Real estate enters the information age

Real Estate Weekly, June 21, 1995 by Daniel A. Levy

For the many people who hear the buzz but remain on the sidelines, the question is, what will the information age mean for me and my business?

Originally, funded by the Department of Defense to allow scientists to communicate with one another, the Internet has moved out of the realm of science and is now used primarily by the private sector.

Today, the Internet is a collection of approximately 30,000 computer networks comprising more than five million computers. It is estimated that 20 to 30 million people around the world have access to the Internet, and the number is growing very rapidly. MCI claims that by the end of the decade, the number of people connected to the internet will grow to 400 million.

The World Wide Web (WWW) is a "part" of the Internet that is accessible through a Graphical User Interface (point and click) such as Mosaic or Netscape that permits users to look at a wide variety of information, including photographs and graphics. Since users don't have to be familiar with traditional computer commands, these interfaces have contributed to the popularity of the Internet. In addition to the millions of people connected directly to the Internet, users of America On-Line, Compuserve and Prodigy now have direct access to the WWW.

The ability to communicate "multimedia information" via a powerful and user-friendly data base structure creates endless possibilities for individuals and businesses. For the real estate industry, it means that clients across town or in another part of the world can "walk through" a building without ever leaving their computer. A client could choose a floorplan in one building, then switch to another building two blocks away to look at floor layouts and photographs of the lobby. Afterwards, the client could go to the window of his "virtual office" and check out the view.

For those who have never cruised the information highway, this scenario may sound impossibly futuristic - like something out of a sci-fi movie. But, the day has already come.

Real Estate On-Line's New York City Real Estate Guide is the first product to offer WWW users free access to the latest New York real estate information (the address is http://www.nyrealty.com/). During the past six months, the popularity of the guide has skyrocketed to the point at which we have received 180,000 user inquiries during the month of May for over 2,000 listings provided by more than 35 area brokers. We expect this service to revolutionize the way people look for real estate and permanently change traditional real estate advertising.

Anyone with a computer, a modern and access to the WWW can use the Real Estate Guides. With the click of a mouse, Internet users can search our database by set parameters to find out what properties are for sale or rent, look up detailed descriptions of each listing, view photographs and floorplans, view each broker's other listings, and contact the broker by phone or, in some cases e-mail. In addition, users can look up market reports with information on asking price versus selling price, conditions in various areas in the city, and emerging trends.

The list of participants is also growing daily. The service will soon include commercial and retail real estate - Garrick-Aug Associates is the first retail brokerage to participate - as well as mortgage brokers, bankers, architects and real estate attorneys Westchester and Fairfield County listings are now on-line, and New Jersey and Long Island will be on-line by Summer.

This is an idea whose time has come. Not only is the WWW an ideal way to reach new customers, it is a logical alternative to newspaper advertising. Unlike traditional real estate advertising, the WWW offers a cost-effective way to reach millions of people around the world. Listings, which include descriptions, photographs and floorplans are far more detailed than any print advertisement, and also allow the user to find out more information about the broker and agency.

Many people are wrongly intimidated by the information age and the assortment of constantly changing new technology. The point to remember is today's technology makes it much easier to communicate and exchange ideas. The computer industry is still in its infancy. As it develops, the central role of "computing" will be communication.

Most of us can remember the days before the fax machine became commonplace, when you had to pull over to the side of the road to use a telephone, and when typewriters were used for correspondence. Now most people are using computers, and they are becoming more user-friendly and faster every day. Because of the efficiency of on-line communications, many people use it to receive information on a daily basis. The time has come for the real estate industry to use this resource to give our clients the information they want.