With a global value of well over $200 trillion, the real estate sector is a substantial part of the global economy. A primary industry that affects the vast majority of the world’s population, including anybody who owns a home, has invested in property or leases an apartment or office building.

These days, technology is altering the real estate sector in a variety of ways. Technology is making life easier and more convenient, from “Smart Cities” to “Smart Homes.” According to an EY survey, real estate organisations are now realising that in order to stay relevant and acquire a competitive advantage, they must adapt to the changing digital landscape.

Tech is the landscape with the latest innovations, from Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Virtual Reality (VR). PropTech is a new phrase that was coined recently to describe a modern industry that has attracted billions of dollars in investment in a short period of time.

Here’s a look at how technology is transforming the real estate sector, as well as some of the main trends that experts are looking forward to.

What PropTech is exactly?

Proptech is a modern approach to real estate, where technology is used to improve how consumers search for, rent, buy, sell, and manage their properties. The cross-industry technology benefits all parties involved, including developers, investors, and property management firms, and has been a current buzzword in the industry. It will aid larger organisations in managing large-scale projects, as well as a variety of other small-scale industries and businesses in managing many projects in multiple places with more precision and efficiency.

Proptech’s application in real estate will aid in the simplification of large-scale, complex operations and management. Technological advances have made the creation of sophisticated transactional environments faster and more accessible. The real estate market was able to provide better and more personalised services to customers thanks to the usage of Proptech.

So, let’s have a look at some of the most popular tech real estate trends that are either in use or being created:

1. Blockchain: Advancement of Crypto in Real Estate

The real estate market is one of the few where blockchain technology can thrive. The usage of cryptocurrencies in real estate has been recognised as advantageous for a variety of reasons. As a result, it became possible to buy houses with bitcoins and bitcoin-like currencies in late 2017. The first property to be sold utilising blockchain technology was an apartment in Kyiv, Ukraine. Since then, a number of blockchains real estate firms have arisen in response to market changes in real estate. Blockchain has been a saviour for the following issues in real estate: 

2. AR (Augmented Reality) and VR (Virtual Reality) : Guaranteeing Revolutionary Vision

Real estate technology businesses have revolutionised the online property search experience by making it more effective, entertaining, and convenient. Property is so easy to find with just a few clicks of your mouse! You can take a virtual tour of potential properties online. A virtual home tour can be used to take measurements and learn about the size of a home, but it is mostly used to judge the emotional attraction or “feel” of potential buyers toward a property. This technology provides a layer of depth to the two-dimensional movies and still pictures that were previously used to show a property’s charms.

It has the following advantages:

• There is no need to personally visit the property, which saves time.
• It improves the client experience by making the entire process simple, personalised, and transparent.
• It has a greater global reach because there is no travel involved.
• Real estate technology is delivering a greater return on investment while obviating the need for property staging.

3. Internet of Things (IoT): Blend of Analytics and Data

The Internet of Things, or IoT, refers to the billions of physical devices connected to the Internet and collecting and exchanging data throughout the world. Property managers and owners in the real estate business are adopting Internet of Things (IoT) devices to monitor and control various aspects of a property and its surroundings, including temperature, air quality, lighting levels, security systems, fire systems, and more.

Almost all building systems (including retrofits) can now be connected to a central management and monitoring system. These benefits both development teams and residents by assuring efficiency and empowering teams to address areas of concern proactively while maintaining the highest standards of living.  

Inculcating IoT in RE has following benefits:

• IoT enables quicker decision-making.
• The IoT will soon be the only route forward.
• The IoT has a big impact on energy efficiency.
• Spaces become smarter as a result of IoT.

4. Drones: Vision Unlike Before

It is one of the most recent real estate technology trends to keep an eye on. You can build a better virtual experience by using drones to take efficient and cost-effective aerial images. Drones for real estate will deliver compelling and dynamic photographs of regions that would otherwise be inaccessible. Drone photographs also help with marketing. Consumer interest is sparked by advertisements featuring drone photographs and videos.

According to RISMedia’s calculations, listing agents that use drones for real estate might experience a 73 per cent boost in listings and a 68 per cent rise in transaction closings.

The following are some of the advantages of drones:

• Location: Clearly, the only way to capture the full of this arrangement is from above.
• Accuracy: Using drones for aerial photography in real estate can provide buyers with a lot more accurate, and way cooler, representation of what the property is like in person.
• Narrative: The better narrative is the key to attracting more listings and closing more sales. Buyers want to know what they’re getting into, and sellers want to advertise their homes with brokers that have a track record of success.

5. AI and Chatbots: Changing Conversations for Good!

Chatbots may become your new best buddy, thanks to breakthroughs in artificial intelligence. Chatbots or virtual assistants can respond to questions and ask pertinent questions, allowing you to learn more about your clients (and their needs) ahead of time. You may eliminate the hassle of qualifying and following up with leads by utilising virtual assistants. As a result, you’ll have more time to focus on other critical activities for your company’s growth.

It includes the following features:

• Enquiry in Real-Time

When a visitor visits your website, the chatbots can answer their questions right away. They do not need to wait for a human agent to assist them in obtaining information about the property they are interested in.

• Round the Clock Availability

Due to time constraints such as meeting deadlines and shift schedules, real estate agents are unable to be available to users throughout the day. Chatbots in real estate are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, so your customers’ questions can be answered even when you’re not open.

• Improved Time Management

Any robot’s greatest benefit is the ability to save a significant amount of time. Chatbots are the same way. As a realtor, you will not waste your time with ineffective inquiries. You and your sales staff will deal with a much smaller, filtered, and pre-qualified lead pool, saving you time and effort.

Final Thoughts

Proptech is already offering significant prospects to the commercial real estate market, as we can see. We’re interested to see what flexible working options it opens up for us, as well as how it can help us create our products and services in ways we couldn’t have imagined before.