Real estate is different this year. So is the way people think about buying homes. Three standout themes have emerged so far in the 2021 home shopping experience:
- The buyers of 2021 are more health-conscious than ever. The public health emergency of 2020 transformed the real estate space. Virtual tours, once a snazzy extra feature, are now standard. E-signatures are enabling the remote handling of listings, offers, and purchase contracts. Leading agencies have raced to offer convenient, safe transactions. Buyers expect the application of CDC guidelines in home tours, or they’re looking for remote online notarizations, virtual settlements and mobile closings.
- They’re more environmentally aware than ever. There’s a reason real estate companies now offer special deals on renewable energy, and so many are earning LEED certification. It’s the same reason condos and multi-unit living companies vaunt gardens in common areas, green roofs, and electric car charging stations. Sustainability isn’t just a real estate buzzword today — to many buyers, it’s an imperative.
- And many want to buy, but need affordability. Employment stability is harder to come by, and health crisis of 2020 exacerbated an already existing real estate affordability crisis. People have to get creative. So they’re looking into house hacking, co-buying, co-housing, and co-op opportunities. And the sharing economy has arrived in the real estate world, as startups like Airbnb blend primary residences into income streams.
These three big themes overlap, so be ready for some synergy as we take a tour. If there’s one thread running through all of them, it’s tech. Owners, sellers, and buyers are using digital technology to increase their knowledge and arrive at their goals.
After we cover the three themes, we’ll say a few words about fun. After a tough 2020, people seek peace, health and joy in 2021. It’s still early in the year and we’re all still at home — but we’re getting pretty good at finding ways to bring joy into our homes.
Coming Into Focus: Virtual Tours and Real Estate Media
Leveraging digital breakthroughs, virtual tours promote all three of our 2021 home buyer themes. The online home tour supports health and safety. It reduces car travel. And it makes exploring local markets possible for everyone. Agents can work with what they’ve got, from smartphones to drones, to show their audiences properties online.
Especially in highly competitive markets, agents are hiring pro photographers to create 360° tours. So, we can expect multimedia in real estate to be a hot field in 2021 and beyond, as real estate companies vie to be the best virtual real estate selling and buying hubs. Here, Long and Foster offers a sample of what will become a part of every competitive agency’s website.
Real Estate in 2021: The Making of a Tech-Savvy Profession
Virtual tour technology is now integral to keeping the iBuyers moving.
Seeking to become a sort of Amazon for real estate, iBuyer companies like Opendoor, Zillow Offers, RedfinNow and Offerpad scour big real estate databases, develop algorithms to value the properties, make offers and flip homes. A pandemic sidelined the trend, and inventory is way too low, but the genie won’t be so easily rebottled. Plenty of homeowners are happy to avoid cleaning, renovating, staging and enduring tours of their homes before moving on. Many are drawn to what Zillow calls “a no-hassle sale” and a guaranteed closing.
☛ Learn more about iBuyers at Fintech and Proptech and Deeds… Oh My! Trends Shaping the Future of Real Estate.
Clearly, agents in 2021 will be a tech-savvy bunch. They’ll be using customer relationship management software, setting up virtual tele-tours, and using Zoom and Skype and social media platforms to show them off. Some of their clients may find these agents through online broker platforms. And their clients’ safety is just one more reason to embrace technology.
Green Tech Rising
Eco-awareness might not be everywhere yet, but it is coming. California, as illustrated here by the City of Berkeley, is a leader in mandatory green building codes. Homes, under this pioneering legal framework, are planned with multiple environmental aspects in mind:
- Electric vehicle charging points.
- Storm water drainage.
- Water and material conservation.
- Recycling.
- Attention to the impacts of chemicals and carpets, interior emissions and moisture.
- HVAC efficiency and air quality.
The pandemic brought a special sense of urgency into the air quality discussion. Air filtration, in single and multi-unit residences alike, is now a top priority for home buyers. Watch for sellers and marketers to focus on remote-control replacements for high-touch keys and buttons. Expect UV lights and other air and surface cleaning systems to appear in home interiors.
New Disclosures: Flood Data Entering the Online Listings Arena
Realtor.com received a hat tip in 2020 from NPR when the company became the first major real estate firm to include local flood risk factors in their individual home listings — “potentially signaling a major shift in consumers’ access to information about climate threats.”
Disclosing flood risks beyond what’s available through the FEMA flood maps matters, because so many homeowners outside of the official flood zones are experiencing severe flood damage. Buyers whose biggest asset is their home need to know the risks their property values might face.
We can expect other sites to follow suit this year, to begin discussing similar climate-related factors, and to take more active roles in the quest for sustainability. A resilient, healthy future is a key goal for leaders nationwide, and the real estate sphere will need to reflect this.
The Quest for Financial Accessibility: Accommodating All Income Levels
A rising percentage of renters think now is a the right time to buy a home. But there are plenty of hurdles to clear. A spate of startups and public offerings has focused on simplifying the home buying experience and bringing more buyers into the real estate market:
- Digital mortgage and title companies are on the rise, looking to disrupt an industry now dominated by just a handful of influential title companies. Some focus specifically on the first-time home buyer’s needs.
- Startups like Cher in California match up co-buying partners, then connect them with sellers.
- The Austin-based Homeward helps hopeful buyers win in a tight market. The fintech company lends money to its clients, empowering them to make cash offers instead of contingent offers, and buys their current home if it doesn’t sell at fair market value. The company partners with agents at Keller Williams and other well-known firms.
- The smart-home focused House XTM offers low-rate mortgages. It also educates home buyers and negotiates for them. But perhaps its most interesting innovation is a free starter account for renewable electricity as part of the deal!
Best for Last: Finding Joy at Home in 2021
Amidst the serious aspects of today’s property tech, there are a few fun and delightful ideas for the dedicated followers of smart-home fashion.
Some of the highlights of the all-virtual CES 2021 included a smart fridge that helps order the groceries you need, and a sound speaker powered by shower water.
Kohler® has developed voice-lighted mirrors, and a voice-assisted smart bath technology called PerfectFill that draws your bath just the way you like it — “leaving you in a state of ultimate relaxation.”
In 2021, who doesn’t need that?
Photo credit: Afif Kusuma, via Unsplash.