6 Ways AI Is Disrupting the Real Estate Industry  

Data from Statista indicates that by the end of 2018, the global AI market will be at $7.35 billion. The rise of artificial intelligence has not been one massive sweep. Rather, it has been a series of evolutions with impacts across multiple industries.

In the past, the real estate industry remained under the radar when it came to technology disruptions compared to other sectors. This is no longer the case with AI, as this exciting technology has brought some new developments to the industry.

1. Property Management

One of the aspects most affected areas in the real estate industry is property management. AI is now being effectively used to monitor and manage properties with the aim of predicting when critical systems are due for repair or replacement. Real estate professionals are also using the technology to monitor property trends in a particular geographical areas. It could even raise tenants’ rents on the expiration of their leases.

2. Data Analytics

The data availed by AI is playing a big role in transforming the industry. For instance, Boston real estate companies have been using AI to decipher the industry and customer data collected. They then use the outcome to improve aspects of the business including appraisals, target marketing, and financial accounting.

Through the internet of things (IoT), building owners can place sensors in security, heating, and lighting systems to collect data. This will help them improve their buildings in vital areas such as energy efficiency. Although this could prove useful to emerging markets as it provides predictive analytics, machine learning models have difficulties dealing with time-stamped data with a wide variance.

3. Apartments on Demand

Using AI advanced real estate technology providers can help organize smart routing and key aggregation for showings in real time. This opens the door for more showings in a shorter period of time. Real Estate agents will adapt to more face time with clients and showing properties than planning and pre-qualification. Agents at leading apartment leasing companies will be driving and showing more and in the office far less. Logistics and operational efficiencies will therefore need to include the agents.

4. Smart Searching

In the past, prospective buyers have used search engines to identify a probable property. People initially do their property hunting online and use an agent only when they need to close a deal. Industry players such as brokers, buyers, sellers, and investors were restricted to search criteria based on the property’s location and price. With AI, people can now locate properties based on specific details such as ROI, neighborhoods, local facilities, and other minute details.

5. Room Rentals and Subletting

Preferences and details matter. With more people living a transient and mobile lifestyle; subletting and roommate matching has been increasing steadily each year in major metro markets. Boston in particular has seen a rise in subletting and roommate matching including flexible subletting leases. AI can be used to pattern compatibility factors and increase the amount of units shown to prospective roommate and rooms for rent matches. Real estate agents can focus more time on gathering keys, opening doors and setting appointments so that groups can come together and commissions generated.

6. Chatbot Technology

Chatbot technology makes it possible for potential homebuyers to interact with the business through a chat interface. This technology has been known to make even visual interactions possible. Bots could handle marketing outreach and allow the agents to follow up with qualified leads and other outreach processes. The real estate industry uses bots for virtual tours, leasing terms, and other queries.

The rise of AI in the real estate industry will not be the death of human input. Instead, it will make the process smoother. The delegation of tasks to machines will bring about a more dedicated level of service when the process gets to the human stage.

Through artificial intelligence, potential property buyers can personalize their search at an earlier stage and qualify requests before engaging real estate brokers. The challenge in use of AI lies in its harnessing so that it does not compromise on the connection and trust created by humans before closing a property deal.