Has real estate crossed the chasm?

I'm new to this industry. Real estate, that is. Though I've been in the Internet and technology sector for more than a decade.

I met with two executives recently from a company that provides technology and marketing solutions to realtors, and I offered my newcomer's perspective that (A) there is a much stronger sense of community within real estate than in other sectors of technology, and (B) these are exciting times for the real estate industry.

The two executives backed me up on my first point without a moment's thought. Most companies do seem to play together nicely in the sandbox, they supported, and are careful not to resort to many of the less-than-honorable tactics that are nearly commonplace in other areas of the technology world.

On my second point, that these seem to be exciting times for real estate and technology, the executives wanted to know more about what I meant. I explained that (and again this is all from my newcomer's perspective) it seems like there is finally a critical mass of consumers who have adopted new online tools and technologies, and that marketing to them is fundamentally different than it was maybe just a year or two ago. In this sense real estate is maybe a little behind the curve that other sectors like insurance or financial services were on as early as the late 90s, but it is on that same curve nonetheless.

I may be wrong, but it seems to me like real estate has just recently crossed the chasm, as Geoffrey Moore would put it, or gotten through the dip, as Seth Godin would say, and now we're playing a whole new ballgame, to borrow from Casey Stengel. It's the reason why Zillow gets written about every day, and why Redfin gets exposure on 60 minutes.

After some reflection, the executives agreed that, even though the industry has been exciting to them since they first entered it years ago, the momentum is indeed picking up these days.

The Internet  has a history of disrupting and rearranging entire industries -- usually for the betterment of the consumers and to the detriment of those service providers who refuse or are unwilling to adopt. InsWeb.com altered the insurance industry. Expedia.com revolutionized travel.  craigslist.org did it to classifieds.

It seems to me like now it's real estate's turn. Am I wrong?

We'll try to answer that question at Real Estate Connect SF. Hopefully you can make it. The feeling around here is that this year's event will be one of the most important ever.
 

All rights reserved. This content may not be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, in part or in whole, without written permission of Inman News. Use of this content without permission is a violation of federal copyright law.