Technology And Real Estate: An Evolving Relationship

Real Estate around the world is getting smarter. Construction technologies are changing and evolving to create time saving methods. China is building skyscrapers in 24 hours and architects and engineers are looking for the next engineering marvel that will turn the real estate industry on its head. Tech developments like 3D visualisations, virtual walk-throughs and even full scale visualisations of complete homes are being created to give customers the most astounding and innovative experiences. A few of the technology innovations that have caught attention include-

3D Printed Homes & Offices

The popularity of 3D printing is gaining in all sectors and one of the most ingenious solutions to be offered by it is real estate presentations. Using 3D printing real estate developers can show customers, models of house and even give them a view of interiors. Building model homes to showcase a project might become passé soon as more real estate agencies and construction firms are opting for the use of 3D printers to create the models of the homes there are offering. This is currently being preferred by high end developers but its growing popularity might just make it a widespread phenomenon in the future. The process saves 30% to 60% of construction waste, decreases production time by 50% and labor costs by 80%.

eRecord Keeping

All documentation is slowly but surely shifting to the digital platforms. From title deeds to contracts to agreements, every documents is slowly finding more takers in the e-document option. Countries like the USA have already progresses far ahead in the adoption of this technology with the usage of eRecording going up by over 20% year on year as per Property Records Industry Association (PRIA). India is still a late bloomer but this will make the process of compliance, legal requirements and even transaction much easier.

Drones for Real Estate Photography

Drones in photography are slowly becoming an accepted norm and real estate is a good industry that can adopt this technology. Drones provide high quality images from elevated views. Home buyers can see the entire project at one go and also see how the surrounding area also looks like. They can visualise their home as a part of the complete area in which they will be residing. These images offer a more real experience of how the homes will be rather than artist’s impressions which are commonly used today.

Virtual Reality Walkthroughs

Apartments are becoming skyscrapers today and if a homeowner needs to understand how it would be to live on the 25^th or 60^th floor , he certainly cannot do it by just walking into a model apartment on the ground level. A virtual reality experience can give the customer an experience in probably 4D or 5D how it would feel like to walking through a home located on the 50^th floor. This would further motivate customers to close a deal rather than contemplate.

Beacon Sensors

With so much inventory available picking the right one is critical and beacon sensors are adding value to the customers on that front. Whether its critical parameters which define a match or just the location, the sensors can alert the buyer through bluetooth technology and enable him to even have a 3D walk through of the same for the selection.

Wearable tech

It’s not just the fitness domain which is seeing the value of wearable tech but real estate sector as well where a lot of selling happen at the concept stage. Developers and even channel partners use wearable technology building interaction and engagement for the buyer through glasses or helmets enabling the buyer to touch and feel the property they intend to buy.

Smart homes

Whether its safety or efficiency smart homes are definitely high on the customer requirement list with over 500,000 home automation subscribers in US. Smart homes connect all appliances, security devices to communicate to each other thereby enabling easy monitoring and controlling of the home applications even from a remote location. The benefits include convenience, savings of time, energy and money.

Bitcoin

The electronic cash seems to have got every industry standing up to its usage and so has real estate. Realtyshares, a real estate crowdfunding platform has found answer in Bitcoin as a digital currency for transactions. Not yet used in India but with REITs almost getting closer to a go ahead, we might see a lot of crowdfunding platforms getting launched in India and BITCOIN might be an answer there.

While all this technology might not take off immediately, there is definitely a need for this and this need will surely fuel more technological innovations in the real estate industry in the years to come.