Think Redwood

It’s always fun to try and peer into the future to predict what will happen, especially when it comes to technology. The speed in which some of these advances are made, however, can make it hard to keep up, so it’s better to try and determine what affects you and your business and pay attention to those technologies first. We took a look into our crystal ball for the year to see what we think will be the top 5 real estate technology trends of 2019. Here they are:

Home search and reviews will be more critical than ever.

We already know that the internet is used by prospective clients for both home searches and to learn more about real estate agents. We think that trend will continue into this year, with major company and third-party websites still bringing in the traffic for home searches (along with the relevant home search apps, of course). Testimonials will be more important than ever, however, as people try and decide on who they want to trust with their real estate transaction. It’s one of the reasons we use RealSatisfied here at CENTURY 21 Redwood Realty; its ease of use ensures clients will submit a review and it allows for easy sharing across multiple channels by an agent.

We first presented this piece back in 2015, in which we imagined how things could be (at the time) five years from now in a day of the life of a real estate agent in 2020. How far off the mark do you think we are? With only a year left to go, do you think this is still feasible, or do you think we have a few years left down the road for some of this technology to happen?

6 am: Your house gently awakens you at 6 am, opening your blackout shades, slowing turning on your bedside light and starting to fix your coffee.

7 am: Your voice-activated, electronic personal assistant, Alexa, reads you the local news, tells you what the day's weather will be and gives you your schedule. You tell Alexa to remind your sellers' electronic personal assistants about today's open home and your buyer clients' assistant what documents will need to get signed today.

8 am: You jump into your electric, self-driving car, giving your vehicle the day's route, before starting to have your email read back to you. No need to go into a brick-and-mortar office - everything you need is now in your car or online, in the cloud.

Gmail is one of the most widely used email platforms across the world, and there’s a good chance you’re using it in some form in your real estate business, too. But are you getting the most out of all of Gmail’s features for your business?

Setting Up Your Gmail Inbox

To begin setting up the way you want your Gmail inbox to look, log into your Gmail account. On the right-hand side, you’ll see a widget that looks like a gear. Click on that, and click on Settings.

Last week, our Director of Technology and Training, Tara Christianson, talked about her most significant takeaways from This year's Inman Connect San Francisco. She spoke about some of her favorite panels, real estate trends, and what content stuck with her from the whirlwind week.

We also asked Tara to share her thoughts on the technology she saw at Inman Connect, and what she thinks real estate agents should have on their radar based on what she saw and exhibitors she met. This week, she discusses her "big four" from Inman: artificial intelligence, 360 photography and video, augmented reality, and virtual reality. Here's what she had to say: