The Silicon Valley Association of Realtors FutureTech 2018, held last week in Los Altos, led 200 Realtors and brokers in discussions about smart home technology, big data and virtual reality. Products and services showcased at the event were intended to put agents on the forefront of technology so they can better serve their clients in the 21st century, according to Palo Alto broker Michael Dreyfus, with Golden Gate Sotheby's Realty.
Dreyfus, who chairs the local trade association's Palo Alto district, opened the program by noting the business of real estate has come a long way from big listing books, which agents and their clients valued, to paperless documents and virtual tours.
A session on the future of smart homes moderated by CBS News technology journalist Larry Magid, featured Sean Paterson, head of marketing and sales for Noon Home, a smart lighting system that wirelessly generates light in different levels to transform the look and feel of a home, and Sophie Le Guen, director of product management of Nest, which produces programmable, sensor-driven, WiFi-enabled thermostats, smoke detectors, security cameras, and other security systems.
Another on how big data is going to affect the future of real estate featured Dave Wetzel, CTO & COO of multiple listing service provider MLSListings Inc., Avi Gupta, president and CEO of SmartZip, which offers predictive marketing services so agents can land more listings by identifying homeowners most likely to sell in any neighborhood; and Stas Alexandrov, founder & CEO of iDevelop.city, an application that allows brokers and developers to view lots, find a place for a building, and see all the specific restrictions in one place.
A segment on visualization tools with Taylor Wilding, head of business development with roOomy, and another segment with Paul Grasshoff, senior account manager of Matterport, highlighted the difference between augmented reality and virtual reality. RoOomy's provides virtual staging with shoppable products that allow users to virtually furnish an image of a room. Matterport gives a home shopper a realistic 3D and visual reality experience "that feel as real as being there." RoOomy's offerings have expanded to include virtual stagings of 3D walkthrough tours through a partnership with Matterport.
A session on the future of real estate transactions included Adam Gothelf, founder of Disclosures.io, a software that helps agents and brokers manage and share property disclosure packages; C. Daniel Bremer, co-founder of myTheo, a fully customizable mobile app that connects agents with their clients and provides complete MLS data, tours, open houses, reminders, notifications, etc.; and Susan McHan, president of mortgage lender Opes Advisors.
While most of the tech devices offer to make the business of real estate more efficient, accessible, and a good experience for agents and clients alike, the sessions opened up discussions on a host of issues, from concerns about privacy and security of information that consumers plug into these devices, to the likelihood of transitioning to fully paperless transactions and e-mortgages.
At the end of the day, Dreyfus said this was exactly the purpose of the event - to get agents and brokers thinking about the future of their business and the challenges they face with these disruptors to the traditional way of doing business, but always with the thought that "we have our clients' interest at heart."
Silver sponsors of the event included Alain Pinel Realtors, Pacific Union, Sereno Group, Intero Real Estate Services, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, Golden Gate Sotheby's, SmartZip Analytics, Suitable Technologies, MLSListings Inc., Matterport and myTheo; EXPO sponsors Disclosures.io, iGUIDE, iDevelop.city, TourFactory, RoOomy and Agentdesks; and participants Noon Home and Nest.
The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) is a professional trade organization representing over 4,000 REALTORS® and Affiliate members engaged in the real estate business on the Peninsula and in the South Bay. SILVAR promotes the highest ethical standards of real estate practice, serves as an advocate for homeownership and homeowners, and represents the interests of property owners in Silicon Valley.
The term "REALTOR®" is a registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and who subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.
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