Emerging Trends in Real Estate
By: Buddy Shaw with www.OfficeSpaceAtlanta.com

When one speaks of Emerging Trends in Real Estate my mind begins to drift in any number of directions, including: interest rates on the rise, the overall economy gaining strength over the next year, increased occupancy rates of commercial office and residential buildings and construction on the rise in all sectors. All rather encouraging but boring to me, actually. When we speak of emerging trends in business (which includes the real estate arena) my ears perk up and my interest peaks.

I prefer to write about topics that should be near and dear to everyone’s heart in the Office Business Center Industry: emerging trends, creating deal flow and using the Internet to generate revenues.

Our economy as we see it today is rapidly changing. Business models that, 5 to 10 years ago, were fairly stable are now changing almost every six months. There is a giant wave overtaking our economy and it is being driven by the Internet. It has turned into a much different animal called “Globalization.” No longer is the marketplace at home. It has taken a giant step so that activities taking place in Europe directly impact our economy. The same could be said for almost every country on the planet. We are slowly emerging as one world and one global economy. With the advent of the Internet enabling even a single person to have a successful international enterprise in the marketplace, we are certainly in a very different place.

Today business leaders are struggling to keep pace with the Internet. While most of these leaders recognize the importance of the Internet and technology, in their overall business strategy they are all over the map when it comes to naming their firm’s priorities in embracing technology. A. T. Kearny did an interesting survey of 250 CEO’s in various industries. Many of the CEO’s (15%) said the Internet has changed their business entirely. In fact, 39% of the CEO’s surveyed were extremely active in e-business. Having said this, only 15% of the CEO’s interviewed had firmly established e-commerce initiatives.

The most startling fact to me was that the real estate industry had a firm place at the very bottom of all the leading business services and manufacturers. In fact, less than 1% of the entire real estate industry had fully embraced technology, put into place e-business strategies that would change some of their practices and begun to use the internet to generate revenues. Since this survey was completed, the residential real estate industry has begun an aggressive onslaught on various avenues and strategies to implement e-commerce initiatives. The commercial real estate industry is still asleep at the wheel but…it is only a matter of time.

The same opportunity is available to every single industry and it is only a matter of time before leaders will begin to see the advantages and apply it to their businesses.

My question to the Office Business Center Industry is…“Look, you have a great website (brochure wear) and you are using technology to increase the speed and efficiency of your business practices, great! What are you doing with the Internet to generate revenues and create deal flow?”

Today there are companies in your midst whose only goal is to generate leads (revenues) for the Office Business Center Industry. Don’t you think it would be wise to create your own e-business strategy and implement some e-commerce initiatives for your own business center, so that you can create your own leads (deal flow)?

If there is anything to be said for Emerging Trends in Real Estate, it would be the fact that we are now in a new and exciting Global Economy and that you must initiate change in your business to embrace technology and the Internet or you will be left behind.

What are the keys to success in generating revenues from the Internet?
1. Your website and how it is designed.
2. Using Search Engines and learning how they function.
3. Make sure your Website is “Search Engine Friendly.”
4. Be prepared to spend some advertising dollars.
It’s a great adventure and it can change your business in ways you never dreamed.