Vanessa Hale
Director, Research
Moving is considered to be one of the most stressful life experiences and as a result people rarely move home. The average person only moves once every 17.8 years according to the latest English Housing Survey. But does it really need to be this way?
Over the next decade, new technology looks set to transform the way we buy, rent and live in our homes. We believe there will be dramatic and positive changes to remove or reduce many of the obstacles experienced by renters and buyers, shortening the time it takes to complete transactions and eliminating some of the anxiety associated with moving.
In our latest research ‘Housing Futures: New Horizons’ we explore these new technologies. For example, when it comes to securing finance to buy or rent a new home, virtual assistants such as Alexa or Siri will be able to help you discover the most suitable financial products based on your circumstances and buying habits, savings and income. If you are considering buying a new home, your virtual assistant will be able to inform you of your maximum buying power, before you even speak to a mortgage advisor, bank or building society. If you are renting, you’ll be able to find out the cap on your weekly rent.
At the moment, finding a dream home involves spending hours on property portals and many Saturdays physically viewing properties. We believe the estate agents of the future will be different, evolving into a new hybrid model that will involve virtual viewings. From almost any location, you will be able to arrange a ‘walk through’ of a property and have a conversation with a virtual agent in real time through Holoportation. This technology will allow anyone to interact in a 3D computer-generated environment from anywhere in the world with a virtual reality (VR) headset. Users appear as real-life representations of themselves and can explore their selected properties and after reviewing the virtual options, and creating a viable shortlist, your virtual assistant could then arrange for in-person viewings. The bonus being that you get your weekends back!
Once you have chosen your dream new home, verification has historically been the most challenging and time consuming part of a housing transaction. The process can feel relentless in its interrogation. And as well as the stress of proving who you are and what you can afford, this is accompanied by the verification process for the property, including property deeds, freehold documentation, energy performance certificates and more. This verification stage is where intelligent document processing and creation of digital ledgers utilising blockchain technology could have a significant impact.
As every party in a transaction can trust the information, it has the potential to reduce time and costs. There are still hurdles to overcome with blockchain, especially when it comes to binding digital signatures, but HM Land Registry is consulting on rules to allow this type of innovation. And by using artificial intelligence and automation to process documents, the time required for compliance when buying a new home could become almost non-existent.
All of this ground-breaking technology is already available – so it will be fascinating to see how the property industry adapts around it over the next ten years.