Technology's Effect on Real-Estate

Technology’s effect on Real-Estate

You are about to see a dramatic effect of technology on the Real-Estate market. I held my Real-Estate Broker’s license in California from six years and I was a licensed agent for six years before that. It is more than just finding buyers and sellers, the sellers what to get their houses sold fast and the buyers want to close quickly too, the agents want inventory and qualified buyers and they want broker support and the brokers to retain their agents.

Government intrusion

Recently the FAA has been cracking down on Realtors using off of the shelf UAS or Drones to capture aerial and 360 degree imagery of the properties they are selling. I don’t believe the FAA has jurisdiction over commerce but when a Realtor captures the aerial overhead and 360 imagery of the property using an off of the shelf product, legally sold to stream on her marketing web-site, that Real-Estate agent or broker is paid nothing to collect that imagery. She doesn’t get paid a dime unless the house gets sold and there isn’t even a line item on the HUD1 for the cost of advertising or for UAS services to collect this data. As long as the Realtor isn’t paying a hobbyist to do the flying for her she is not breaking any law even if there were a law restricting the commercial use of the technology but this doesn’t even constitute an infringement of the proposed FAA guidelines.

Free market backlash

So with Coldwell Banker restricting their Broker Associates and agents from using these effective resource to showcase their seller’s properties, why would a seller list with Coldwell Banker when they can use a competing Real-Estate Brokerage and for the same 6% they can have this added service to showcase their property? The agents can use it as a marketing tool and go door to door asking the neighbors if they would like a panoramic view of their property to post on their blog or social media web-sites. I’m sure this generates more sales when the home owner gets inquiries asking if their home is for sales. I think of the possible referrals for prospective sales that those home owners might know or how many Coldwell Banker agents who were using UAS/Drones to market in these ways will move on to other Brokers. I wonder will other brokerages promote their agent’s ability to exercise their free market rights to serve their clients to the best of their abilities. Will there be a surge in patriotic marketing, promoting the American dream of home ownership and property rights? I think somebody is going to feel like they walked across someone’s yard and felt that all familiar feeling of something dogs leave behind that stinks for allowing themselves to have the government dictate their business practices.

Coldwell Banker