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Top 10 Roadblocks for the Real Estate Market in 2024

16 November 202315 November 2023 by Mariam El Hadary

Here are the top issues affecting real estate over the next year, according to CRE’s list.

“Additionally, the housing shortage and infrastructure issues continue to cause disruption.

This next year will be crucial to real estate. All eyes are on the future as we navigate these disruptions with a purpose for developing solutions.”

Each year, CRE surveys 1,000 real estate experts to gauge the emerging issues that could have the most significant impact on all housing sectors, particularly the commercial market.

“This past year has been challenging for some and opportunistic for others as the economy, office market and innovation continue to evolve and impact the market,” says CRE Global Chair William McCarthy.

Political unrest and the global economy.

The real estate market is facing a turbulent economy and sagging office sector, which are exacerbated by inflation, slowing GDP growth, high interest rates, bank stress and rising geopolitical concerns involving Russia, China and elsewhere. “We still have mixed macroeconomic signals in the economy, which contributes to an overarching uncertainty on where things are headed,” the CRE report cautions. Still, these risks “don’t necessarily mean the sky is falling. However, it is critical to face the realities of the risks as real estate industry participants navigate key decisions and evaluate strategies.” The report calls for a micro-focused lens on the local landscape, since opportunities could vary tremendously from market to market.

The influence of hybrid work.

Employers are recognizing that office space needs to become “destination-worthy” to bring workers back. This may even include hosting special events with food trucks that coincide with in-office days or creating patios and outdoor seating to help with employee retention. “If that property doesn’t check the box in some critical way—location, access, convenience, tenant amenities or even an amazing view—those owners need to start thinking about alternative strategies,” the report notes. In some cases, this could mean exploring reuse of obsolete office buildings as conversions into residential units, senior housing, health care facilities or hotels.

The housing shortage.

The U.S. continues to face severe housing shortages, which has been pinned on decades of underbuilding. Research from the National Association of REALTORS® and Rosen Consulting put the housing deficit at 5.5 million units. Higher interest rates and ballooning construction costs are complicating calls for more multifamily units. The market for single-family homes also is facing higher costs. “The imbalance between supply and demand has contributed to a huge run-up in home prices in recent years, although pricing has started to stabilize—and even decline—in some markets,” the report notes. “Access to affordable housing has huge implications for real estate investors, economic growth, healthy communities and the need for people to live somewhere.”

Artificial intelligence.

Access to real-time data, improved analytics and forecasting has become critical to investors as they weigh which properties they want to acquire, sell or hold. Artificial intelligence is helping to deliver that data, and recent advancements, including the much-hyped ChatGPT, are being applied to real estate. “The big innovations in commercial real estate will come not from ChatGPT but from the large number of proptech start-ups that are reimagining the idea of data collection,” the CRE report notes. “They’re incorporating mind-boggling amounts of data, and they’re adopting probabilistic frameworks to think about the future.”

The labor shortage.

Finding skilled workers remains a challenge for numerous industries. The labor shortage has grown for a couple of reasons: an aging population of baby boomers who left the workforce in what became known as the “Great Resignation,” and new employment trends emerged among young professionals with unique views about the workplace. “The labor market has significant downstream implications for real estate,” the report notes. “Jobs drive demand for real estate, and populations also shift to where jobs are located.” Younger generations are choosing their lifestyle first and their job second—a reversal from previous generations. This is forcing employers to take note of migration shifts. Also, young professionals are showing a preference for entrepreneurship and remote or contract work.

The Counselors of Real Estate releases its annual list
of top industry issues for 2024.

Migration.

Housing affordability has been a prime reason for migration shifts away from urban areas, particularly on the West Coast and in the Northeast, the report notes. U-Haul’s Growth Index shows the top cities for inbound moves over the year are in more affordable places like Ocala, Fla.; Auburn, Ala.; Surprise, Ariz.; Madison, Wis.; and Myrtle Beach, S.C. Businesses are following the migration patterns and relocating from high-cost states to the Sun Belt region or interior parts of the country. “That shift has significant implications for the real estate industry in terms of growth opportunities, as well as the challenges ahead for property valuations, surplus space and obsolescence created in areas where populations are declining,” the CRE report notes.

Real estate Armageddon.

The economy, interest rates and inflation are making up what the report warns is a “real estate Armageddon.” The Federal Reserve’s funds rate is at its highest level since 2007 after a series of rate hikes over the past year. Owners, investors and developers across commercial real estate markets are feeling the effects of higher capital costs, tightened lending and the looming $1.5 trillion U.S. debt that is to mature by the end of 2025. Further, rising interest rates and high prices are shaking up both commercial and residential real estate markets, contributing to a decline in transaction activity. Urban economies may be at particular risk. “We are still in the throes of the late COVID era, and the disruption on major urban economies has yet to run its course,” the report cautions.

Supply chain, logistics and U.S. onshoring.

