In a recent feature published on Inman, Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty broker Brian Hopper shares his ten real estate predictions that agents and consumers should be paying attention to in the coming year. From the rise of cryptocurrency and a condo comeback to cognitive technologies and more, check out Hopper’s list below.
- More and more home purchases will be made in cryptocurrency, a trend we saw in 2017 as J. Kuper Sotheby’s International Realty brokered a lucrative digital sale.
- Smart homes will continue to cement their presence in new construction, and technologies such as Amazon’s “Alexa” will be used to disseminate information about a home.
- The condo comeback will begin, particularly in cities such as Seattle, where anemic inventory reigns.
- Baby boomers will flock south to warmer climates both within the U.S. and “south of the border in beautiful locations such as Los Cabos and the newly christened Danzante Bay community at Loreto Islands (Baja).”
- Tax law changes will negatively impact areas with high state and local tax (SALT) while lower SALT locations, such as Washington state, will benefit.
- Buyers will continue to utilize presales as a way to protect against the competitive resale market.
- In rising markets such as Seattle, homeownership will increase as “the notion of renting and building up a larger down payment to buy a home in a couple of years” no longer makes financial sense.
- Agents will begin to leverage Artificial Intelligence in their business plans, particularly through the use of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) programs.
- More and more homeowners will rely on cognitive technologies to aid in day-to-day tasks so that things become as simple as saying “kitchen lights off” or “preheat oven to 375.”
- Tech companies may enter the real estate game, particularly those such as Amazon, which seems to be dipping its hand into every pot, so to speak.
“Time will tell which of my predictions come through in 2018,” Hopper writes. “But one thing is for sure: the market will continue to be hot for sellers, and it will continue to be a great time to be a real estate agent.”