Gearfuse Technology, Science, Culture & More
Technology is changing the way we operate in all parts of life. When it comes to property auctions, this is certainly no different. Many auction houses are looking at how we can bring the property buying experience into the 21st century. Some of these ways involve mobile phone experiences that could even make physical estate agents obsolete thanks to new forms of remote communication. Let’s take a look at how technology could change the way we view and buy properties at auction.
The Role of NFC in Viewing Houses
Near field communication, commonly known as NFC, could revolutionise the way that we view a house, providing us all the information we require, when we require it. This will mean that there’s no need for physical estate agents.
By implanting NFC chips within houses (they’re already widely incorporated in almost all smartphones already), a wireless link could be created between a house and the phone, providing all the necessary information required to make an informed buying choice.
For example, by installing an NFC chip next to (or as part of) the boiler, a home viewer would be able to see the boiler’s history, including information about when it was installed, who installed it and how often it had been serviced since its installation.
In the past, anyone viewing a home may have had to wait for weeks for this information if it wasn’t known by the estate agent, but now it could only be a simple scan away.
NFC in the Auction Process
For those attending auctions, NFC codes could be used as alternatives to buying brochures and property information guides. So, if you were to buy an auction house from somewhere like Allsop, then all you’d have to do is take your phone with you on auction day and scan the code to reveal the full property information, rather than be limited to a snippet of text and a couple of pictures in a brochure.
Further Future Developments?
Although NFC codes look to be the immediate future of purchasing properties at auction, in the distant future, virtual reality may also have a role.
The use of virtual reality could completely get rid of the need for the physical property viewing experience, which would eliminate the need to disturb home owners on late nights or quickly leave work on lunch breaks for a quick viewing. The entire process could be done remotely, and you could even view 10 houses within an hour across the country on the morning of an auction.
To conclude, NFC looks to be the immediate future of property auctions, and virtual reality could even help further in the next decade. Let’s see what the future holds.
