Technology makes our lives easier, but what about that human connection we all know and love?

Technology can’t give us that. Have you ever seen a computer reach out and give someone a hug?

Will the Real Estate Sector be the Next Victim to Technology and Automated Everything?

We’ve seen countless industries—including the auto industry—succumb to a technological revamp, and we can’t help but ask: will the real estate sector be the next victim?

The author of this Inman article asked a few brokers and got the scoop.

Stacia Whatley says technology may affect loan officers, but she also makes this point—if they can be affected, why can’t real estate brokers?

And she’s right, they can be.

The real estate industry thrives off the human connection and creating relationships with buyers and sellers as well as other brokers. If the industry doesn’t want to become another statistic, it will have to find new ways to work faster, better and stronger to compete with the machine.

Proponents of using technology to replace loan officers say that by using this type of technology they are able to pass the savings onto their customers.

Now this makes more sense on the lending side, but there is still an element of customer service and care that needs to be addressed.

Buying a home is one of the largest purchases most people make in their lifetime.

Are you willing to give up the customer care to save a few bucks on your interest rate?

Let me tell you why technology probably won’t take over the real estate world any time soon:

Sure, you can look at houses online. You may even see crisp, professionally done photographs sometimes accompanied with a video, but that doesn’t give you a real feeling for the home.

This may sound all zenned-out, but you can’t get a sense for the home’s vibe if you don’t see it in person.

And it’s not just about the home either. It’s about the neighborhood, too.

It’s very important to check out the surrounding area to make sure it has everything you need and also everything you want.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ll look at a Naples home listing, for example, and see what else it offers in the surrounding area, only to notice the handful of stores that it missed.

I mean, come on, don’t you want to know about the Starbucks just around the corner?

Progess?

Have you noticed that credit card companies are now moving to using real people again?

If there’s hope for them, then maybe there’s hope for everyone else.

After all, we need to interact with HUMANS for a HUMAN connection.