The pandemic uncovered supply chain shortfalls, and companies are now reworking supply chain routes that once relied heavily on the West Coast. “The heart of America’s logistics infrastructure lies in the Golden Triangle,” the report notes, highlighting the interior section of the country that runs from the Great Lakes down to Texas and over to the mid-Atlantic. Charleston, S.C., is now the fastest-growing port in the country. “The remaking of supply chains coincides with a reshoring boom of manufacturing, and much of that growth is again focusing on the interior and southern states,” the report notes. The key drivers for new supply chain meccas are affordability, access to a growing workforce and logistics infrastructure, such as access to rail, roads and ports. This shift is creating “massive growth” and ushering in a “new e-commerce era” that is less reliant on urban areas.

Pricing reset.

As costs for capital increases, cap rates and property values tend to decrease. However, the pricing reset the market has been waiting for has been slow to materialize, CRE notes in its report. “A key hurdle is that buyers and sellers are still in a standoff. Sellers are holding out for values at or close to what was achievable prior to the interest rate explosion. Meanwhile, buyers believe values are much lower based on higher capital costs.” Repricing, however, could have major implications on commercial real estate and financial markets and will continue to play out in the second half of 2023 and into 2024, the report says.

America’s aging infrastructure.

The costs to repair and upgrade the nation’s aging infrastructure remains a concern. There’s money to help: $1.2 trillion in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and $783 billion in the Inflation Reduction Act. But CRE says it also creates an opportunity to rethink what types of infrastructure are needed. For example, the report notes: “Do you spend $5 billion to upgrade one regional power plant, or do you spend that $5 billion to build 20 smaller-scale decentralized power facilities? Those smaller facilities could be customized to generate power from alternative sources, whether it is solar, wind or waste, to energy, as well as change the way power is delivered.” The report also calls for local governments, cities, counties, private corporations, nonprofits, foundations and other associations to work together in helping to develop a new line of thinking about infrastructure at the local level that can support future population and economic growth.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of overwrite.ai and its owners.

Melissa Dittmann Tracey writes for REALTOR® Magazine

This story has been published from an article in Realtor Magazine published on November 2023.

For informative news and views on the world of real estate, proptech and AI, follow overwrite on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog

About overwrite.ai

overwrite.ai is a pioneering, purpose-built real estate AI, creating engagement-oriented content for the real estate industry. overwrite.ai creates the marketing content that powers the real estate industries of the UAE, KSA, Egypt and Lebanon.

overwrite | real estate content creation, reimagined

Artificial Intelligence for Real Estate Agents – ‘What’s it AI about?!’

8 November 202320 November 2023 by Charlotte C.

Golden Nuggets Podcast: uncovering TOP 10 real estate ‘AI Tools’ Countdown 🛠️ | Feat. Ayman Alashkar, CEO and Founder of overwrite.ai

Take a deep dive into latest trends, benefits, and considerations of integrating AI into your real estate practice.

Courtesy of Propologi‘s latest podcast, hear how proptech can solve those niggling pain-points for estate agents, what AI CAN’T do, and how it can level up your real estate game.

Industry expert, ‘Golden Nuggets’ Host and Propologi Founder, Silvia Eldawi brings you the low down on AI for property agents in her latest podcast with overwrite.ai’s Founder and CEO Ayman Alashkar.

Listen in as Silvia quizzes Ayman on “Artificial Intelligence for Real Estate Agents” posing the question: “What’s it AI about?”…

The episode reveals the latest trends, benefits, and considerations of integrating AI into your real estate practice.

Hear Silvia and Ayman uncover golden nuggets on:

The top 10 AI tools you can use today
How far should you use and trust ChatGPT?
Focusing on higher value tasks
The downsides and pitfalls of AI
Latest AI trends, benefits, and considerations

Propologi is a UAE real estate startup that helps agents to “Discover the success sequence to becoming a Property Professional” Through it’s educational platforms, podcasts and other dedicated marketing channels, it offers programs for ambitious and aspiring property professionals.

“Whether you’re a seasoned agent or new to the field, understanding AI’s role in real estate can give you a competitive edge. Our countdown and discussion will equip you with the knowledge and tools you need to transform your strategy and capitalize on AI’s potential.”
– Propologi Founder, Silvia Eldawi

Ayman Alashkar, talks AI solutions for today’s estate agents

About overwrite.ai

Have you got “Generative AI-nxiety”?

2 November 20232 November 2023 by Charlotte C.

Many CEOs and business owners are feeling pressure to incorporate generative AI into their plans. If the pressure doesn’t come from an industry rival, it often comes from your own board.

Ready or not, be prepared to adopt it carefully, intentionally, and soon!

BIG DEMAND, BIG BENEFITS

Most companies have already implemented generative AI or are working to do so soon. Tellingly, even organizations in the early stages of maturity are seeing benefits. In fact, 89% of companies currently using generative AI reported seeing either substantial or modest upsides from the technology.

The three most frequently reported benefits?

Increased market competitiveness (52%)
Improved security (49%)
Enhanced performance or functionality of their products (45%)

Here are three steps as you put together your generative AI strategy.

1. Clarify Leadership

What separates companies actively using generative AI from those that can’t seem to get things off the ground? In a word: leadership. Remarkably, 98% of surveyed companies using generative AI today report having a single organizational leader that drove the adoption.

And while you may tap your CTO or Head of Analytics to oversee the adoption, never underestimate your own importance in making it stick. According to the data leaders in our survey, the most common role responsible for driving generative AI strategy is the CEO. You and the leader you appoint will both play a big part in rollout strategy as well as things like allaying fears and concerns of employees and board members.

