Do you remember the days when real estate offices would cover their windows in printouts of property listings? You could walk down any main street and “window shop” for a new home.

It wasn’t the most practical system: the printouts weren’t large enough to contain all of the information and images you wanted to see, there was no way to narrow down the selection of properties you were looking at, and every office had its own set of listings that you had to compare. You might be able to browse listings in newspapers or drive around looking for “For Sale” signs, but that hardly simplified the process.

These days, real estate is radically different. It is so convenient to search for and buy a property from the comfort of your home that it’s hard to believe how recent these technological changes are.

Selective Searches

Have you ever tried scrolling through an online marketplace, looking for just the right item, without using any filters or search terms to find it?

Probably not, because that would be a ridiculous waste of time.

However, that’s what looking at real estate listings used to feel like. There was no way to search by price range, number of bedrooms, or size of property. Instead, you would have to read through all of the details to find out if a certain listing suited your needs.

With websites like Realtor.ca, you can now filter results as much as you want to make sure that every listing you see is relevant to your search.

Realtors can even set up specific search alerts that send you a list of new properties that meet your criteria whenever they come on the market. Talk about saving time!

Virtual Visits

Another part of the real estate buying process that can be quite time-consuming is driving to various properties to view them.

Of course, nothing will ever compare to seeing and experiencing a house in person. However, today’s high-quality videos and 360-degree tours can get you pretty close.

Virtual visits have made it possible to narrow down the list of potential properties without having to book showings at all of them. That way, you only need to book showings for the homes you’re really serious about.

Video conferencing has also made it possible for Realtors to show properties to remote clients. “Facetime Tours” and the like allow clients to get that up-close-and-personal, even without being physically present. Realtors can show the home in detail and talk about observations they’ve made that the clients can’t experience over video (i.e., how sturdy something feels, any unusual smells).

Digital Deals

Did you know that you can complete a real estate transaction without ever meeting your Realtor in person?

While most people will still accompany their Realtor to showings, and maybe even meet with them at the office, you could, in theory, complete a deal from a distance.

This is because all real estate paperwork is now generated digitally and can be signed digitally as well.

When it comes to making a timely offer, the option to sign digitally is extremely convenient. Rather than trying to meet at your Realtor’s office, you can speak to your agent over the phone and have the documents sent to you immediately for signing.

Real estate offices also file their paperwork online, making the process very efficient and streamlined.

Better Banking

Thanks to technological advancements in banking, even payments and deposits are simpler to do.

There are now plenty of options for making your down payment: e-transfer, wire transfer, bank draft, or the traditional cheque method. Depending on what you choose, you may even be able to make the payment(s) from your phone.

At the very least, it is often as simple as walking into a bank and giving them the right instructions for sending money directly to the real estate trust account.

Technological advancements, even over the last decade, have completely changed real estate. It is now so much more convenient to complete a real estate transaction, even remotely. And you are able to save time by having more control over the property searching process.