The Robotic Shift in Property Management
In the now-classic 2001: A Space Odyssey, robot HAL (Heuristically ALgorithmic Computer) murders the astronauts of the Discovery One, all the while addressing them with a chillingly measured, almost human voice. At the time HAL embodied society’s fear of technology going too far, creating an artificial intelligence that is self-aware and capable of emotion. But these days that cautionary tale has fallen to the wayside, as we continue to ask Alexa for the weather and Siri for Saoirse Ronan’s birthday. However, property management is far from immune from the robotic revolution. Implementation has in fact already begun, with some expecting robots to replace property managers entirely in the future.
One of the larger developments in the real-estate-meets-robotics sphere is Zenplace’s robots. The San Francisco-based property management firm had pursued innovation for years prior, and is known for its ability to implement powerful new technology to ease the management experience for both landlords and tenants. Zenplace’s robot acts as a friendly tour guide to prospective tenants. Appointments are set up online and a code is sent to the prospective tenant for the building’s smart lock, allowing prospective tenants access to the property.
The robot greets the visitor upon arrival and shows them the property, guided remotely by a licensed agent. The agent is also able to show visitors videos of nearby parks, schools, and offer up rental comparisons visually via the robot’s screen. Zenplace claims that this eases the rental process significantly, transforming a potentially month-long negotiation into a quick, seamless transaction that can take only a few days.
“We set out to change the property management and rental experience by providing property owners and tenants a faster and easier way to rent and lease,” Zenplace CEO Rahul Mewawalla told Bisnow. In addition to their foray into robotics, Zenplace implements machine learning technology to predict maintenance and repair for units, creating a proactive rather than reactive maintenance experience. This approach saves money and avoids potential delays caused by breakage, but in doing so it also implements a form of artificial intelligence.
Zenplace isn’t the only one exploring this new frontier, either. Singapore-based tech startup Travtus has two years of data from 250,000 New York City property managers’ work orders. The system recently underwent a tech accelerator program at Columbia, and as it gathers more and more data, it gets even smarter. Like Zenplace’s technology, machine learning-based systems like Travtus are facilitating property managers, saving them from menial tasks such as gathering data.
Of course, such intelligent advancements do send a shiver down the spine of the industry, at least for those who remember HAL’s murderous exploits. Some even estimate that machine learning technology and robotic tour guides will in fact make property managers and real estate agents obsolete in a few years. Today, residents can submit work orders online without relying on staff, and maintenance requests no longer require a middleman to coordinate a contract. Technology also allows lease agreements to be automatically generated, and renewal does not even require an agent if a buyer has done research ahead of time online.
So while property management agencies are implementing technology to ease administrative tasks, the risk remains that such technology will eventually render their role as a human manager obsolete. In 2016, BetterBuys estimated that property managers and real estate agents have an 86.4 percent chance of becoming fully automated, as automation is more fiscally viable. According to BetterBuys, the average national salary for a property manager sits at about $45,000 a year, compared to prices as low as $1.25 per unit per month for automated cloud-based technology.
Even now, the industry impact is significant. Less talent needs to be hired with technology expediting the process at every turn. Fewer hands are needed to collect data, address work orders, and even give tours of properties. Even homes themselves have become automated over the last few years, so it may not be a stretch to imagine the managers overseeing our property may soon become automated as well.
Of course, none of this is for certain, but as Zenplace, Travtus, and others continue to churn out innovative, tech-based solutions, the future may be just around the corner. We can only hope that new automated property managers are not as malevolent as HAL.
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