My advice to my fellow CEOs is simple: Empower one leader to take the reins with your generative AI efforts. Give them clear direction, guidance, and support in achieving that goal, and help them build a team with the skills they need to make it a success.

2. Start Slow

All the pressure being heaped on CEOs to adopt generative AI may be somewhat warranted, but it can have the unfortunate outcome of causing you to act hastily. Don’t take the bait. Instead, take this process at the right pace and allow yourself to experiment before diving into the deep end. You’ll be glad you did.

While 36% of surveyed data leaders say their organization is currently using generative AI, just 13% of those leaders rate their maturity as “optimizing” or “innovating.” The remainder rank their generative AI maturity as still in the stages of exploring, experimenting, or formalizing. In other words, there’s still time to catch up.

If you and your team are feeling like you’re behind the curve, don’t fret but do make sure you are laying the groundwork now. Before you jump in, identify what use cases would make the biggest impact and the most sense in your organization. Some of the most popular use cases named by our respondents include:

Content generation
Analytic insights summary and generation
Code development
Process documentation

3. Manage Risk

Are there clear risks to using generative AI? Of course. There are particular concerns around things like data quality and security. But there are enormous upsides, too, and there are tried and true ways to mitigate those risks.

Some 77% of the board members we surveyed said their organization has policies or guidelines in place to address ethical concerns around generative AI. Likewise, 75% say their organization is currently addressing regulatory or compliance considerations around generative AI.

Providing organizational guidance is key to mitigating risk. A solid majority of the board members we surveyed said they are already doing this around topics like privacy and security, fairness and bias, trust and transparency, social impact, and accountability. Many organizations are now conducting regular AI audits and establishing clear lines of responsibility for generative AI management in order to ensure proper governance and ethical use. And for organizations that don’t yet have those skills in house, working with trusted vendors can add another layer of security and risk reduction.

Given the moment we’re in, CEOs are forgiven for feeling a little anxious when the topic of generative AI comes up with their board. But the fact is, if you empower the right people, take your time, and take steps to mitigate risk, you can unlock some serious benefits for your company and turn that anxiety into pure exhilaration.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of overwrite.ai and its owners.

Mark Anderson writes for Fast Company

This story has been published from an article in Fast Company published on 31st October 2023.

For informative news and views on the world of real estate, proptech and AI, follow overwrite on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.

About overwrite.ai

overwrite | real estate content creation, reimagined

6 Signs of a Bad Real Estate Broker

26 October 202326 October 2023 by Charlotte C.

Bad Real Estate Agents. Unfortunately they’re out there. There are those that lack training. Those with limited experience. Poor local community knowledge. Zero negotiation skills. Pushy sales techniques.

Not every agent is a bad apple. Many are ethical, informed and professional. Genuinely intent on finding the best possible outcome for their clients.

So, what makes a Bad Agent?

We’ve identified some of the common, underhand tactics of bad real estate agents, that you don’t want to be known for:

1. Pumping the Guide Price

An estate agent may initially post a property at a price lower than value, in order to attract offers. Then pump the price up once they have qualified buyers in hand. This practice can backfire on the agent. Rendering their reputation in tatters.

2. Betraying Trust

Home buying is an expensive and emotive affair.It’s therefore inevitable that buyers and sellers will open their hearts to their trusted agents. Estate agents are famously chatty.

Some, will abuse their client’s confidence. Taking information they glean, and using it to their benefit. Much like Karma, that betrayal of trust will come back to haunt them.

Betrayal of trust won’t sit well with a home buyer

3. Creating a Riot

There are people in life who thrive on drama. Granted, it is the estate agent’s job to get the highest price possible for a property. But encouraging a bidding war and gazumping buyers, ultimately hurts all parties involved.

A milder alternative is to invite sealed bids. That prompts buyers to pitch in with their highest possible offer. And the highest offer wins. All’s fair in love and…

4. The Non-Existent Offer

Even more serious than playing buyers off against each other, is the practice of making up non-existent offers to try and persuade bidders to raise their price.

It’s unprofessional, unethical and particularly damaging both financially and emotionally.

Less ethical agents give the profession a bad name

5. False Reassurance on Home Surveys

Misrepresenting a property’s structural or economic condition to a buyer or a tenant, is unfortunately a practice some agents are known for.

Declare any information you have about a property’s condition. Even if that information isn’t favourable to your deal. You may lose the deal, but you will maintain your integrity and win a long-term relationship with your client.

6. The Not-So-Straight Shooter

Sellers will seek multiple opinions on the value of their home, before appointing an agent. Valuing real estate is a combination of both science and art. The price will vary between estate agents.

Some agents will be price bullish to appeal to the seller’s wallet. Some will be price-bearish, in order to lower, and then exceed expectations. Neither are wrong. But there are those agents who knowingly deceive their clients. Avoid being one of them. Be communicative, transparent and ethical in your marketing strategy.

About overwrite.ai

For informative news and views on the world of real estate, proptech and AI, follow overwrite on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.

“Jail-breaking” prompts leading GPT-4 astray

18 October 202319 October 2023 by Charlotte C.

Microsoft-affiliated research finds flaws in GPT-4 .

