Back in the late 90's, who would have ever guessed that the internet would be the #1 search method for real estate? After all, in 1998, hardly anyone could surf the web without a dialup connection. Calling up a single photo took several minutes and a tour was virtually impossible.
Today, broadband hi-speed internet allows home buyers to surf at unbelievable speeds, viewing narrated tours, rich media content and more. Actually finding a listing is still difficult though. Typing the search words "real estate" into a major search engine still just calls up local and national websites and tons of useless information for home buyers. Actually finding the available listings in a particular area and viewing those listings is still incredibly difficult. But two new technologies will change real estate in 2010. These changes are new search technology on the internet and smart phones.
Imagine if major search engines bi-passed local and national real estate sites and pulled up actual properties based on the exact physical location you are surfing from. Now imagine performing that search from your smart cell phone and viewing rich interactive content like narrated tours, listing websites, agent contact information, directions, mapping and lots more - right from the phone with the click of a button. That's what is in store for 2010. Over 10 MILLION new smart phones were activated in 2008. That's an 84% increase over 2007 and the trend goes on year after year. The government, along with major phone carriers and providers are working hard to bring low cost and hi-speed internet to every phone in the United States. This alone will drastically change the role of every real estate agent. Without the tools to produce and deliver this rich content to the web for cell phone delivery, agents will lose all their market share. But even more changes are coming.
While we're all worried about the economy, companies like Google are working on new search optimization tools that will completely change how real estate searches are performed. The amount and type of data available on the internet and the location the data was entered from will soon play a major role in changing real estate. If agents do not have rich media content on the web in the near future, and lots of it, they may not be agents in 2010. Imagine being an agent and not being able to place your listings online. In the coming months, rich media content available on the web and cell phone will be even more vital to an agents business.
In order to combat this, agents need to rely on companies that provide turn-key solutions to electronic marketing. Systems that provide tours, listing websites, cell phone audio and visual tours and other content - with one entry. Please don't let other agents pass you up. This will be the year of change for real estate technology. Agents can either embrace it or miss the boat.
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