“The More Things Change . . .”

[Editor’s Note:  In honor of Twitter’s IPO tomorrow, I thought it was timely to re-run this post from more than 4(!) years ago, offering my perspective on how technology and specifically social media are impacting residential real estate.  P.S.:  Oh — and I was right about Susan Boyle, too (remember her?).  Enjoy!]

Taken to their logical conclusion, innovations like Twitter are inevitably leading us, I suppose, to some sort of real-time, Borg-like mind meld (my apologies to Star Trek fans).

twitterAnd certainly, advancing technology is affecting how real estate is bought and sold (more posts on that in the works).

However, I think it’s fair to say that a good percentage of the advances relate to the speed and reach of people’s communication.

So, Susan Boyle is a nobody yesterday, and famous today (and back to a nobody tomorrow?).  Or, the street riots in Tehran are on display worldwide, notwithstanding the regime’s efforts to suppress eyewitness accounts.

In the meantime, real estate itself is surprisingly technology-resistant.

At the end of the (24-7) day, it’s still about bricks-and-mortar, or land, or some combination thereof.  That’s so even if the “bricks-and-mortar” are now high-tech composites, and the central nervous systems of buildings — homes included — are increasingly sophisticated.

“Nothing New Under the Sun”

I find that both a bit of a relief, and reassuring.

It reminds me of an experience I had in law school, when I argued a real estate case in moot court (simulated courtroom practice for novice attorneys, in front of a panel of attorney-judges).

Although I did well, advancing three rounds, I remember being thrown by one of the judge’s questions.

In particular, he wanted to know why I couldn’t cite any legal authority more recent than 1892 to support one of my arguments.

A bit flustered, I said that, actually, that still appeared to be the governing precedent.

Afterwards, the judge came up to me, and told me I should have “stuck to my guns” when he had pressed me.

“A century-old case is recent when it comes to real estate law,” he pointed out (correctly).

About the author

Ross Kaplan has 19+ years experience selling real estate all over the Twin Cities. He is also a 12-time consecutive "Super Real Estate Agent," as determined by Mpls. - St. Paul Magazine and Twin Cities Business Magazine. Prior to becoming a Realtor, Ross was an attorney (corporate law), CPA, and entrepreneur. He holds an economics degree from Stanford.

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