Metropolis The Housing Market Is Already Terrible. A.I. Is Making It Even Worse. While digital staging is nothing new to real estate, bot-made listings are forcing homebuyers and professionals to ask themselves if this is a straight-up deceptive practice. DeAnn Wiley was on the hunt for a new rental in Detroit earlier this month when she had the displeasure of arriving at a property that looked nothing like what was advertised online. "The photos made the home look brand new, only to get there and see the usual wear and tear and the old'landlord special,' " she told Slate.

Grover makes access to tech easy, affordable, and sustainable--with flexible tech rental subscriptions. No deposits, no commitment, just tech when you want it for as long as you need it. With around $1.3 billion in financing, Grover is one of Germany's best-funded scale-ups, and we're growing fast. Since 2015, we've gone from a small startup operating out of a Berlin apartment to a team of 500 people, bringing flexible tech subscriptions to renters across Germany, Austria, the USA, Spain, and The Netherlands. And we're just getting started.

Imagine a software app that creates peace and understanding between landlords and tenants. How much value would that have in this world of constant rental turnover and strife? This is the challenge taken on by Obligo, a New York-based fintech company that is using AI and machine learning to determine the level of risk of renters so that landlords feel safer about transactions. The company just announced a series B funding of $35 million. "Our whole idea here is simple: We want to make renting an apartment or single-family home as easy as getting a hotel room," Omri Dor, cofounder and COO of Obligo, told VentureBeat.

One of the more permanent changes of the past year relates to technology in the workplace. The pandemic-induced lockdowns accelerated the digital transformation of business that was already underway, and real estate is no exception, especially when it comes to the incorporation of artificial intelligence. To gain a better idea of the perception of AI in property management, AppFolio conducted a study on the crossover of these two disciplines. When asked "I believe I have a basic understanding of artificial intelligence," 85% of the property management executives, decision makers, and generalist property managers surveyed answered in the affirmative. But when asked "Have you ever used or interacted with AI-based technology," only 32% said yes. 49% said no and 19% were unsure.

Rental real estate platform Zumper is bringing artificial intelligence to the rental platform space. The company announced on Thursday the release of'PowerLeads AI,' a new artificial intelligence product it's developed that will analyze renter behaviors in order to predict the likelihood of a particular renter signing a lease for a specific apartment. Cultivating rental leads can be tricky -- renters are often in a more uncertain position financially, and may be renting in a particular city because they just want to test the waters, or are hoping to move elsewhere in the future. With the launch of PowerLeads AI, Zumper hopes to reduce some of the uncertainty surrounding renter prospects. "Leasing consultants report current industry methods for managing leads are not only highly inefficient and frustrating, they're also one of the industry's most significant challenges," a press release from Zumper states.

Amazon wants to make it easier to have a smart home without actually owning a home. Today, the company is unveiling its "Alexa for Residential" program that lets property managers add Alexa-enabled devices and experiences to rental properties. Landlords and property managers can install Alexa devices, pre-fill info like device name, address and Wi-Fi network, pre-enable Alexa skills and set interactions with other smart home devices, like lights and appliances. Residents will be able to connect their personal accounts and additional devices. Amazon says 84 percent of renters want an apartment with smart home amenities, and 61 percent said they would pay a monthly fee for a voice assistant.

Think about the last time you booked an airline ticket--how easy was it? The airline and hospitality industries make it easy for their customers to interact and purchase from them with the help of technology. The multifamily industry is catching on. More than ever before, property managers and owners are embracing technology. With so many new solutions available to help decrease vacancy, engage with prospects, and better serve residents, creating a "virtual leasing office" can bring huge value to your properties.

What does the Church of Scientology and Airbnb have in common? If you answered secret risk assessments and personality tests, then give yourself a gold star. If you have rented an Airbnb in the past six years, the odds are pretty high that you have been given a secret risk assessment and personality score. According to an Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) complaint, Airbnb's secret renter risk assessments are just as specious as the Church of Scientology's personality tests. This complaint concerns Airbnb's deployment of a risk assessment technique that assigns secret ratings to prospective renters, based on behavior traits using an opaque, proprietary algorithm.

What does the Church of Scientology and Airbnb have in common? If you answered secret risk assessments and personality tests, then give yourself a gold star. If you have rented an Airbnb in the past six years, the odds are pretty high that you have been given a secret risk assessment and personality score. According to an Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) complaint, Airbnb's secret renter risk assessments are just as specious as the Church of Scientology's personality tests. This complaint concerns Airbnb's deployment of a risk assessment technique that assigns secret ratings to prospective renters, based on behavior traits using an opaque, proprietary algorithm.

Local councils in England must be given powers to regulate Airbnb and other short-term letting sites in order to alleviate the "intolerable" pressure they put on the availability of local housing, the Green party MP, Caroline Lucas, has said. Her intervention followed a Guardian investigation that found one Airbnb listing for every four residential properties in some hotspots across Britain. Airbnb has disputed the finding. Meanwhile, an organisation representing landlords has warned that imminent tax changes will drive an increasing number of landlords towards Airbnb and its rivals, depriving renters of long-term, stable tenancies. Last month Lucas asked the government to make it easier for councils to impose a 90-day cap on homes let out on Airbnb and other online platforms.