The average adult living in 1776 had less information available to them in their lifetime than what is provided to us today in a single Sunday copy of the New York Times. In 1865, the U.S. Civil War was practically over by the time knowledge of the war reached much beyond the shores of Europe. In the early 1900's American travelers to Africa were ask about "the great man Lincoln" as if he were still president.
Been to a construction materials conference lately? Recognize anything? Anything at all? Why replace a counter top when you can use a paint roller to cover the existing surface with material that has a granite-like finish?
Why carpet an entire room (ever again) when for less money you can install "carpet squares" allowing maintenance to replace only those areas of flooring that are worn or torn.
Have you seen the self-cleaning windows? Seems a bit of a stretch to me but no doubt the technology will be perfected in due time. What about elevators with 24-hour connect to service technicians that continuously monitor for irregularities.
And Wi-Fi. Sometimes I feel "so connected" my skin begins to crawl. Remember when "Tang" was all the rage because it was used in "outer space"?
At Oak Ridge National Laboratory (http://www.ornl.gov/) the Department of Energy just notified the world-at-large that their newest super computer, Titan, has the capacity to perform twenty million calculations per second. Twenty million! Per second!
The real estate business can seem monolithic; we change on an as necessary basis when change is forced upon us. Well, change is being forced upon us at an ever increasing rate. You think Craig's List is cool, what about property management software that creates and distributes your product across eighty websites with the click of a mouse (does anyone still have a wired mouse?).
For your own sanity it is better to adapt to change even if embracing it takes a while. Did you know that almost 25% of adults under the age of 25 have at least one tattoo? Change. It's here.
Please comment on the following questions:
• Question: What is changing the fastest within your organization or on property?
• Question: Who is driving change within the multifamily industry? Builders, owners, investors?
About This Blog
Multifamily Insight is dedicated to assisting current and future multifamily property owners, operators and investors in executing specific tasks that allow multifamily assets to operate at their highest level of efficiency. We discuss real world issues in multifamily property management and acquisitions. This blog is intended to be informational only and does not provide legal, financial or accounting advice. Seek professional counsel. www.MultifamilyInsight.com