Site logo

Real Estate Development of the Future

The real estate industry can make more technological progress in the next 100 years than past five millenia.. Here’s a glimpse into real estate development of the future. It’s going to be unrecognizable from what we know today.

The History of Construction

There have been 4 major waves of technology, starting with the agricultural era. Between the stone age and the 19th century, humans made buildings out of wood, stone, and concrete. Architectural designs had plenty of variation. But for the most part, builders just stacked things in a way they wouldn’t fall down.

The 2nd wave was the industrial revolution, introducing new materials like iron, steel, and artificial cement combined with steam and electric power. These technologies enabled us to stack things way higher than before. So the first skyscrapers emerged in the 20th century. We also added new innovations like air conditioning, elevators, and curtain walls.

The 3rd wave was the information age. During this era, every industry except real estate development raced ahead in technology. OSHA started making construction sites safer though, so there’s that.

The 4th Wave of Technology

Now we are at the dawn of the 4th wave, defined by AI, nanotech, biotech, and robotics. This wave will have profound implications on what, and more importantly, how we will build buildings. If we fast forward 100 years, we can imagine what real estate development of the future could be..

By then, genetically enhanced humans will be able to amplify their physical and mental abilities with robotics and AI. Autonomous robots of all shapes, sizes, and functions will be everywhere. Nanotech should lead to some major breakthroughs in energy, thereby lowering the cost of production to near zero. Supposing we don’t self-destruct and the singularity doesn’t enslave mankind, we’ll be a godlike species, capable of telekinetically commanding swarms of robots.

Real Estate Developers of the Future

My job will be completely eliminated, but I’ll also be dead by then. So unemployment will be the least of my worries. Furthermore, I’ll have been on basic income towards the latter part of my life anyway. I believe money itself will also disappear at some point, but that will take much longer than a hundred years, so projects will still need to be funded.

Building Design of the Future

People won’t have to speculate about the highest and best use for a particular plot of land. It will be a group decision between city government and the landowner, heavily guided by an AI. The AI can drill down to personal data to predict housing needs in a city with frightening accuracy. Then they can optimize building designs for the predicted usage.

In 2020, companies like Zillow already have massive data repositories. While Zestimates suck, they’re taking the first step towards more precise predictive power.

Building Design of the Future

AI-designed plans would be instantly code compliant, so we wouldn’t need expediters or building departments. Humans don’t have to participate in the design process unless they want to leave their own personal mark.

In 2020, companies like Reonomy, Upcodes, and PermitFlow are digitizing code compliance.

The plans will also account for available funds and future cash flow. A banking AI could come up with an interest rate that precisely reflects the risk level based on the likelihood of the AI’s predictions.

Digital smart contracts can be drawn up within minutes, with total pre development time taking maybe a couple hours. Biotech advancements may allow contracts to be tied to your DNA, so you’re on the hook for life.

In 2020, fintech has already taken a few big steps towards entirely digital transactions. There’s too many companies to name working in this space.

Construction of the Future

Once construction starts, a swarm of autonomous nanobots, construction bots, and drones will get to work. They will either break down and reuse materials from the existing building, or source new materials.

Then they’ll assemble the design precisely to plan within a matter of weeks, if not days, depending on the size of the building.

In 2020, Companies like Boston Dynamics and Built Robotics have made the first steps. And MIT Media Lab is producing a lot of research on swarm robotics that’s not commercially viable yet.

Brokerage of the Future

Brokerage will be totally gone, I hope. But never underestimate the power of the National Association of Realtors. They have resisted the information age. They may use AI to resist the 4th wave and keep their 6% commissions.

Houses of the Future

By 2120, the planet will be overpopulated with astounding levels of inequality. Even though there will be a handful of trillionaires, quality of life will be pretty good for the entire population because the 4th wave will be able to provide a minimum level of basic necessities to every person at almost no cost.

One of those necessities might be a right to a few hundred square feet of living space. Most of the population will be living in cities by then, and the sharing economy will have evolved for 3 full generations. People will just not be very emotionally attached to stuff anymore because it’ll be more commonplace to use things without owning them.

Instead, people will be able to save their preferred dwelling unit configurations and bring it with them to whichever buildings they want to go to. They could save personal configurations like the size of rooms, layouts, wall colors, and furniture. Since robots could build entire buildings in weeks, nanobot swarms could reconfigure apartments within hours.

In 2020, AirBnb is taking the first step towards this and they’re about to raise a few billion dollars in an IPO this month. They have a moonshot lab called Samara where they’re building for the future of home sharing. A small percentage of AirBnb users have already adopted a nomadic lifestyle by bouncing from home to home with no permanent address. I’ve also mentioned Ori, a robotic furniture company that makes transforming walls so your apartments can easily take on different configurations.

I won’t be alive to see whether these predictions to come true, but The Proptech Scout exists to identify and promote best-in-class proptech to make real estate development of the future a reality.