The beginning of the end…
I gotta see it. Just through the next set of bushes.
Quick, quick, quick. It starts in a minute. Through that barrage of f-bombs, my dad said 9pm.
Ah, there it is. I can see it through the bay windows.
Its way bigger than I expected. Almost five feet tall. It kinda looks like a sexbot if Jobs had designed it. Glossy white with sleek LEDs for eyes. Sexy and inviting.
A young couple approaches the front door to the house where the bot is.
“Steve and Jill, welcome to 156 Pinewood! Please come in.” the bot says in a soothing female voice. I guess the voice artist behind Siri is still putting in the hours at the studio. The couple entered the house.
Slow, very slow. Any quick movement and they might see me.
Peering inside I could see the bot saying “this tablet will make it easier to follow along with the features I’m pointing out. Feel free to use it or verbally tell me if you’d like to skip to another part of the tour. We’re starting off in the kitchen to your right.”
The bot is thorough. I bet it never gets tired running over the same spiel. Are they asking it a question? Damn! Its covering the whole downstairs without any help.
As they approached the stairs to head to the second floor, the bot launched a small drone to continue the tour. I guess this model doesn’t climb spiral staircases very well. “I’ll beat you to the top,” the drone exclaimed in a jocular tone.
Whoa, its a transformer!? Bots within a bot.
Eventually, the couple made their way back down towards the doorway. The drone re-joined the main bot and asked the couple if they had any final questions. “Do you know how good the school system is in this area?” asked the woman. “Its the second best rated public school system in the state,” responded the bot after a momentary pause. “What can we expect for a utility bill each month for this home?” asked the man. “The current owner pays roughly $200 per month in the summer and a little over $300 per month in the winter,” responded the bot in short order.
Shit. I doubt my dad would have known that offhand. He’s handling a couple dozen homes right now and he is barely keeps my basketball schedule straight.
“I’ll email you a transcript and video of our tour so you can review later when making a decision. Thank you for visiting. Have a lovely night,” the bot stated closing the tour.
Whoa, time to move. Slide, slide, slide. Safe on the far side of the house.
A robotic voice stated “Security mode enabled”.
Push, push, push. Need to make it back to the safety of the bushes.
Looking back, I could see the bot had plugged itself into a charging station and launched two drones. They were circling around the first and second floor, video recording the windows for intrusion.
A wave of fear washed over me. There’s no way my father is going to compete with this fucking thing. On-duty 24/7, free security for the property, and no commission. I better start thinking about scholarships to state schools.
Hugging the bushes, I started making my way back home. Hopefully, my father is asleep by now. I can’t stand to listen to another tirade about bots destroying the real estate industry.
The future is here whether he likes it or not.
Interesting Facts
- Real estate agents take 3–6% of the sale price of a house.
- Real estate agents sold just over $800B worth of property in 2013.
- They were paid commission just shy of $50B.
- If you think Keller Williams Realty won’t jump on a $50B bandwagon, you may need to think a little longer.
