Brian Tormey, TitleVest

Real estate transactions are projected to grow at a sustainable rate through 2017, according to the Urban Land Institute’s 2015 Consensus Forecast. Transactions in New York have maintained a steady increase – up 4% from 2014 to 2015. Given this growth, it is surprising that the industry has not yet fully embraced the power of emerging real estate technology. With the large amount of funding going into real estate oriented-technology, web-based tools and resources are more accessible than ever to real estate professionals. Yet, many of these tools are not being fully utilized to deliver better client service or expedite laborious processes.

Here are three of the top technological advances in real estate:

Crowd Funding

Crowd funding via portals such as FundRise.com or PatchofLand.com provides investors with an alternative to traditional funding models. Interest has grown since President Obama signed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act in 2012 and the SEC flexed rules on general solicitation of accredited investors in 2013. Crowd funding platforms remove the middlemen, creating a cost-effective solution with control and transparency. Developers can tap into a new market of investors and save on overhead costs resulting in lower fees and interest rates.

Digitized Asset Information and Management

Whether dealing with pre-acquisition data analysis, or living up to voluminous and complicated building compliance standards, the challenge of compiling, managing and reacting to data is daunting. Companies like SiteCompli help buyers assess property health with organized and actionable data, and assist owners navigating building compliance with technology to ensure that standards are met and severe penalties avoided. Companies such as Pereview or VTZ provide cloud-based, customizable data aggregation platforms to keep all the useful information organized, easily reportable, and thus actionable. These companies help owners to consolidate data oversight. They can also help guide and/or trigger necessary action resulting in increased staff productivity, efficient customer service, better lines of communication, compliance assurance and accessibility to documentation.

Interactive Online Reports, Forms & Platforms

Signing, commenting on, and sharing documents via fax, email, and snail-mail will soon be processes of the past. A transaction that used to take days or weeks to complete can now be completed in minutes. Having an interactive online platform provides all parties involved with a secure and centrally-located place to store documents and make updates available to relevant other parties in real-time. Transparent work flows ensure that nothing gets lost and that all parties are on the same page at all times. These conveniences and efficiencies can help to reduce the staff time to compile, transmit, and review versions. These tools can help manage the tremendous volume of information and paperwork involved in real estate transactions and produce real time savings for the parties who take advantage of available offerings.

These advances in technology within real estate will help us all operate more productively and efficiently. Exploring new resources will make our jobs easier and help us provide the best service for our clients.

Brian Tormey is president of TitleVest, New York, N.Y.