Table of contents
Introduction
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has impacted all spheres of human existence, including home-buying. AI offers you even the minutest details of a locality, from its topography to traffic conditions. But can it replace the human touch in home buying — can it experience that feeling of walking into a property and instinctively knowing that ‘this is home’? In this blog, we take a look at the steps in home buying that AI is better at and those that AI can’t replace (yet). Read on.
What AI is adept at
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Perfect property searches
Gone are the times when you had to spend hours and days visiting the offices of developers and real estate dealers, minutely reviewing the details of numerous properties. Today, AI can do a much better job of it — faster and more thoroughly. Within seconds, it can scan through vast data from various sources to find properties that match your preferences exactly, including location, budget, amenities, and property size.
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Vivid virtual tours
Stressed about scheduling visits to all the properties you have shortlisted during the search for your dream home? Worry, not. Virtual property tours with AI have revolutionised the way home buyers view potential properties. With AI-powered Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies, you can now enjoy immersive virtual tours — with even the minutest of details shown — of each property from your current location. This saves time, effort and travel expenses, and allows you to shorten the list further. Once your choice of properties is narrowed down to two or three, you can pay a personal visit.
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Customisation to the core
Have some doubts about a property you just visited? Or, do you want to schedule a visit to another? There’s no need to wait for ‘office hours’ anymore. You can ease the home-buying process with AI. Here’s how: AI chatbots and virtual assistants are available 24/7. You can engage with them in real-time, get your queries answered, receive property recommendations and even schedule visits.
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Accurate analysis
Buying a home is not just a dream come true for most people, but also a huge financial investment. And so, it’s always better to stay well-informed about the market trends — both micro and macro — before you take the plunge. Through predictive analytics, AI can provide you with accurate and thorough information in this regard. It can evaluate vast amounts of data — both past and current — and predict future market conditions and property values, helping you make well-informed, sound decisions.
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Swift loan sanctioning
AI enables both the lender and the buyer to expedite the loan approval process. As a buyer, it saves you the effort of visiting multiple websites of various banks and financial institutions, searching for a good offer. AI will provide you with all the details you need at one go. It also enables the lender to fast-track the approval process through automated document verification and assessment of your creditworthiness. While creditworthiness was previously evaluated based on credit scores and other basic financial information, AI can illuminate many more factors, including your spending habits, employment history, and income stability.
Where to avoid AI
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Dealing with documents
You can’t complete your entire home-buying process with AI. Document verification is one such aspect. Buying a property involves numerous crucial papers — sale deed, mother deed, possession certificate, khata certificate, occupancy certificate and so on. You cannot expect AI to go through all these papers and make complex legal judgements like a lawyer would do. There’s a risk of misperception where AI might overlook certain jargon and its context, or even fail to notice fraud. Your lawyer will do a much better job of noticing any discrepancies and alerting you.
To know about all the documents you must verify before buying a home, read this blog.
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Personal touch matters
Author Chetan Bhagat recently said, “AI can have a skill, not an art,” while referring to the role played by AI tools in writing. Well, the same applies to home-buying as well. What makes your home unique and special is your personal touch. AI can help you with the perfect interior design by showing you thousands of sample images, but perhaps miss that original and natural feel — what you call the beauty of imperfection. A craft item made by your child on the wall, a rug gifted by a loved one on the floor, or a souvenir from your first trip together occupying a place of pride in the drawing room — AI might not be able to reflect your emotions in your home.
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Emotions over AI
Don’t let an algorithm overrule your need for human bonding. While AI can shortlist the best properties in the market for you, it might not be able to fathom some of your ‘human’ needs. For example, AI can’t tell you if the neighbours are helpful and friendly, or if there are other children in your child’s age group in the building. Developing a social circle in your locality or your child finding the right company in the neighbourhood might be extremely important factors for you when buying a home, but AI may not be adept at considering these.
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Trust your gut feeling
There’s nothing ‘artificial’ about human instinct, so listen to it. Consider this scenario: AI has suggested a perfect property for you based on all your preferences. Yet, when you step inside, something feels amiss, and your instinct tells you not to buy it. What should you do in such a situation? Always go with your gut feeling. AI is not equipped to understand the vibes of a place or subtle cues — often subconscious — to tell you that the best option need not always be the right option for you.
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Flexibility and adaptability
Human decisions are flexible, but AI might have certain limitations when it comes to taking decisions by adapting to new situations and changing needs. For example, you have been looking for a 3BHK, but your son/daughter suddenly decides to move out after getting a new job. Will AI suggest that, in light of the new development, a 2BHK might be a better option? On the other hand, that’s something your human realtor might have suggested.
Conclusion
In terms of speed and accuracy, it’s a great idea to avail of AI’s assistance when making technical decisions. However, at the same time, what makes a house a home is the human touch. So, always maintain a balance when initiating your home-buying process with AI. To know more about AI assistance in home-buying, read this blog.
FAQs
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What are some of the ways in which AI can be used in your homes?
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How does an AI mirror work?
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Do smart homes reduce energy consumption?
You can use home robots for specified tasks, install AI-enabled security cameras, AI television, smart home devices and locks, and virtual reality gaming tools.
They can scan and monitor your health in real time, enabling fast assessment. They can also help you in your fitness journey, giving you personalised suggestions and feedback. In India, they are available for personal and commercial use.
Yes, smart homes can save energy consumption in your homes by up to 20%. Smart appliances like motion-sensor lights, smart switches that prevent overload, track power usage, and turn off and on at scheduled times, as well as geysers and heaters that automatically turn off, are all effective in reducing power consumption.
Sources
Black Tie Moving | Maket AI | Vieira & DiGianfilippo | Security Journey | ARC | AI Magazine | Tata Power
