BOSTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / March 15, 2019 / Technology has disrupted virtually every industry today, yet the process of purchasing a home and obtaining and closing on a mortgage looks very much the same as it did back in 1999. Real estate as an industry has been especially resistant to change.
"And therein lies the problem," writes Kosta Ligris Esq., CEO and Founder of The Ligris Companies, in the March edition of MReport. No industry he explains should get too comfortable lest they tempt a Blockbuster fate, adding that investors are well aware of this real estate innovation gap. Many are therefore rushing to become the next big disruptor.
"Technology companies and start-ups are drooling over the countless opportunities to disrupt our massive multi-hundred-trillion-dollar industry," Ligris says, "and as legacy companies now recognize the impending threat of these trailblazers, we enter a new generation of hyperactive need to innovate. It is a scramble to beat out the competition, whether it's the competitor we know and have wrestled with for years or the Kendall Square start-up that wants to change the way consumers buy a home."
Ligris points out there are many ways that technology could potentially disrupt the real estate industry and disrupt the status quo. For instance, "Big Data can be utilized in real estate to predict valuations, neighborhood development, and the overall trend and health of the housing market. Big data can also be used to accomplish an appraisal of a property by using thousands of 'comparables' rather than a select few."
In what he notes is a non-exhaustive list, Ligris's article also provides an overview on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), New Software, Virtual Reality, Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and Smart Contracts, and Drones, Robotics and the Internet of Things (IoT), all hot areas in real estate innovation and technology. He also discusses the rise of electronic and remote notarization legislation, a necessary precursor to a fully digital online closing (sometimes referred to as an eClosing).
Stressing the difference between technology and innovation, Ligris asserts that this difference is something that has become apparent within the very nature of real estate. "The bottom line is that residential real estate is inherently a personal business. There are still plenty of customers that want to talk to a human, meet their loan officer, and sit with their broker to review deal terms," he writes. So listening to what clients actually want and adapting is key.
"These are exciting times for the real estate, title, settlement, and mortgage banking industries," concludes Ligris's article. "Small ideas and little changes sometimes have the power to shift your mindset and the way you look at your business."
The article can be accessed in the print edition of March 2019's MReport, as well as online: https://tinyurl.com/ligrismreport. It was also included in MDaily, MReport's daily email blast.
Kosta Ligris @kligris is an experienced entrepreneur and the CEO/Founder of the Ligris Companies, a collection of professional services, real estate, consulting, and tech companies. Ligris has represented and consulted for some of the nation's largest banks and real estate companies. He also mentors, advises, and invests in startups in fintech, proptech, and blockchain, disrupting the real estate and title insurance verticals. Kosta Ligris himself is a mentor for MIT's Innovation Initiative and a visiting Entrepreneur in Residence at MIT's Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship. https://ligris.com
For more information or to arrange a media interview with Kosta Ligris, contact his PR Rep Ken Lizotte via [email protected] or by calling 978-371-0442.
SOURCE: Ligris Companies