As 2014 sneaks up on us this holiday season and we begin to make our New Year’s resolutions—some of us may vow to finally shed the pounds and some of us may have another goal in mind. Real Estate’s goal is to make the buying and selling process easier and more high tech than ever.

The Top 5 Real Estate Technology Trends in 2014 to Look Out For

1. Big data
2. Using drones to advertise properties
3. 3-D real estate marketing
4. Using 3-D printers
5. Video marketing

• Big data is exactly what it sounds like—a collection of data sets that can be accessed quickly and efficiently. This is excellent if you need to pull housing trends, school district statistics, census data, etc.
• The D-word, Drones are not something we should fear—in the context we’re talking about at least. When we think of drones, we usually conjure up images in our minds of fighter jets and warfare. Here we’re talking about tiny drones flying inside a home to film the interior, according to this article. Sounds like something out of a movie, right? The rules are still being prepared, but for now, this will only be done on private properties and the drones will be kept below 500 feet.

“I walk down the street and see drone dollars everywhere,” says Patrick Egan, a drone consultant who heads the Silicon Valley chapter of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, or AUVSI, a lobbying group for the industry. “The potential is huge, and thousands of people are already flying them around the U.S. making money.”

You may be asking yourself why not use something less controversial like helicopters? Drones offer better image quality than helicopters. It’s as simple as that.

• Marketing of the 21^st Century: 3-D Real Estate Marketing is on its way to becoming the “new normal” because it will change the way buyers and sellers receive information. We can show you a lot better than we can tell you here: http://floored.com/.
• Ladies and Gentlemen, we finally got to 3-D Printers. Ironically, 3-D printing has been around since the 80s, but it didn’t become commercial until 2010. 3-D printing lets you make a 3-D solid object of any shape using revolutionary technology. It is usually done with a materials printer using digital technology and there has been an enormous amount of growth in sales of this machine, according to Mashable. This groundbreaking technology is used in many different fields including: jewelry, footwear, industrial design, architecture, engineering and construction, automotive, aerospace, the dental and medical industry, education, geographic information systems, civil engineering, real estate and many others.
• Video Marketing for Real Estate is not a new trend. However, it is a top trend in real estate technology in 2014 because more and more people are realizing its potential. 86 percent of home shoppers use video to find out more about the community and many potential home buyers place an emphasis on the virtual tour, according to Inman.com. Why not, right? It’s quick, easy and not to mention, most of us are constantly on-the-go so when do we have time to sit down and read about a home anyway?

Video marketing is not just for showing properties. Finding an agent and agent related searches on YouTube grew 46 percent from 2011-2012 and I suspect that it will only keep climbing.

What Steps Should I Take to Feel Comfortable with Video Marketing?

1. Choose a topic. It could be an agent profile for marketing purposes, a listing video for the reasons we listed above, a community video to acclimate prospects to the community, or client testimonial, also for marketing purposes.
2. Make sure you have your equipment. Many people use their trusty smartphones.
3. Know how to edit your video. Many people use iMovie on a Mac and Movie Maker on a PC.
4. Share until you can’t possibly share anymore. We’re not telling you to spam other users social media sites, but make sure you’re making an effort to strategically share your content in a fresh and organic way. 

Read more about the top trends in real estate technology in 2014 on Inman.