The reach of AI can be seen in almost all industries and aspects of our lives. But AI helping us to find and buy our dream home – that seems a little hard to believe right? Well, that’s because home-buying has always been considered a more hands-on, personal process. The thought of technology handling such a significant and emotional decision in our lives seems impossible. But guess what? The concept of AI revolutionizing our home-buying process is not only possible, it’s already happening. Yes, AI has made the otherwise complicated and lengthy home-buying journey into a much easier and less stressful process. Most real estate websites have now integrated a range of AI tools and features on their platforms to assist you in your home-buying journey, from start to finish.
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AI Tools and Features Found in Real Estate Websites
1. Personalized Property Recommendations – Homes Chosen Just for You
Real estate websites can now recommend homes based on your browsing history and preferences. This has been made possible by machine learning, which is a branch of AI that can learn from the data you provide and predict what you might like.
For instance, let’s suppose you’ve been looking at freehold townhouses with 2 bedrooms and a garage on a website. On real estate websites like The Canadian Home, AI will start noticing your search preferences and start recommending more properties like this once you visit the site again. You can get these personalized property recommendations even without you explicitly searching for them. The more you look for a particular type of house on a real estate website, the better the recommendations will get. This makes your house-hunting process easier and more personalized.
2. Home Value Estimation – Know How Much a Home is Worth
One of the trickiest parts of home-buying is finding out the fair value of a home. This is especially true if you’re clueless about the price of homes in the area and you’ve not hired a Realtor yet. But thankfully, most real estate websites now offer homebuyers a price estimate of the listings on their platform. The website uses algorithms to estimate how much a home is worth based on things like its size, location, as well as recent sales data in the area. These price estimates can give you a ballpark figure of what the home is really worth and if the asking price is fair.
The great thing about these home value estimation tools is that they not only work for the listings on the website. But also, for any home you’re interested in. For instance, let’s suppose you pass by a “For Sale” sign on a neighborhood you’re interested in. You can type in the street address on the tool, the number of rooms, and a few other basic details about the property. The AI tool takes this information and compares it to other similar properties in the area, gives you an estimate of the home’s value in seconds.
3. AI Chatbots – Get Assistance Anytime, Anywhere
One of the most convenient features you’ll find in a real estate website is the AI chatbot. These smart assistants are available 24/7 to answer your questions and provide more details about the listings. These chatbots can even schedule a showing for you. Because of these chatbots, you now don’t have to wait for office hours or to get a response from a realtor to proceed ahead. You can continue your home search process without any delays.
4. Investment Analysis – Understand the Profit Potential
Whether you’re buying your first home or are investing in a rental property, it’s important to know how much return you can expect on your investment/home. An easy way to know this is to check out the investment analysis section on a real estate website. Most real estate websites often help you understand the investment potential of a home by providing you with an estimate of –
- Estimated Rent
- Rental Yield
- Rental Score
- School Score
This investment analysis can give you a clear picture of whether a property will be a good investment for you or not.
5. Affordability Calculators – Know How Much House You Can Afford
“How much house can I afford?” – you must be trying to figure out the answer to this question right from the day you decided to buy a home. Fortunately, with AI-powered home affordability calculators, you can do this math without much stress and hassle. These tools can help you figure out how much home you can afford in just seconds.
To use this calculator, you would have to just enter a few basic details such as –
- The price of the home you’re interested in
- How much you can afford to put down for the down payment
- What’s the interest rate the mortgage lender has offered to you
Once you input these details, the calculator will give an estimate of your mortgage payments. You’ll get a breakdown of how much your total and monthly loan amount will be. The calculator can also give you a glimpse of your monthly expenses after buying the home like property tax, insurance, and others. You can even adjust the different variables like down payment, home price, interest rate, and amortization on the calculator. By comparing these different variables, you can see how your payments will be affected.
Just A Reminder – AI Can’t Replicate the Expertise of a Realtor
As you have seen, almost all the real estate websites today are packed with a lot of AI tools and features. With just a few clicks, you can find a home you like, book a showing, and even calculate your affordability. But homebuyers, keep in mind – when the time comes for you to take the big step and actually buy that dream home, there’s one thing you still need: the expertise of a real estate agent. A Realtor brings years of expertise, housing market knowledge and a personal touch to the table that AI just can’t replicate. The real estate expert can guide you through all the complex processes and paperwork, negotiate on your behalf, and help you avoid costly mistakes. Hence, make sure that there’s a Realtor by your side even when you’re using the best real estate website in your home-buying journey. By using both – the power of technology and the expertise of a Realtor – you can make your home-buying journey smoother, and more successful.
