University of Maryland researchers announced they’ve created a way to make wood stronger, lighter, and cheaper than steel. The researchers see the super wood as having a major influence in the building industry one day.“This new way to treat wood makes it 12 times stronger than natural wood and ten times tougher,” says Liangbing Hu, a Maryland professor and leader of the team who conducted the research. “This could be a competitor to stee
Be careful: You may be under surveillance when touring a property. Some sellers are using surveillance cameras inside their home to record the sight and sound as prospective buyers walk through.The increase in these home recordings—many from security systems that owners already have installed—are raising some concerns surrounding privacy in real estate transactions, MarketWatch reports.Jill Comfort, a real estate pro in Phoenix, told MarketW
Millennial buyers are more diverse and mobile than their predecessors, and expect real estate professionals to be totally tech-savvy, right? According to certain data points from the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2018 Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends Report, that may not be universally true.The report, which is based on a survey NAR mailed out to a random, though geographically weighted, sample of 145,800 recent home buyers last
Could more future homes be 3-D printed? A San Francisco–based charity called New Story has partnered with construction technology company ICON to design a 3-D printer for building affordable homes across the globe in developing countries. The company is also showing off its 3-D construction progress in the U.S.The companies have a 350-square-foot home in Austin, Texas, which they are touting as the first 3-D printed house in the country that h
The number of real estate transactions involving cryptocurrency—like bitcoin and ethereum—have been on the rise, but real estate brokerage Culture Estate in Scotch Plains, N.J., wants to take digital transactions one step further. One of its agents, Manuela Londono-Osorio, recently accepted her commission check from the brokerage in the form of cryptocurrency.Manuela Londono-OsorioBroker Luis Leiva with Culture Estate says this is just the ne
Several new companies are introducing robots that could reshape how property is rented and sold. Robots are showing properties, creating floor plans, and shooting videos of homes and freeing the time of agents to focus on other tasks in a transaction. The Wall Street Journal recently featured several examples of where exactly the robots are heading into real estate. For example, Zenplace captured headlines in recent months when it started
Find the weak spots. Conduct a safety audit on your properties to find the most susceptible points of entry. In-window air conditioning units, fire escapes, and dark entryways are all common entry points for burglars, according to Ooma. Motion sensor alarms are one option for securing these areas. Secure ground level windows and patio doors. A simple yet effective way to add peace of mind is to make sure there’s a security bar or metal
5G’s lightning-fast network speeds are coming, and many cities are hoping to be the first in line. Dallas; Waco, Texas; and Atlanta will be among the first cities to receive AT&T’s 5G mobile network, while Sacramento, Calif., is slated to be Verizon’s first pick to get the fifth-generation wireless technology.Just how fast is 5G? It’s said to be 100 times faster and five times more responsive than the current 4G and 4G LTE, the techno
Millennials are the most powerful generation to ever hit the real estate industry or any profession, asserted Lennox Scott, president of John L. Scott Real Estate in Seattle, during a recent National Association of REALTORS® Power Broker Roundtable on millennials in real estate.“They are technology-infused and connected with community—they’re a reflection of the world we’re in, and I, for one, am happy to tap into the energy and exciteme
Driverless cars may sound like an idea ripped from a sci-fi movie, but the technology is real and expected to hit roadways over the next decade in a big way. As more people warm up to the idea, driverless cars could have a big impact on where people decide to live, according to a new poll from the National Association of Home Builders.Sixty-three percent of consumers recently surveyed said that if they owned a driverless car they would “defini
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