The internet has become the new marketplace, connecting one individual with a good or service to another interested individual. An online community marketplace is simply a virtual space for buying, selling, and sharing goods directly between parties. No middleman, corporation, or computerized answering systems.
For example, many of the apps we use regularly (e.g. Uber, Airbnb, LinkedIn) transform the way we seek out goods and services. The real estate industry especially is becoming more tech-savvy by connecting customers and properties in real-time.
The Real Estate Marketplace Frontier
Airbnb
AirBnB has changed the way we think about booking hotels. For those of you who haven’t heard, Airbnb enables residents to rent out their place to the world. Further, it sources homes, private rooms, and even couches for temporary use to the public. For a company worth $20 billion, it’s safe to say their method is working. Certainly, this new age addition to the real estate industry is only the beginning of how technology and real estate are teaming forces.
OpportunitySpace
OpportunitySpace is digitally connecting the dots between buyer and seller in the real estate industry, all while bringing dead properties back to life.
“An online inventory, marketplace, and community for public sector real estate, making it simple for people to reinvest in cities by connecting stakeholders in real estate and providing user-focused access to information.”
Additionally, it enables accessible information and open communication between developers and property managers. As a result, developers will have access to zoning regulations and financial data that otherwise would be difficult to collect. In short: it’s a community for those buying, selling, leasing, and developing a property. Creating a positive user experience, human-centered design, and revitalized urban developments.
We Are Pop Up
Have an empty space you no longer use? With this platform, you have the ability to “rent out your empty shelf, rail or shop window to designers, makers, and artists.” No longer are artists speaking with brokers to lease a space for their work. Now, they’re able to seek out all of the available sources without a property agent. Certainly, ideas like We Are Pop Up are causing traditional real estate agents to wonder about the future. Further, online marketplaces are building up communities, offering convenience, and most importantly, harnessing human-centric approaches.
Traditional real estate brokers don’t need to be scared of this transition; they just need to adapt. Like all technological advancements, those who don’t adapt get left behind. Technology is setting the standard for real estate locating, buying, and selling.