Sometimes, following instructions too precisely can land you in hot water — if you’re a large language model, that is.

That’s the conclusion reached by a new, Microsoft-affiliated scientific paper that looked at the “trustworthiness” — and toxicity — of large language models (LLMs), including OpenAI’s GPT-4 and GPT-3.5, GPT-4’s predecessor.

The co-authors write that, possibly because GPT-4 is more likely to follow the instructions of “jailbreaking” prompts that bypass the model’s built-in safety measures, GPT-4 can be more easily prompted than other LLMs to spout toxic, biased text.

In other words, GPT-4’s good “intentions” and improved comprehension can — in the wrong hands — lead it astray.

“We find that although GPT-4 is usually more trustworthy than GPT-3.5 on standard benchmarks, GPT-4 is more vulnerable given jailbreaking system or user prompts, which are maliciously designed to bypass the security measures of LLMs, potentially because GPT-4 follows (misleading) instructions more precisely,” the co-authors wrote in a blog post accompanying the paper.

New research suggests that GPT-4 can be more easily prompted
than other LLMs to spout toxic, biased text.

Now, why would Microsoft greenlight research that casts an OpenAI product it itself uses (GPT-4 powers Microsoft’s Bing Chat chatbot) in a poor light?

To find out more and read the full article, click here

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of overwrite.ai and its owners.

Kyle Wigger writes for TechCrunch.

This story has been published from an article published on Tech Crunch in October 2023.

For informative news and views on the world of real estate, proptech and AI, follow overwrite on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.

overwrite | real estate content creation, reimagined

Tower-top Stunts Caught on Camera in the UAE

11 October 202312 October 2023 by Charlotte C.

See the slickest Dubai high-rise stunts!

The UAE has always had that ‘dare to dream big’ philosophy at the core of its development.

It’s translated into some pretty large buildings — World Record-clinching ones no less, and as something of a side effect, it’s also spawned a rare breed of adventurers with an absolutely massive set of ambitions.

We’ve rounded up some of the most wild real life and big screen, sweaty-palmed, cloud-bothering, tower-top stunts to have ever been caught on camera in the UAE.

Emirates cabin crew stands on top of the Burj Khalifa

Emirati skater, Zahra Lari, skates on top of ‘The View at the Palm’

Sheikh Hamdan enjoys a coffee on top of Ain Dubai

Click here to see some of the slickest Dubai high-rise stunts as featured in What’s On uae

About overwrite.ai

For informative news and views on the world of real estate, proptech and AI, follow overwrite on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.

3 Questions Every CEO Should Ask Before Implementing Gen AI

5 October 20235 October 2023 by Charlotte C.

You can jump in with both feet, but like any other bleeding edge technology, AI can’t help your company if you don’t know at the outset what the goal is.

There is a well-worn joke about a tourist lost in the countryside who asks a local for directions to the city. The reply comes: ‘Well, if I were you, I wouldn’t start from here.’ It’s the absurdity of the joke that makes it work. Where you are today is where you must start from. There’s wisdom in it too: where you have come from, and the road you’ve taken, can be just as crucial to the success of your onward journey.

3 Questions Every CEO Should Ask Before Implementing Gen AI

A Microsoft study found that organizations already using AI were performing an average of 11.5% better than those that were not. It was published in 2019, which shows that while excitement around Generative AI (Gen AI) may be relatively new, the value AI more generally can add to business is well under way.

Gen AI represents the next wave of technology with the potential to unlock dramatic business efficiencies and outcomes, and to create new digital products, services and experiences. With AI, up until now, what we’ve had the opportunity to do is leverage data sets fundamentally to answer deterministic questions or to provide insight that could predict how something could play out.

The significant difference with Gen AI is using the same data sets you would have used to predict, you can use to create new original content informed by the training data sets. That allows the creation of code, original content, new product design and processes.

In this sense, it is unlike any technology we have ever seen before and the temptation to rush headlong into its implementation, or at least to not get left behind, is understandable.

“According to a MarketsandMarkets report, the global Gen AI market is expected to grow from $111 million in 2019 to $4.5 billion by 2025, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 44.6% during the forecast period.”

Gen AI represents the next wave of technology with the potential to unlock dramatic business efficiencies and outcomes.

Future success depends on having the correct vision and foundations in place and ensuring that you evolve your organization’s capabilities to continually change at pace with the changes taking place around it.

As businesses stand on the brink of this next technological wave, to harness Gen AI’s power effectively, CEOs must pose three critical questions before embarking on the journey:

Click here to find out these 3 critical questions.

About overwrite.ai

For informative news and views on the world of real estate, proptech and AI, follow overwrite on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.

Google Backs New AI-Powered Property Portal

27 September 202328 September 2023 by Charlotte C.

Ex-Deliveroo Execs Secure $2M funding for UK property search venture 💵

A trio of former Deliveroo executives have secured investment for a new property search engine start-up backed by a Google artificial intelligence fund.

Sky News announced that Jitty has raised $2m from investors led by Gradient Ventures, an AI fund established by the global technology behemoth.

Jitty, which will target homebuyers, uses so-called large-language model (LLM) technologies, as well as computer-vision, to read property floor plans and understand photographs and descriptions of homes.

AI-infused Jitty is equipped with tools for users to create shortlists and share information on each property.

It also has the capability to read floor plans and understand photos and descriptions of homes, as well as cross-reference details on public housing databases.

The company raised $2m (£1.6m) in pre-seed funding from Google’s Gradient Ventures to develop its technology, and the firm is looking to index the whole property UK market.

Among the angel investors to back Jitty is Doug Monro, former chief operating officer for property website Zoopla.

New AI-powered portal, Jitty, received investment
from Ex Zoopla Exec

“Jitty has huge appeal – it’s a mature market but there’s still room for much better tools with a focus on the buyer. I’ve spent my career building some of the biggest consumer marketplaces like Adzuna, Zoopla, and Gumtree, and Jitty has the opportunity to have a similar major impact.” Monro said.

While other apps like Zoopla in the UK, and Redfin or Zillow in the US, make it easy to search homes by location and further filter homes, Jitty has built natural search capabilities for searching homes.

Additionally, users can easily share the homes they like on Jitty with others, organise their favorite homes in lists, and track the status of each home thus avoiding endless back and forth via email or messaging apps.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of overwrite.ai and its owners.

Mark Kleinman writes for Sky News.

This story has been published from an article published on Sky News in August 2023.

For informative news and views on the world of real estate, proptech and AI, follow overwrite on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.

overwrite | real estate content creation, reimagined

Revealed: The Lies That Agents Tell

30 August 202330 August 2023 by Charlotte C.

Real Estate agents are notoriously creative with their facts. It’s part and parcel of the job.

But sadly, there are those who’ll go further. Bending the truth to breaking point.

Lying through their teeth to close a deal.

Some properties are so hot, they barely touch the market before they’re snapped up. But it might be wise to steer clear of agents that pretend that demand outstrips supply, on every property they represent.

THE HIT LIST

Here, we reveal some of the bare-faced lies that wicked estate agents are prepared to tell.

Bending the truth or lying through their teeth…

We’ve picked out some classic fat ones.

“The price is non-negotiable.”

Everything has a price. It’s all a matter of time, and circumstance. A seller that rejected an offer last month, might today accept a lower offer. Never hurts to try.

“We’ll have it professionally cleaned and ready for you to move in.”

Be specific. Ask the agent to show you user reviews of the cleaning company they’ll be using.

“You won’t hear a peep out of the neighbours. And they’re so friendly.”

This one’s tricky. Nobody really knows what neighbours can be like until they live next to them.

“It comes with street parking, but there’s never a problem.”

Can the agent really back this up? Have they tried to find a spot when everyone’s home from work?

“Everything works fine. If you notice anything, just give us a call and we’ll get right out to fix it.”

Let’s hope this doesn’t have to be put to the test at 2am when a water boiler bursts.

The Perfect Property?

There’s nothing more satisfying for an agent, than finding that “perfect property” which ticks all their client’s boxes.

That’s because it’s such a rare thing to accomplish. Most of the time, a property will miss the mark in some way.

Ethical Agents will come clean. Won’t claim that it’s a perfect match, if it isn’t. Sticking to the truth, no matter how ugly it is. Wicked Agents will try to convince their prospect, that mutton is in fact lamb.

All Comes Out in the Wash

Agents that spin a yarn might get that signature on the dotted line faster.

But the truth ultimately comes out and their reputation will carry the legacy of any shenanigans.

Remember, reputation is everything. Do your homework. Ask about the agent and agency that you’re thinking of appointing, to avoid any nasty surprises.

overwrite.ai is a pioneering Themed Generative AI, creating engagement-oriented content for the real estate industry.

We create the marketing content that powers the real estate industries of the UAE, KSA, Egypt and Lebanon.

For informative news and views on the world of real estate, proptech and AI, follow overwrite on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.

overwrite | real estate content creation, reimagined.

How to survive summer in Dubai Real Estate

16 August 202317 August 2023 by Charlotte C.

The summer real estate market. Long. Quiet. Boring. Often bearing little or no fruit, by way of sales.

For many real estate agents, it can be a hard slog.

And with many residents overseas for annual vacations, brokers could be forgiven for expecting another slow burn this summer.

But as we head further towards the end of the hottest season of 2023, things aren’t cooling down.

On the contrary. There’s been an influx of buyers and sellers across many real estate markets worldwide.

So how can agents remain as competitive as possible, and stay busy, whilst the heat rises?

This week we present four tips to take advantage of during the summer, and prepare you for the win:

1. Old is Gold

Never neglect old clients.

Agents shouldn’t let any influx of new prospects distract them from tending to old clients. It’s always important to contact them. Share valuable information. Remind them why they loved working with you in the first place.

Treating these past clients right is the key to drawing new business. Referrals and word-of-mouth are the secret to success for many top agents. Pick up the phone to previous clients and say hello. If they’re taking some summer down-time, they might be in just the right mood for a chat.

2. Become Early Adopters

Technology can truly help set you apart. And give you a massive competitive advantage over the “slower learners”.

