Real estate tech: Ahmed Elbatrawy shares 5 trends for 2022 

Real estate tech: Ahmed Elbatrawy shares 5 trends for 2022 

Just like finished basements and open floor plans, Ahmed Elbatrawy knows buying and selling homes never goes out of style.

In fact, the real estate industry is booming. Fueled by the global pandemic, the housing market has soared to unprecedented heights. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, which tracks and measures changes to the U.S. residential housing market, reported its highest gains in over 15 years. The annual increase in home prices was a staggering 18.8{d4d1dfc03659490934346f23c59135b993ced5bc8cc26281e129c43fe68630c9} for 2021 alone. The market is showing little signs of slowing down.

Unfortunately, real estate technology has struggled to keep pace. Real estate agents have been slow to adopt the digital practices that have permeated other industries. With the pandemic exposing shortcomings and vulnerabilities in most real estate companies’ current capabilities, the demand for innovation has never been higher. Luckily, Ahmed Elbatrawy is leading the charge.

Sensing a deficiency in available property tech, Ahmed Elbatrawy built his own solution. He and his company, Platform Leaders, created homes.com.eg. Set to launch this year homes.com.eg will be launching in Egypt only. It will then be launching in the middle east (UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt) and then launching in the US. The groundbreaking new product will create an industry-leading customer relationship management software. Although this new product will only serve the Egyptian market, it’s an example of the technological expansion that will be infusing the real estate industry worldwide. The multi listing service that Platform Leaders is bringing to the middle east will be like the MLS system already present in the US. Platform Leaders will be the first to introduce that system in the middle east.

As an innovator, Ahmed Elbatrawy has a pulse on what revolutionary new changes might be coming in the near future. Drawing on his decades of experience, the Orlando-based Realtor highlights five trends that he predicts will define how homes are bought and sold in 2022.

Artificial intelligence

If the goal is to “always be closing,” artificial intelligence can keep working even when you’re not on the clock. But this isn’t some futuristic, sci-fi storyline. AI has a unique ability to automate real estate processes. Ahmed Elbatrawy expects chatbots and virtual assistants to continue to emerge as the first point of contact with prospective clients.

Virtual reality

Imagine visiting a property without ever leaving your own home. In many ways, the future is now. The same technology that has influenced gaming is available to real estate agents too. Virtual reality, augmented reality, and 3-D modeling have transformed the traditional idea of a “showing.” And this extends beyond viewing a single property. Clients can “walk” neighborhoods from anywhere.

Blockchain

Digital security is at a premium. Blockchain enables real estate agents to engage in permanent, verifiable transactions without the fear of data breaches, hacks, or fraud. Physically signing on the dotted line with pen and paper is a thing of the past.

Data management and analytics

Real estate technology is also equipping agents with actionable insights. Ahmed Elbatrawy sees centralized data management as an increasingly important sector. Automation and application in other areas have enabled decision-makers to collect and review data in real-time.

Apps & Social Media

In only 140 characters or less, social media has already been changing the real estate industry. Ahmed Elbatrawy and others have already embraced these platforms as a way to market their businesses. Social media allows direct access to potential clients. With a few clicks or scrolls, buyers and sellers can interact with agents, review listings, and even watch video walkthroughs.

when and what to plant

when and what to plant

You could be inspired to plant your gardens just after the arrival of warmer air. But ought to you put these crops in the floor with the menace of lingering cold and frost? We took a vacation to Benken Florist Household and Backyard garden Centre. The fantastic information is you can genuinely plant at any position in the year, you just will need to make guaranteed that proper now, you have a chilly-hardy plant in your cart. That could be something like your classic petunias or pansies. It can really be any once-a-year that in fact prefers chilly climate. These sorts of flowers are additional tolerable of those lower to mid 30-degree temps as perfectly as light-weight frost. Benken Grower John Clark shared how to defend your flower beds from the cold spring air, “What you want to do is you want to deal with that . A sheet will do. You want to stay away from putting plastic over the top rated. The plastic more than a plant, the moisture can’t escape, and you can expect to really build frost inside. So you just want one thing that can breathe and that you can address.”If you have issues about what all those chilly-hardy vegetation are, Clark said to just prevent in to your area backyard center for enable. Vegetable gardens are one thing you should undoubtedly hold off on planting. “Right now you could set in your collards, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, lettuce, you know, the chilly crops.” Said Clark, “Tomatoes, peppers, they like it incredibly hot. They like the summer season. So if you get it in as well before long, you risk losing your vegetable plant but you also possibility stunting the development of your plant. The soil temperature isn’t pretty warm adequate nonetheless.”If you really feel the will need to plant, Clark reported you can get begun on your seedlings.”For the winter that we’ve experienced, you know, it truly is constantly wonderful to commence some of your seeds inside. You just have to plan that out accordingly from the offer… You will need to get these at the ideal height and get them in the ground, Movie News.”

SILVERTON, Ohio —

You could be motivated to plant your gardens following the arrival of hotter air. But need to you place all those plants in the floor with the menace of lingering chilly and frost?

We took a excursion to Benken Florist Household and Backyard garden Centre. The good news is you can genuinely plant at any point in the calendar year, you just have to have to make absolutely sure that ideal now, you have a cold-hardy plant in your cart. That may be a thing like your vintage petunias or pansies. It can genuinely be any once-a-year that essentially prefers chilly temperature. These varieties of flowers are additional tolerable of those people very low to mid 30-degree temps as properly as light frost, Movie News.

Benken Grower John Clark shared how to protect your flower beds from the chilly spring air, “What you want to do is you want to include that [your gardens]. A sheet will do. You want to stay clear of putting plastic over the prime. The plastic above a plant, the moisture can not escape, and you are going to actually build frost inside. So you just want something that can breathe and that you can include.”

If you have thoughts about what those people cold-hardy crops are, Clark reported to just stop in to your nearby backyard garden middle for aid.

Vegetable gardens are something you must certainly keep off on planting.

“Right now you could place in your collards, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, lettuce, you know, the chilly crops.” Reported Clark, “Tomatoes, peppers, they like it hot. They like the summer. So if you get it in too soon, you risk shedding your vegetable plant but you also possibility stunting the expansion of your plant. The soil temperature isn’t quite heat plenty of still, Movie News.”

If you truly truly feel the need to have to plant, Clark said you can get begun on your seedlings.

“For the wintertime that we have experienced, you know, it is usually good to get started some of your seeds inside of. You just have to prepare that out appropriately from the deal… You will need to get those people at the suitable peak and get them in the floor.”

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Reduce, reuse, ReStore: Meet the home improvement stores working to solve Central Texas’ affordable housing crisis

Reduce, reuse, ReStore: Meet the home improvement stores working to solve Central Texas’ affordable housing crisis

Each and every day is Earth Working day at Habitat for Humanity ReStores, a home products and household improvement shop where by customers give things a second life to preserve them out of landfills—plus, each greenback specifically influences life in the local community.

Austin ReStores and Georgetown ReStore promote new and carefully utilised home furnishings, appliances, building components, and property add-ons to the public at a fraction of the retail rate. Patrons can purchase anything from resources and materials to entire their desire renovation job or thrifted decor, home furnishings and appliances to fill their room.

Whilst several thrift outlets assistance nationwide efforts, each and every purchase and donation at a ReStore will help people lover with their nearby Habitat for Humanity to know their dream of homeownership by making safe and sound, decent, and fairly priced homes.

“When you aid your neighborhood Habitat ReStores, it’s a gain for you, the surroundings, and the neighborhood,” stated Jamie Hatton, ReStore Promoting Supervisor at Austin Habitat for Humanity. “Reusable things are stored out of the landfill, consumers go house with distinctive items at discounted rates, and resources created support our mission driven operate.”

In its place of having undesired or unused things to the dump, donate anything at all from bathtubs to countertops by scheduling a pick-up for substantial donations, or fall it off at the nearest locale in the course of donation drive running hours. ReStore staff are continually restocking each donated items and new goods to hold inventory fresh and entire.

Whilst the retailers are loved for the bargains and “treasure hunt” experience, workers can also assistance direct customers on residence improvement projects, stated Nicole Vommaro, director of improvement and promoting at Habitat for Humanity of Williamson County.

“Our staff members get enthusiastic about the buyers that appear in, no matter whether it is anyone in the construction field … or DIYers or regional artists,” Vommaro claimed.

Hatton said it is constantly a superior idea to check out a community ReStore spot to fulfill requires at a lower value ahead of resorting to other corporations that might not support nearby underprivileged communities amid the cost-effective housing disaster.

“We inform people to shop [at a] ReStore initial,” Hatton said. “Why not try out to shop at a nonprofit and help you save? We might have anything [you need]. Pop in and see if you can support your community and help save some revenue at the same time.”

In addition to shopping and donating, individuals can signal-up to volunteer at their community ReStore location by way of a very simple time-slot portal on the web. An quick way to get involved or fill mandated volunteer hrs, volunteers add their vitality and skills to the Habitat mission by filling employee shift gaps with actions these types of as accepting fall-off donations, pricing and displaying products, and producing retail outlet displays.

As the anniversary of the fashionable environmental movement methods, Vommaro and Hatton claimed ReStore is unique since the retailer celebrates sustainability everyday. Austin Habitat for Humanity is also celebrating a unique milestone this calendar year the affiliate opened the nation’s first ReStore 30 a long time ago in 1992.

“Our objective is to rally close to Earth Day, a working day that’s crucial to both equally Austin Habitat ReStores and Georgetown ReStore, to remind the community to store and donate typically with Habitat ReStores,” Hatton said. “Shopping secondhand and donating reusable still no-longer-desired items from your home are fantastic approaches to realize Earth Day.”

See below for particulars on Austin Habitat ReStores and Georgetown ReStore. Study a lot more about Austin Habitat at austinhabitat.org and Habitat for Humanity of Williamson County at williamsonhabitat.org.

Austin Habitat for Humanity ReStores – @atxhabitat

South Austin: 500 W. Ben White Blvd., Austin

Northwest Austin: 13804 N. US 183, Austin

San Marcos: 2521 S. I-35, San Marcos

Habitat for Humanity of Williamson County’s Georgetown ReStore – @habitatwilcotx

Georgetown: 2108 N. Austin Avenue, Georgetown

The over story was made by Community Impact’s Storytelling team with info only supplied by the neighborhood business as aspect of their “sponsored content” invest in through our promoting staff. Our integrity assure to our readers is to obviously recognize all CI Storytelling posts so they are separate from the content material made a decision on, investigated and published by our journalism section.

Inside the Real-Estate Housing Bubble and Market

Inside the Real-Estate Housing Bubble and Market

Hi, I’m Matt Turner, the editor-in-main of organization at Insider. Welcome again to Insider Weekly, a roundup of some of our best tales. 

On the agenda right now:

You should not overlook: Our to start with electronic address story, that includes Serena Williams. The tennis star opened up about mother guilt, her enterprise-cash organization, and the possibility of a “King Richard” sequel. Check out out the entire profile right here.

Let’s get began.

Subscribe to Insider for obtain to all our investigations and features. New to the publication? Signal up listed here.  Down load our app for information on the go — click listed here for iOS and here for Android.

Wall Street’s supercharging the housing market place

Shed in middle of nowhere with for sale sign.



Benjamin Rondel/ Getty Images


If you or another person you know has attempted shopping for a household in the earlier six months, you’ve very likely read the horror tales.

Personally, I have heard from pals in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and other cities throughout the US. Homes that look as even though they may be inside someone’s price range finish up going for 30{d4d1dfc03659490934346f23c59135b993ced5bc8cc26281e129c43fe68630c9} to 40{d4d1dfc03659490934346f23c59135b993ced5bc8cc26281e129c43fe68630c9} higher than inquiring. All-income prospective buyers are snapping up primary places. Numerous households are marketing sight-unseen. 

To make issues even worse, home finance loan premiums have rocketed, sending regular fees higher, and deep-pocketed traders, lots of of them backed by billions from Wall Road, are including opposition. In accordance to 1 recent investigation, buyers bought a 3rd of all US homes for sale in the 1st quarter, the greatest in at least a decade. 

Meanwhile, startups are springing up ready to enable these who presently individual a residence to access some of their fairness. 

It can be not stunning then that the quantity of individuals seeking for facts about a housing bubble has also skyrocketed. Read through for a Q&A with the serious-estate reporter James Rodriguez breaking down what is actually going on. 

What is actually a single of the most significant factors we are viewing appropriate now in the housing market?

The biggest tale right now is house loan prices, which around the earlier three months have risen at the fastest tempo in almost 28 years. Early in the pandemic, history-reduced home loan costs encouraged purchasing activity regardless of soaring household costs. But this 7 days, the regular amount for a 30-12 months personal loan hit 5{d4d1dfc03659490934346f23c59135b993ced5bc8cc26281e129c43fe68630c9} for the 1st time considering that 2011 — which means hopeful buyers are staring down more high priced every month payments, on major of the scarcity of listings and powerful competitors for residences. 

A single of your recent hit stories centered on anyone who offered Wall Street a stake in her household. What is going on with this pattern?

House values have soared over the past two several years, which signifies American householders are sitting down on trillions of bucks of fairness that is mainly trapped except if they provide their household, refinance, or get a property-fairness line of credit score. 

But these options do not function for everybody, and a amount of businesses are offering an different referred to as “house-equity investments,” in which they give homeowners funds in trade for a share of their home’s foreseeable future appreciation. These businesses are backed by billions of pounds from Wall Street firms, which are keen to increase their bets on the US housing marketplace. 

The selection of people googling “Is there a housing bubble?” has skyrocketed. What would you say to them?

A good deal of the concern about a housing bubble today stems from the Fed raising curiosity costs, which increases the odds of a


economic downturn

. The very good information, however, is that the authorities we have talked to mainly concur that the fundamentals of the housing market place these days are vastly various than in the run-up to the fiscal crisis — lending standards have tightened and you will find far much less provide relative to demand from customers, which indicates the industry is on extra reliable footing than it was in 2008. 

Examine extra here: 

Also go through:

From intern to Andreessen Horowitz husband or wife in a 12 months

Carra Wu is a partner at Andreessen Horowitz.

Carra Wu is a husband or wife at Andreessen Horowitz.

Alex Zhang


In 2021 — after previously possessing dropped out of Harvard (two times) and doing work for Apple and Microsoft — 23-calendar year-aged Carra Wu landed a coveted internship at Andreessen Horowitz, the Silicon Valley VC agency that’s arrived at further into the crypto market place than any rival.

Now, a yr afterwards, Wu is the firm’s youngest verify writer and a mounting star in the crypto-investing environment — and it all commenced with a 6-sentence chilly electronic mail.

Study the total tale listed here:

Gen Z is even lonelier than prior generations

illustration of a gen z woman sitting at a desk with a laptop open, staring longingly out of a small window in front of her



Marianne Ayala/Insider


Generation Z is the most attained technology: They have extra decades of formal education and learning, reduce substantial-college dropout premiums, are extra probable to stay clear of drug use, and have lessen prices of teenager being pregnant. But they are also amazingly lonely.

A new review observed that Gen Zers have fewer meals with their household, have a lot less free time, and really feel extra pressure from their moms and dads than previous generations, developing a pervasive experience of loneliness — which has been exacerbated by their dad and mom. 

Go through the total tale here:

A lot of versions say Tyra Banks’ ‘ANTM’ left them traumatized

An illustration of Tyra Banks about to cut the hair of a barbie doll



Michelle Rohn for Insider


“America’s Subsequent Top Model,” a modeling-boot camp-competitors hybrid, was reality-Tv gold, created as a golden ticket for products who wouldn’t have experienced the opportunity to break into the style business normally.

