The Rise of the Machines in Real Estate

We are entering an era of intimate intercourse with technology. We are cyborgs (cybernetic organisms). Each of us has a little device in our pocket or on our person with access to millions and millions of pages of information, anything from funny videos to the weather in Mozambique, the ability to record daily life or to find a mate. Even the simplest of minds has the capacity to access more knowledge than the most brilliant of minds. Technology has allowed people to market and reach an audience that would have been price prohibitive in the past and it has and will continue to cause serious disruption with the “old” way of doing things. Multiple companies and even entire industries have been decimated. We must confront the idea that we may be making ourselves obsolete through the sheer ubiquity of technology. The real estate industry is no exception; we have seen huge changes in the last decade or two with the democratization of information.

How do we balance the exponential explosion created by technology and the simple human, who has remained relatively unchanged for thousands of years? How can we assert value in a world where barriers for many industries have either collapsed or been completely rendered meaningless by technology?

Within the real estate industry, we can already see the disruption caused by technology and its double edged sword; on one side we are able to work from anywhere, send listings off around the world, use mapping technologies to better assess areas, research properties, explore zoning and expand our reach far beyond our local areas; and on the other side of the equation many of the same technologies are available to our prospective clients as well. They, too, can leverage the technology and search for properties, market and sell their property, set alerts for areas and do many of the same things that they would be contracting an agent to do. My clients send listings to me as often, if not more often than the other way around.

So, again, have we planted the seeds of our own obsolescence or how, do we as agents create a value proposal that ensures our survival and the survival of the industry at large?

What intangibles do we bring that cannot be replaced?

In my experience, there are always going to be those that just don’t get it. Why am I going to pay an agent for what I can do myself? On the other side, there are those who are more than happy to turn things over to a professional for any number of reasons. If someone does not see the value in contracting an agent, there is little chance that I am going to convince them of the benefits of hiring someone to represent him or her. I think of abstract art and those who say, well I could have painted that. I am not going to convince that person of the value I bring to the equation so it is not worth my time. On the other side I need to realize that what is going to keep a client and ensure my success is going to be earning their trust and instilling the relationship with the knowledge that I will only ever act in their best interest, that I will work tirelessly to find solutions to their problems, and that I will be there for them when they need advice or guidance and that whatever money I earn in the equation, what I return to them goes far beyond any dollar value.

I would never let a robot or my Roomba babysit my kids because I want someone there who is and will be accountable, who I can call or who will call me if the need arises. I want to know that someone I trust is looking out for and caring for them.

There is a tremendous value to human contact and accountability and that is something that cannot be easily replaced. I view and vet all properties as though I am considering them for myself and advise my clients as such. It is very true that you don’t know what you don’t know and if someone has not had that experience or has had a previously poor experience it can be very hard to work against that preconceived notion. We all have unique qualities and traits that we bring to the equation, whether it is our specific knowledge about a market area or esoteric information about tax incentives, or simply our advice and sense of humor (humor being one of the most difficult things to program in to an artificial being).

The machines are on the rise but they have yet to replace real human interactions, a smile and handshake, intuition, the nuances of negotiation and the assessment of decisions based on parameters that go far beyond ones and zeroes.

Mike Mito
RE/MAX Commercial Brokers, Inc.
3331 Severn Ave. Suite 200
Metairie, LA 70002
(504) 838-0001
mmito@nolacommercial.com