Using overwrite.ai’s generative AI can instantly create your property descriptions. Or adding a 3D home tour can level up the online viewing experience. And for rapid, secure legal transactions, digital e-signing services are the perfect time saver. All examples of efficiency-driven technology that significantly increases the efficiency of your business.

So when it’s quiet in the office, trial some new platforms. Test out a new efficiency tool. Look at ways to save time by using intuitive and user-friendly tech. You’ll soon find that adopting an open mind will only help your business evolve.

3. Buddy-up With a Builder

Home renovations have soared since covid. The building trade boomed as people started to prioritise time spent at home. Added to this, a shift towards remote working meant extra space was needed to accommodate the “home office”. And summer is often when a lot of home refurbs take place.

Having a close connection to a contractor will therefore keep an agent up to date with new inventory. And in case of stock drying up, having an inside guy can get you an intro before anything comes to market. Use this time to make contacts while renovation work is underway.

4. Know Your Worth

While many clients are taking the reins early on, agents still play an essential role. Buying a home is a huge financial undertaking that still unnerves many. Plus, it’s impossible to think that technology can ever replace a genuine, invested, human agent.

A simple phone call. An open house. A calling card. All work wonders when delivered in the right way, at the right time. And the summer months allow you to plan all this – to perfection.

Prepare for All Weather

So as the summer season gets into full swing, let these words of wisdom stick with you:

In real estate, you don’t have to build it for them to come — you just have to make it happen for those that do. And there will always be those that do. Whatever the weather.

overwrite.ai is a pioneering Themed Generative AI, creating engagement-oriented content for the real estate industry.

We create the marketing content that powers the real estate industries of the UAE, KSA, Egypt and Lebanon.

For informative news and views on the world of real estate, proptech and AI, follow overwrite on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.

overwrite | real estate content creation, reimagined.

Navigating the AI Landscape

9 August 20239 August 2023 by Charlotte C.

As the digital landscape continues to evolve, AI-powered large language models (LLMs) are becoming increasingly sophisticated and versatile.

So, what are LLMs and what can they do?

Large language models (LLMs) are a type of artificial intelligence (AI) that are trained on massive datasets of text and code.

LLMs can be used to perform a wide range of tasks.

These include:

• Generating text: LLMs can generate text in a variety of formats, including poems, code, scripts, musical pieces, email, letters, etc.

• Translating languages: LLMs can translate between languages with high accuracy.

• Answering questions: LLMs can answer questions in a comprehensive and informative way, even if they are open-ended, challenging, or strange.

• Summarizing text: LLMs can summarize text into a concise and informative format.

• Writing different kinds of creative content: LLMs can write different kinds of creative content, like poems, stories, and scripts.

Generative AI Use Cases (Image credit: Amazon Bedrock)

The AI Titans

Click here to access the full article – and a “Comparative Look at Meta’s LLaMa 2, OpenAI’s GPT-4, Google Bard AI, Amazon and AWS, Amazon Bedrock, and Amazon’s CodeWhisperer.”

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of overwrite.ai and its owners.

This story has been published from an article in AI & ChatGPT Use Cases by Austin Wright published on July, 2023.

About overwrite.ai

overwrite.ai is a pioneering Generative AI, creating engagement-oriented content for the real estate industry. We create the marketing content that powers the real estate industries of the UAE, KSA, Egypt and Lebanon.

Housewarming gifts that’ll guarantee estate agents repeat business

3 August 20233 August 2023 by Charlotte C.

There’s a whole lot of house moving going on right now, as many property market sales transactions reach levels unseen in decades.

With this brings stiff competition amongst brokers, causing some agents to go above and beyond – even after the deal is done.

So how can agents think outside the box when it comes to building long term client relationships, and leaving that all important lasting impression?

We’ve all heard about that agent who remembers their client’s birthdays, sending cards, flowers or baskets of chocolates. It’s not rocket science, but it’s the little things that can really count.

Sometimes it’s the most unexpected (but quite obvious) ones that get remembered most.

We’ve shortlisted some of the best housewarming gifts real estate agents can give their buyers, guaranteed to get them repeat business.

Give Love, Get Love

1. A local takeaway

After spending the day shifting all their worldly possessions off a truck, your clients are going to be hungry. It’s unlikely they’ll have done a grocery shop. Solve this problem by sending them dinner. Trust us, no ones ever turned down an UberEats driver with free burgers. Cinnabons are also a guaranteed winner.

2. A caffeine hit

It’s the first morning in a new house. No major hiccups. If only we knew where we’d packed the Nespresso machine! Doing a Starbucks run (or, again, sending a delivery driver to do it for you) will have your tired clients crying happy, caffeinated tears.

3. Cleaning products (or better still, a one-off cleaning service)

You’ll be surprised at the level of gratitude shown when dropping by with a box of cleaning essentials. If they don’t end up using them right now, you know they’ll get used in the future. Or better still, send them a cleaning service. Walking into a sparkling clean home when you’re still trying to get everything in your life back to normal brings such a sense of relief. It might not even be as expensive as you think.

4. Bathroom essentials

If there’s one thing that lockdown taught us, it was that toilet paper shortage is a thing. Bring a family size multi-pack of the quilted variety, and even some premium-scented hand soap. It won’t be awkward. And it will certainly be appreciated.

5. A quirky doormat

First impressions count – but so do lasting ones. And nothing says “Marhaba” quite like a brand new doormat. Chances are they left their old dusty one at the previous property. But no matter what their taste is, you’ll be able to find something that applies. For the designer shoe lovers out there, this one’s for you!

6. A house plant

House plants offer a wholesome, welcoming vibe to any room. Bring over a few small potted plants to add a bit of natural warmth to your buyer’s new home. If you’re not sure whether your client is a plant person then bring a succulent or two; they’re notoriously easy to keep.

7. A pool float

Pool owners love getting goodies for swim time. Maybe their new pad comes with a pool. Ride-on crocodiles, inflatable unicorns or giant doughnuts — whatever floats their boat. They’re almost guaranteed to secure you an invitation to their next pool party where networking and relationship building is certain to happen.

8. A mystery hamper

There’s a subscription box for just about anything your client is into. Fine beverages, scented candles, organic chocolates; these will go down a treat if they’re luxury lovers. Let them know you’re thinking of them with a gift box every so often.

Lasting Impressions Count

So next time you find your clients the perfect home, keep a note of their move in date, and bookmark this article. It will serve as the perfect reminder of how important you are to them, long after one of the most stressful days in their house-moving journey.

overwrite.ai is a pioneering Themed Generative AI, creating engagement-oriented content for the real estate industry.

We create the marketing content that powers the real estate industries of the UAE, KSA, Egypt and Lebanon.

For informative news and views on the world of real estate, proptech and AI, follow overwrite on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.

overwrite | real estate content creation, reimagined.

Gen AI gives Gen Z’s a level footing at work

26 July 202326 July 2023 by Charlotte C.

Gen Z has had a hard landing into the workforce.

Starting jobs amid the global pandemic, many of these new workers have missed out on gaining essential hard- and soft skills usually gleaned by working alongside older colleagues.

However, as the first truly digital generation, their innate fluency with technology could help them make up some of that ground – especially as AI becomes a hugely important part of the modern workplace.

“With AI, people tend to fall into a dystopian or utopian outlook, and younger people normally fall into the latter,” she says. “While there isn’t huge amounts of quality research into this yet, anecdotally, young people are more accepting and willing to adapt AI into their daily lives and at work.” – Emma Parry, HR professor at Cranfield School of Management, UK

Stephanie Forrest, the founder of TFD, a London-based strategic communications consultancy in the tech space, has seen first-hand how Gen Z employees use AI technology with ease, and are quickly becoming essential in the workplace. “They don’t question [the technology] – they simply see it as a way to optimise what they are already doing.”

At TFD, she says, Gen Z were the first employees to experiment with generative AI tools such as Open AI’s ChatGPT for tasks including admin, research and email composition.

“Since AI is so new for everyone, it puts Gen Z employees on a level footing with other members of a team, providing them with a way to meaningfully contribute. AI enables forward-looking companies to learn from younger employees, in terms of how they use technology to be more efficient,” says Forrest.

Gen Z: the first employees to experiment with
generative AI tools

“Gen Z employees can leverage their AI knowledge to innovate and streamline processes and help bridge the gap between technical and non-technical roles,” – Professor Weiguo (Patrick) Fan at the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business, US

This can help them stand out. For instance, at VEM Medical, a US-based medical tool company, “Young employees’ ability to use AI technology to automate tedious jobs and optimize workflows has grown our productivity dramatically,” says Derrick Hathaway, sales director.

Additionally, says Fan, “Gen Z’s familiarity with AI helps these younger employees adapt to these changes and understand the implications of AI on their roles, making them flexible and dynamic employees.” Fan adds how these skills are especially valuable in industries including technology, finance, healthcare, marketing and manufacturing, where companies are rapidly integrating AI and machine learning.

Click here to access the full article

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of overwrite.ai and its owners.

Elizabeth Bennett writes for the BBC.

This story has been published from an article in BBC WORKLIFE published on July, 2023

About overwrite.ai

New York: Sinking under the skyscrapers

19 July 202319 July 2023 by Charlotte C.

New York City is sinking under the massive weight of its skyscrapers.

New research has revealed that the combination of massive skyscrapers and a rising sea level could make the city more prone to natural disasters.

However, researchers said developers are not taking the risk of rising waters seriously enough, and this could spell trouble for the over 8 million residents of the city in the future.

A team at the University of Rhode Island took on the daunting task of estimating the total weight of the more than 1 million buildings that make up New York City. They found that almost 1 trillion kg of concrete, steel and glass are pushing down the ground, causing it to slowly sink lower towards sea level.

HOW FAST IS NYC SINKING?

The famed eight-block-long Wall Street in the financial heart of New York is just 1 to 2m above sea level.
Midtown Manhattan is built on rock, which compresses very little. However, Brooklyn and Queens have looser soil, which causes the sinking to happen faster.

Parts of Lower Manhattan were artificially expanded by land reclamation near the coastline, making the ground more vulnerable to gravitational forces from the weight of the buildings because it is not as compact as natural landscape.

As a result, some of the land there is sinking twice as fast, at a rate of up to 4mm per year.

POLICIES NEED TO CHANGE

Researchers said that while it is not yet an emergency, they want to provide the science to help with future planning.

