With the first waves of Generation Z now entering adulthood, their im- pact on trends will be even larger as they are entering the workforce and have more disposable income than the Boomers did. They stand to be the largest voting block and econom- ic influencer due to their sheer pop- ulation, more than the previous three generations as well as their digital and social organizational acumen. Having gained some understand - ing of the general differences of the trend influencers, let us look at some of the trends our industry can expect from our forthcoming clients. In my opinion, “smart-home” branding as it currently exists is flawed: it is a misnomer that misdirects consumer understanding as non-essential. It appears as a solution in search of a problem. MULTI-MARKETADOPTION WILL BE NECESSARY FORA TIPPING-POINT The tipping point for technology adoption in homes at-large will occur when the casual consumer re- alizes they can solve a problem (that they perhaps just discovered) with an obvious (and relatively low-tech) solution that they can understand and therefore are comfortable with it (purchase decisions are largely emotional, but rationalized by eco- nomics). They will see the solution as easy to adopt and feel confident it will work without requiring them to purchase a monthly subscription service. An investor in the real estate industry (whether flipping, lending, or holding as a rental) needs the economics to work, and understands value. Interestingly the drivers are inverted: In business, purchase de - cisions are driven by economics, but rationalized by emotion. As technolo-
"WE ARE INA SEAOF CHANGE. OLD TRENDS ARE DISAPPEARINGWITH NEW ONES TAKING ROOT.” - BRIAN WOJCIK
gy costs drop due to mass consumer adoption and reduced manufacturing costs, an opportunity arises to utilize older, less expensive technology in creative and meaningful ways to deliver value to the bottom line for independent housing providers and investors. Technology previously only available for large management companies will become common (and essential) for the small busi- ness real estate investor, providing them with greater confidence to improve operations and procedures, reduce risk, and better manage com - pliance requirements. When value is apparent and obvious, adoption will move from natural to necessary. TRENDSARE SHAPED BY YOUNGER GENERATIONS While Millennials have been mischaracterized as a generation without direction, they are passion - ate about correcting injustices, and their influence will largely shape the trends impacting real estate in the future. Being raised in the digital era, they have an ethos for immedi - ate gratification with intuitive sense of how technology can be used as a solution to pre-existing problems, Generation Z can overcome the inertia of long-standing problems
due to complacency and apathy of bureaucracy. The size and econom - ic impact of these two generations will influence the trends in the real estate market—from a shared econ- omy to gig employment—for decades to come. •
PLEASE TELLUS WHATYOUTHINK
Tell us. Write to us. We really want to know. Go to RealtyMatters.online and post a note. For Column Notes, Resources and Lan- guage Translation for this Column, go to: RealtyMatters.Online/Column/July-2020
BrianWojcik is a housing industry advocate who transitioned into real estate, both as an investor and property manager, after more than two decades of experience in
engineering, sales, executive management, and operational/business process reengineering consulting. He resides in Howard County, MD, where he volunteers to teach a “Tenant Success” program he created for Bridges to Housing Stability, and where he created Landlord411 to assist rental housing providers. His expertise of the independent- ly owned rental-housing market has been sought after for local and state level legislation/policy development. Mr. Wojcik has been published in national publications about legislative issues, affordable housing matters, and rental housing advocacy. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Manufacturing Management from Clarkson University and a Master of Science degree in Real Estate from The Johns Hopkins University. He is founder of diyRealty.co.
26 | think realty magazine :: august 2020
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