A real estate technology renaissance is underway. In the wake of the great recession and following a flurry of technology innovations, the real estate industry has reached a turning point. And the leaders of the real estate renaissance are seizing the opportunity. In particular, professionals are leveraging new technology to speed learning, gain access to more information, up their management and research capacities, and improve connectivity with clients and colleagues. All the while, these same professionals continue to maintain the personal touch and high-level customer service that the real estate industry and our local communities are built upon. In short, real estate professionals are embracing technology and weaving new tools into their daily routine to create efficiencies, generate new business and achieve success. And the exciting notion is that this is just the beginning!
As you know, the moniker "Renaissance" is more commonly associated with the cultural rebirth that took place in Europe during the 1300s to the 1600s. Generally speaking, the period served as a bridge or transition from the Middle Ages to the modern world. The Renaissance was marked by intellectual curiosity and its influence was felt in literature, philosophy, art, music, politics, science, religion, technology and other areas.
Following in the wake of the Black Death pandemic, the Renaissance is widely considered one of the most interesting and disputed periods in European history. One reason scholars find the period so interesting is because the Renaissance brought with it many improvements to existing techniques and new technologies. For instance, a few byproducts of the Renaissance include paper, the printing press, the mariner's compass, and gun powder. This is without any mention of the great artistic or literary masterpieces of the time, among many others.
In some circles, the Renaissance also signaled a shift in European values. For example, in her 2013 piece about Boccoccio's Decameron entitled "Renaissance Man," The New Yorker's Joan Acocella touched on the topic, explaining that Middle Age values, such as valor, faith, transcendence began to yield to those of enjoyment, business, and the real.
The Renaissance is an intriguing time period to investigate, particularly given all that took place. And yet, most notable - and above any particular player, technique or technological innovation - is the Renaissance's revival of learning following an otherwise long period of intellectual stagnation.
Fast forward a few hundred years and, loosely speaking, the same type of intellectual curiosity and technological innovation is gripping the real estate and technology industries. While we have all read that the real estate industry, in particular, has been a lagging adopter of technology, there remains a growing level of focus, discussion and change in real estate technology, including the many benefits to practitioners and consumers. And the potential for improvement persists. One such perspective being that of SoftBank Capital's Josh Guttman in his February 2015 TechCrunch article entitled "The Impending Opportunity In Real Estate Technology," which gives a venture capitalist take on some happenings and potential in the residential and commercial real estate technology space. In total, current day discussions on real estate technology would be well supplemented by those also being generally had in business and management technology.
In 2013, Forbes published an article entitled, The New Rules Of Leadership. In the piece, contributor Meghan Biro quotes a senior innovation advisor as saying, "[i]n today's economy there is no way anybody can be an expert in a substantial part of their total field. The modern 'renaissance man' is one who understands how to learn." The point being that, in today's marketplace, a company and a professional's goal should be to integrate learning into their culture and processes. Learning may occur as part of training sessions, workshops, conferences, and retreats. But, the most effective strategies prioritize a continuous learning process, which then becomes part of a company or a professional's DNA.
Similarly, last year, IT Leadership author Charles Araujo wrote an article about "The Five Traits of the Digital Renaissance Man." The piece explains that the Digital Renaissance Leader will be defined by his or her: Service, Eagerness to learn, Curiosity, Connectedness, and Emotional awareness. In furthering his discussion on IT Leadership, Mr. Araujo explains that, "[w]e need leaders that are equal parts science and art, equal parts humanity and technology, and equal parts explorer and builder. It is a complex time and we need leaders with diverse and complex experiences to lead us through it." Indeed, this thinking and list of traits hold true for today's real estate and real estate technology sectors.
Service, learning, curiosity, connectivity, and emotional awareness are the hallmarks of the modern real estate professional. Stumble or fail in any one area, and risk the consequences. Real estate technology adoption is critical, as new tools are necessary to work and connect with clients and consumers who are increasingly relying on the internet for information. As mentioned in the past, consumers, buyers, investors, and owners all use the web to learn about the real estate market and to find and evaluate professionals. Also, clients fully expect real estate professionals to utilize digital resources to market properties to the broadest possible audience or to locate available spaces to save time and money. Correspondingly, values are shifting in the marketplace. Real estate professional and real estate consumer no longer tolerate opacity. Nowadays, the market demands increased transparency, improved data accuracy, and better data integrity packaged within a clean, streamlined user experience.
The modern "Real Estate Renaissance Professional" is quickly finding ways to take advantage of new innovations. Pros are pairing the best in real estate technology with their own unique, high-level customer service. They are demonstrating their emotional control across the board - be it digitally or in person - to achieve best-in-class results. The Real Estate Renaissance Professional never stops learning and embraces digital resources to quickly access information, as well as to broadly market their assignments and professional experience to the world. The Renaissance Pro utilizes web-enable mobile devices to stay connected to clients and the market, enjoying a longer reach than ever before.
At Agorafy, we celebrate intellectual curiosity and technological innovation in real estate. That is why we are tirelessly working to build a digital home for the real estate community to market, research, connect and close more business. To that end, Agorafy's powerful online platform supports all property types, including commercial, residential and investment sales properties. With Agorafy, users are able to market available spaces and properties, research current market data and identify target real estate, and connect with real estate professionals and prospective buyers, investors, and tenants all from the touch of a button. Quickly search and filter properties based on your criteria or requirements. Then, review property specifics, listing details, tailored multimedia - including Video capabilities - and direct contact information, so that you can take next steps. Agorafy is compatible across desktop and web-enabled phone and mobile devices, so that you and your clients' experiences are seamless whether you are at home or the office, in the field, or traveling on the go. Visit Agorafy today and start connecting with colleagues, clients and the public based in the shared values of transparency and better data! Check us out at agorafy.com.
With Agorafy, real estate technology has been reborn, helping spur a real estate renaissance that has only just begun!

Richard Du is the founder and CEO of Agorafy, New York, N.Y. Tags: