What Impact Will Self-Driving Cars Have on Suburban Real Estate Sales?

The infamous words "location, location, location" may become a thing of the past, due to the latest in real estate trends: self-driving cars. Arriving in the market next year and cruising into the garages of prospective clients, this long-awaited new technology is expected to blaze new trails in the housing market.

Home George (Jetson)!

A radical new solution to rush hour and road rage is underway, paving a new route that will free up time, lower transportation costs, and reconfigure communities as options for real estate open up for consumers nationwide – options that would have been overlooked or ignored pre-car-automation.

Away we go

Turning our notions about where to buy and invest upside down, driverless cars, once on the market, will open up a world of new possibilities, greatly changing real estate trends:

• Boosting car-sharing and reducing traffic congestion.

• Eliminating the number of cars necessary, creating a more efficient transportation system that will ultimately free up real estate previously used for parking lots and garages – some 25-30 percent of the current market.

• Spurring a garage makeover renaissance, adding on valuable bedrooms, bathrooms and other square footage.

• Possibly shrinking necessary kitchen, dining, and living space (not quite "tiny houses," but smaller homes with fewer amenities) as food and social entertainment is made more easily accessible.

• Opening up markets for buyers, increasing access to not only affordable locations, but reducing the stigmas associated with high traffic markets. Also, overcoming the negative commuting aspects of living in the 'burbs or outskirts, especially given the ability to accomplish other things during "drive time."

• Offering agents a better way to show homes, as well as the ability to focus on clientele and the selling process over navigation duties.

To view the original article, visit the Properties Online blog.