellBanker.com. Of course it makes sense that you partner your two greatest assets, technology and your sales force.

Some markets have already started to implement this. Training agents what to blog will be the next big challenge.

Language Assistance on Every Site-Companies in and outside of real estate are far behind in marketing to those who speak other languages. Their websites included. With a global presence more companies will rely on services like AltaVista's Babelfish to translate their pages automatically.

Getting Green-40% of real estate companies will promote how green they are. Placing eco-certified banners will become just as common as the equal housing logo.

Training will FINALLY Change-Classes that will be axed include learning to use Word and Excel, How to turn your computer on etc. There is a big technology gap in real estate. New agents coming on board to various companies are finally being asked “what computer skills do you possess?” Like any other job out there, real estate agents will be required to possess skill and not just pass a test. This will weed out a lot of the dead weight in the industry. Can you imagine signing up with a company and at the same time that you get your email address, they also give you your usernames for Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn?

This, of course is just the surface. With the promotion of technology development, marketing condition fluctuations and new real estate blood, companies will have to take another look at how to keep up with everything but most importantly, how to leverage it all to make their business the most standout.