But as the seasons wore on, the picture shoots, makeovers, and problems turned more and more preposterous, and quite a few models instructed Insider it came at the charge of their mental — and physical — well being.

Study the total tale in this article:

Extra of this week’s best reads:

Plus: Maintain updated with the most recent business news during your weekdays by examining out The Refresh from Insider, a dynamic audio news short from the Insider newsroom. Pay attention here tomorrow.

Curated by Matt Turner. Edited by Jordan Parker Erb and Lisa Ryan. Indication up for far more Insider newsletters right here.

Inside Cristiano Ronaldo’s 7-Story Mansion and Other Luxury Homes

Inside Cristiano Ronaldo’s 7-Story Mansion and Other Luxury Homes

Cristiano Ronaldo is 1 of the largest soccer stars in the entire world. The athlete‘s name is usually outlined with the most effective to ever engage in the sport. The forward plays for the Premier League club Manchester United, returning to the workforce following expending a part of his profession with Authentic Madrid and the Juventus Football Club. He’s also the captain of the Portugal Nationwide Workforce and has received extra than 30 trophies in the course of his occupation.

But practically as extraordinary as what he does on the pitch is his genuine estate portfolio. Ronaldo owns many luxury homes such as spacious villas and a seven-tale mansion. Here’s a glance inside of some of all those attributes.

Developer seeks .8M in damages, says bank violated agreement for Pa. property

Developer seeks $3.8M in damages, says bank violated agreement for Pa. property

WILLIAMSPORT-A Lycoming County firm that specializes in the development of serious estate for the restaurant marketplace is in search of far more than $3.8 million in damages professing a lender violated a ideal-of-first-provide settlement with a State College region house.

Pennsylvania Expenditure Qualities II (PIP II) in a criticism submitted Friday in U.S. Middle District Court accuses Truist bank of selling the property in the 2500 block of East University Avenue without having giving it the required chance to buy it.

PIP II, dependent in Williamsport, statements it paid out BB&T (predecessor to Truist) an supplemental $50,000 for the arrangement when it ordered the adjacent house for $500,000 in 2016.

The agreement, according to the suit, needed PIP II to be notified in crafting of the bank’s intention to sell the parcel so it had the option to negotiate its order.

In accordance to the courtroom grievance, PIP II uncovered very last September the home had been offered to Horizon Federal Credit rating Union at least a 12 months earlier for $1 million.

PIP II, whose principals are Albert and Paul Clapps, states it was well prepared to pay the $1 million for the about 1½-acre residence at a targeted traffic light-weight together a busy freeway (Route 26).

PIP II experienced made a Burger King on the land it bought in 2016 and says it experienced programs for a complementary restaurant on the 2nd web-site.

Its spot would assistance a causal eating facility these as Applebee’s, Olive Yard, Buffalo Wild Wings, Hooters and Joe’s Crab Shack, the suit contends.

The criticism factors out the Clapps have decades of practical experience developing cafe locations.

Albert Clapps is a former regional vice president/district supervisor for Carrols Corp. and was portion of the administration staff assigned to make your mind up which of the 222 Carrols cafe spots would be transformed to Burger Kings.

He and a enterprise companion fashioned A.M.L. Growth Corp. in 1979 that owned and operated Burger King franchises for 30 a long time.

Paul Clapps joined A.M.L. starting in 1996. The two formed Pennsylvania Investment decision Qualities the exact yr and PIP II in 2008. Each corporations have made restaurant houses in the course of Pennsylvania.

He also is included with partners who have true estate and small business developments in the Williamsport location.

The chance to acquire and establish the Centre County assets would have produced a monetary obtain to PIP II in excessive of $3.8 million, the breach of contract accommodate states.

Centered on their expertise, the Clapps estimate it would price $1.35 million to construct a everyday cafe on the residence with yearly hire remaining in the hundreds of hundreds of pounds.

A lot more:

Bachelor party abduction prank potential customers to charges against central Pa. guy

Murder charge from Pa. mother in death of her 3-yr-old daughter going to demo: judge