Should I get solar? Not yet, transparent panels are the future

Transparent solar panels may be here sooner than you think.

Accordingly to Slash Gear, a team at Michigan State University has developed "a transparent luminescent solar concentrator which looks clear to the eye but can still harvest energy from wavelengths of light invisible to humans". Unfortunately, the team has not achieved panels that are efficient enough for use on your home just yet, but it seems that great strides are being achieved relatively quickly.

So, before you say yes to solar panels being placed on your roof, maybe you should just wait a few years to redo your sunroom with transparent solar panels and generate some power in the process.

Smart Home Must Haves

Donald Bell of CNET goes through simple smart home upgrades that are must haves for those techies in the real estate world.

Mr. Bell discusses the best in smart lights, outlets, smoke detectors, thermostats and locks that will change your home and change your life.

Go check it out

Google's Project Tango & The Interior Design Profession

If you haven't yet read up on Project Tango, you should.

This technology will enable 3D scanning of indoor environments with your cell phone or better yet, Google Glass, in the very near future.

Imagine a world where you put on your Google Glasses and its Apps suggest furniture that fits the space and thereafter places visuals of the furniture before your eyes.

Will you need an interior designer in the future?

As we always say to real estate brokers at our School, we are out of the days when you could simply match clients to earn money as a professional and we are now part of a value-add industry.

Perhaps, you will still need an interior designer in the future, but their job will have a different purpose.

Only the future can tell.

StreetEasy is Free

Zillow just announced that StreetEasy is now a completely free service and no longer has its $10 per month fee for advanced search features.

Plus, StreetEasy now has a terrific new website - so, go check it out!

Now users can get access to past sale prices, building permit applications, tax abatements and much more.

Google and the Smart Home

Google is on its way to creating the “Smart Home,” revolutionizing the way we live in the home and bringing advanced technology to everyday appliances and devices. In the beginning of January, Google bought Nest Labs for 3.2 billion dollars. For those of you that do not know, Nest is the founder of the Learning Thermostat, which adapts to your daily routine, saves energy in the home, and can be controlled from your phone. Millions of Americans have outdated and complicated thermostats that are left at the same temperature all day, which, in turn, waste energy and increase heating bills. The Nest Learning Thermostat brings efficiency to home heating and is the hottest home appliance on the market. More and more homeowners are attracted to the idea that the home will now “adjust to us” and our schedules.

There are already talks of Google creating more tools and appliances that are connected to the internet. This “Internet of Things” began with the smartphone but is expanding to include vacuums, toasters, thermostats, refrigerators, smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, and many other mundane but essential household items. Some are afraid that the Google-run Smart Home will invade homeowners’ privacy by gathering and analyzing their personal information in order to improve the Internet of Things and user-based advertisements. However, Tony Fadell, CEO of Nest, has recently announced that there will be no change in the current privacy policy for Nest. This technology should considered as something that is exciting and revolutionary and will only make our lives easier.

Tony Fadell  is also the co-creator of the iPod and iPhone. Instead of selling the company to Apple, he has decided that Google is the company that can best support Nest’s growth and development.  Google understands Nest and is eager to take people’s interests to a whole new level.

Real Estate Brokerage Law: Is AirBnB engaging in the unauthorized practice of real estate brokerage?

There has been a lot said about AirBnB these days. It's been called a disruptive technology (a compliment in the technology world) as a result of its leveraging the international sharing culture in real estate, by Gigaom, Fastcompany, and Techcrunch, among others. Yet, it has also been labeled as an illegal hotel site, which doesn't sufficiently warn its customers that their participation may be illegal as a violation of local transient laws. The latter appears to be the sentiments of New York State, as evidenced by the recent subpoena issued by the state's attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, seeking data on AirBnB's hosts. In response, AirBnB seems to be crafting a public relations campaign defending its business model by proposing that legislation be introduced at the state level requiring its users to pay taxes incident to their rentals. 

However, taxes and labels are neither here nor there. The real question is if AirBnB's business model is legal in the first instance, as their practice is quite similar to that of a licensed real estate brokerage in the state of New York, but without AirBnB having such licensing, according to the eAccessNY Occupational Licensing Management System......

See full published article by Andrew Lieb, Esq., MPH at the New York Real Estate Journal:  http://nyrej.com/66975#sthash.hltxB4mB.dpuf

Crowdfunding in Real Estate is Alive - Welcome GroundBreaker

On May 14, 2012 we predicted that crowdfunding would be implemented to create the next real estate tycoon.

Now, GroundBreaker has launched and the future is now. As the site states "Our real estate fundraising platform is now available to entrepreneurs of all sizes. We make it possible for you to efficiently fundraise from your extended network or the world".

So, entrepreneurs, its time to leverage the digital world to make brick and mortar rise!

The Internet of Things goes to your Lightswitch

Check out the future of light switches, bRight Switch system.

Here is what the company has to say about their product on the site:

"What if your lighting system could automatically learn what you want, turning on the lights without you having to lift a finger?

What if you could make the switch in the kitchen also turn on the light in the living room, and you didn’t have to call an electrician?

What if, wherever you are, you could plug in your phone without first hunting down the charger?

What if, instead of a wall switch, there was a full-color touch screen smart device packed that could be color coordinated with your room, provide security, intercom, wake up alarm, Internet phone and more?"

Here is a Gadgetreview article on the switch.

Remember, housing utilizing the internet of things sells.

Eating Hot - Now that's delicious

Hot Logic appliances offer the ultimate slow cooker as reported by CNET's Brian Krepshaw.

Check it out.



Now that's a kitchen.

Smart Housing - Its the Key

In our recent push for real estate professionals to know what is out there in smart technology for the house, we direct your attention to a door lock that uses bluetooth "to let you unlock your door by touching it".

Check out a great article on NFC-powered door locks and open a door into the future.

Dryer with Lint Detector - Safety Solution

ConsumerReports.org has an article called "Dryers get better at letting you know lint is blocking the vent", which discusses a technology that can prevent fires.

According to the article, lint is a "cause of an average of 4,400 reported dryer fires a year".

Technology that saves lives is here - check it out.

Corian Countertops that Charge your Phone - now, who wants granite?

Brought to you by DuPont, the future of housing is coming in countertops that charge.

As housing becomes more integrated into the internet of things, traditional materials will give way to those with higher functionality. In fact, companies such as Cisco see the internet of everything as the future of their business and worth billions in revenues.

So, before you replace that next countertop, think about its potential functionality beyond serving as a table top.