Future of Real Estate Business – Adoption of Technology
Big Data: From driving business decisions to creating better consumer experiences, big data can have a lot of influence on your business. Many real estate businesses collect a lot of data that sit in silo repositories without any analytics being done to pick out industry trends or behaviors of their consumers. Real estate companies wanting to target the right clients need to know who they are, when they want to buy, where they are, and how they can reach them in the most effective manner. Harnessing big data is an invaluable tool in targeting the right buyers and an important element in refining the real estate process.
Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning is the art of computers teaching themselves on how to improve the way they perform their tasks based on previous experience or through pattern recognition. Such systems are in use by real estate investors to effectively control expenses, manage risks and gain higher returns using algorithms that are designed to predict and factor in individual investor concerns. Real estate search analytics is improving the way prospective buyers are matched with desirable properties.
The Internet of Things: The Internet of Things (IoT) is a key component of home automation and smart homes. This involves automating the ability to control items around the house from curtains to electricity with a hand-held device or voice command. Smart home technology has started changing the way home-owners view property. It is becoming a game changer for real estate developers. Instead of selling a shell for a house, developers are enticing buyers with internet ready homes. It is also anticipated that there will come a point when real estate agents use IoT for home searches. The practice of consumers going online and pecking their way to their perfect home will be replaced with voice-driven applications embedded on phones, that are able to automatically answer any questions they have.
The Internet of Things: The Internet of Things (IoT) is a key component of home automation and smart homes. This involves automating the ability to control items around the house from curtains to electricity with a hand-held device or voice command. Smart home technology has started changing the way home-owners view property. It is becoming a game changer for real estate developers. Instead of selling a shell for a house, developers are enticing buyers with internet ready homes. It is also anticipated that there will come a point when real estate agents use IoT for home searches. The practice of consumers going online and pecking their way to their perfect home will be replaced with voice-driven applications embedded on phones, that are able to automatically answer any questions they have.
Building Technology: With the increased demand for low-cost housing with less impact on the environment, real estate developers are left with no choice but to consider innovative ways of building houses. The areas of focus include using prefab building material and modular construction where a building is constructed offsite and then assembled onsite. In 2014 Winsun, a company based in China pioneered a 3D printed house. Compared with the traditional construction methods, they were able to save up on 80% of the construction costs and 60% on labour. This are just a few of the innovative ideas that real estate companies are exploring globally in order to reduce cost.
Augmented and Virtual Reality: Virtual Reality (VR) enables customers to tour predevelopment or ready house units from anywhere in the world. Real estate developers, hoteliers and other businesses are using the technology to give their prospective clients a feel of the product virtually. Through the power of virtual reality, they allow prospective buyers to walk through and experience the space even before construction has started.
Real Estate Operations Automation: To remain competitive, real estate companies have to look out for better ways to increase efficiency, differentiate and position their products and services as they build customer loyalty. With a robust back-office operation, the company can have visibility of a customer life-cycle from the time they were prospects till when they become landlords or tenants. Automating your customer relationship management, portfolio management and facilities management, the companies are able to address challenges such as cost efficiency and communication between different stakeholders.
As real estate tech evolves, it’s certain that the industry is headed for a revolution. Real estate tech companies won’t necessarily disrupt the industry but will disrupt those companies that refuse to embrace the change. Investing in technology as a real estate company is a key differentiator moving forward.