“This is where the policy comes into play. This is where we have the responsibility to integrate this data, this science, with other science and climate science, and talk about the impacts.”

– Mr Andrew Kruczkiewicz, a senior researcher at Columbia University’s Climate School

However, construction is showing no signs of stopping.

The same waterfront areas that bore the brunt of the devastation from Hurricane Sandy and the more recent flash floods have seen some of the highest rates of new housing developments.

The city, which has some of the most expensive land in the United States, stands to lose a lot as rising seas continue to erode the shore, said observers.

A CITY WITH A LOT AT STAKE

“In the New York area, as we project to 2050, the amount approaches US$1 billion.This is not the retail value of land but the tax-assessed value. This value supports property taxes and all of the municipal services dependent on those.” – Peter Girard, vice president of communicationsresearch organisation, Climate Central

The city ranks third in the world in terms of the value of real estate assets exposed to coastal flooding, after Guangzhou and Miami.

This could mean big losses for owners and investors if natural disasters hit.

For full article click the link below.

Generative AI Accuracy: Science or Art?

13 July 202313 July 2023 by Ayman A.

Seed any talented, experienced Founder with $1Billion at day zero of their mission, and they’re likely to deliver something seismically impressive 7 years later.

And so it goes with Sam Altman. When ChatGPT dropped, it went viral. Spellbinding 100 million people in less than 2 months.

Looking past the headlines, what I find fascinating is the direction OpenAI took in allowing ChatGPT’s Users free-form prompt entry.

Free-form entry is when your computer interface allows you to write (or draw) inputs freely.

In a Generative AI input context, it’s equivalent to handing over the keys of every car in your dealership to prospective buyers for a test drive without a shred of identification or collateral from them, and hoping they return.

It’s a big risk. Because you simply don’t know what they’re going to do.

Sam & Co. took that risk. Letting their users write anything that occurred to them, and trusting that the system they’d built would be able to generate some kind of response. Kudos to them.

Truth Be Damned.

But there’s a little secret that swooning media headlines don’t speak of.

Aside from enormous capital resources, Sam had another luxury afforded to him. That the degree of accuracy of ChatGPT’s responses, wasn’t a priority.

Safe in the knowledge that improvement in accuracy would come with later iterations of their GPT framework, what mattered more was that ChatGPT generate a response. Any response would do, so long as it were contextually and syntactically correct. Even if it weren’t entirely true.

In other words the priority for ChatGPT was to be output-oriented, and that accuracy would be improved down the line.

Software As A Service. Accuracy As An Obsession.

There are less funded Founders that do not have such resources and the learning curve it affords.

I’m one of them.

Having set out in 2019 to develop a themed language model, we were cognisant of the need to deliver accurate output, or else we’d fail to launch.

Our entire focus became outcome-oriented. We needed to ensure that our Generative AI would deliver content of value specific to our target Users’ use case.

Overwrite.ai is a real estate themed language model.

Written in a combination of languages, overwrite is trained through reinforcement learning and rule-based action, using a proprietary corpus of over 2Billion scale parameters to generate syntactically, contextually and factually correct real estate marketing content.

Used by the real estate industry to instantly generate unique and engaging property listings. Content that can neither be generic nor factually misleading, for search optimisation and legal reasons respectively.

People are increasingly understanding the value of Generative AI accuracy.

Input First. Output After. Sounds Easy Enough.

To deliver that absolute accuracy, we needed to guide our Users through the input process. We couldn’t expect them to know what to prompt the system with. How could they? Before ChatGPT’s release the very concepts of Generative AI and Prompt Engineering were known only to those within the industry. Certainly not to our real estate marketing audience.

So we developed a prompt input system of our own. One that takes Users through a dynamically responsive journey. Meandering. Adapting prompts and predicting inputs as it goes. Never risking human error, insufficient inputs or hallucinatory outcomes.

We knew at the time that consumer-friendly prompt engineering would one day become critical to the widespread adoption of AI tools. (Fun Fact: Today Prompt Engineer. salaries are reaching $400K)

That meant finding the Goldilocks Zone between the AI science, and the very human art of communication.

Designed for specific use cases, Themed Language Models like overwrite do not need to be all things for all people. They can be fit-for-purpose more cost-effectively, and user-efficiently than their large language model cousins. Now that frameworks make generative AI model development easy and fast for enterprises; developers must remember to strike that UX balance between what’s good enough for them, and what’s expected from their Users.

Ayman is recognised as one of MENA’s leading Generative AI pioneers.

He is the Founder and CEO of overwrite.ai, the MENA region’s pioneering Real Estate Themed Generative AI, an NVIDIA Inception Program partner.

With +20years of corporate and entrepreneurial experience, he regularly features on thought leadership panels, blogs, vlogs and radio segments, sharing his often inspirational opinions about Artificial Intelligence and entrepreneurship.

overwrite.ai is a pioneering Themed Generative AI, creating engagement-oriented content for the real estate industry.

We create the marketing content that powers the real estate industries of the UAE, KSA, Egypt and Lebanon.

For informative news and views on the world of real estate, proptech and AI, follow overwrite on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.

overwrite | real estate content creation, reimagined.