Hyper-personalised house searches and big data

Unlike the current process of scrolling endlessly through Rightmove, with just a few filters such as the number of bedrooms, house hunters of the future will have access to highly specific, personalised search engines.

These will scoop up big data, including social media interactions and web history, to form a ‘psychographic’ profile of the buyer's lifestyle, in order to present their dream home. A buyer’s expressed and intuitive desires which have been revealed on the internet will go towards their requirements for a home.

Douglas McCabe of Enders Analysis said: “‘Whereas today an online property system might filter by budget and number of bedrooms, consumers in the 2020s will expect it to plug in to their personal data and know that they want a house with a south-facing garden, close to a railway station that serves their office, a school specialising in music for their daughter, and a jazz bar that serves great craft beer.”

The report also suggested that house hunters would be able to trade access to their data to mortgage brokers, in exchange for a lower fee with their estate agent.

Drones

Technology will provide more ways to view properties, according to the report. Explore the outside of a house that is unreachable with a ladder, or check noise levels at night by using a drone that can be controlled remotely.

“As drone technology becomes more affordable, we imagine potential house-hunters will cotton on to its use for conducting those vital pre-purchase searches,” said Rob Ellice of easyProperty.