Snag the Next Best Property Using These 3 Real Estate Tech and Buying Trends

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Real estate technology trends and newer buying practices are vastly changing the way luxury real estate investors and buyers approach the property market.

With the rise of innovative technologies, finding and purchasing your dream home is easier than ever! Let’s explore the latest real estate technology trends and buying practices and discuss how luxury real estate investors and buyers (like you!) can use them to their advantage.

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1. Virtual reality features.

Virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) are two real estate technology trends that are revolutionizing the way Denverites (and people across the world) are buying and selling homes. With the power to transform the real estate industry, VR is making it more accessible, efficient, and engaging for buyers and sellers alike to get involved in the real estate process without necessarily being in the vicinity.

Take a simple example: Zillow’s 3D virtual tours of properties.

Now, you can get a more in-depth experience of a home without necessarily having to drive (or fly) over there to view it. Consider another tool like Matterport, for agents to create their own 3-D tours and add details like publishing it to Google Street View, realtor.com, or even VRBO!

As a buyer, you can also use VR for home staging, envisioning how to fit in furniture pieces and potential purchases in your home before buying it to make sure it aligns with your dream and vision.

Plus, if you’re open to getting really in-depth, you can literally buy and sell properties in the Metaverse using VR real estate… but you won’t be able to have that without having a physical house to buy and sell, first, so let’s get that process done first! 😉

Home-buyers can use this for:

• Touring homes with more information and confidence
• Spatial planning
• Streamlining the viewing process (particularly if they’re far away)

Home sellers can use this for:

• Zhuzhing up their current home listing
• Attracting more buyers with open and upfront information

Homeowners can use this for:

• Flipping real estate in the Metaverse
• Creating engaging listings on VRBO and Airbnb

Providing an immersive and interactive experience can help anyone on the homebuying side make more confident and informed decisions while saving time and money in the process! As more companies adopt VR/AR processes, we can definitely expect to see a shift towards a more digital and streamlined real estate experience. And when you have an agent by your side, it’ll be even simpler.

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2. Marketplaces and agent collaboration.

It’s no secret: Zillow, Trulia, Redfin, and Realtor.com have totally changed the way luxury real estate investors and buyers approach the property market.

While some real estate agents have feared replacing them, agencies that are advancing towards change want to embrace the way people want to buy and sell homes and meet them where they’re at.

Marketplaces and agents each have their own unique aspects and facets of technology to make for a complimentary home buying or selling experience.

Real estate marketplace benefits:

• Quick and simple-access information
• Independent browsing: you don’t have to wait on someone to send you listings
• Filter and search tools give you a simple way to meet specific needs
• Quick information on schools, neighborhoods, and other amenities
• Simple connection with real estate agents and showings

Real estate agent benefits:

• Can fact-check marketplace listing inaccuracies through the MLS
• Can be a calm, clear sense of information amongst the thousands of listings on marketplaces
• Can alleviate the noise of bidding wars and connect with real people who can make real decisions
• Won’t compromise your data privacy like marketplaces often do
• Can clearly explain processes and procedures for passing inspections, getting appraised, and understanding disclosures
• Has negotiating skills to help you get the absolute best deal
• Can give you a tailored approach to finding your house based on your living situation and past experience (that no software will ever be able to understand!)

As real estate agents, we believe in the person-to-person bond when selling or buying a home. The streamlined process of finding homes through marketplaces can greatly help you identify what you want, but they’ll never replace an agent hand-picking a place that they know you’ll love based on the style of home you grew up in, having a backyard for your kids and dog to play in, and a neighborhood where you’ll always get smiles and waves.

There are plenty of real estate agents who will embrace where buyers and sellers are meeting, which is why we speculate that this blending of marketplace browsing and real estate agent work will continue to meld together.

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3. Sustainability, efficiency, and maximized outdoor space.

Our Denver community is a strong proponent of letting nature pave the way for a sustainable at-home experience. But our love for the outdoors doesn’t stop at our lifestyle and hobby hikers, bikers, and swimmers. After all, ever since the pandemic, did you not, at least once, consider growing your own food?

As homesteading becomes more popular, more families are paying close attention to sustainability in their land and home. The acknowledgment of reducing carbon emissions connects to both our earth and directly to our homes, from the ingredients that are in our foods to the chemicals and toxins we need to alleviate in order to live a simple life.

When we think about real estate directly, this can be seen in many ways like lower energy bills, toxic-free lifestyles, and homesteading practices. And while tech intertwines a bit with this, it mostly comes down to buying practices, and what buyers are prioritizing when looking for homes.

So, when browsing through potential home purchases– whether it’s your first or fifth property– consider the technology that’s already been implemented in the home, and how that can increase the value of your property. If purchasing, it might make the property value higher but more worth it, and if selling, it could be a reason for you to adjust your price.

Consider technology or infrastructure that could vastly change the price of a home. If you’re selling, understand the value of these aspects, and if you’re buying, consider these elements as value-adds for a home:

• Solar energy, including where your panels are placed. Solar panels on the roof might be a different value than solar panels on the ground, depending on the sunlight and availability.
• Toxin potential. A home’s value could be determined based on its technological and infrastructure upgrades. With older homes comes more mold or toxin potential, which requires technology that could detect mold or toxins either having detected the home during the previous owner’s stay or as a way to test.
• Land, whether to garden, own animals, or have more space for a pool or other backyard extras.

As the real estate market continues to grow amongst new technology and trends, it’s important to always keep in mind what’s staying top of mind, whether you’re a buyer, seller, or fellow real estate agent!

As a full-service luxury brokerage, we’re always learning and growing to help homebuyers and sellers the best they can. If you’re looking to buy or sell your home in Denver, we’d love to connect and help you in your journey!