The real estate industry is always a lucrative & rewarding industry. With the advent of technology, the real estate industry has transformed in a way that it was spotted no time before. The industry slowly accustomed to the evolving technologies/ underwent a digital transformation. One such evident example is the blend of real estate as well as technology – PropTech. 

According to sources, in 2018, the Proptech industry increased its funds to $18 billion, marking an edge in the market.

Any aspect, where technology has a role to play in occupying, managing, organizing, the transaction of a property is a part of PropTech. Here are the top ten trends that are revolutionizing the PropTech industry. 

Top 10 Trends that are Revolutionizing the PropTech Industry

• Augmented and virtual reality

Augmented reality & virtual reality are the booming technologies that are greatly revolutionizing the real estate industry since it reduces the time, efforts, cost & energy involved in physically traveling to the actual property. A potential buyer/ owner, even thousands of miles away from the actual property/ if a property is about to be constructed, can visually find what it looks like in a completely immersive experience. AR adds nice digital elements & add ons to images while the more indulging VR helps to enhance stakes in marketing the property. Right from technologies like property viewing, brochures, augmented hoardings, walkthrough, to 360-degree view, all the technology simply renders beauty as well as transparency in marketing & selling. The finest example would be Roomi, an Ipad app that can decorate the room by converting two-dimensional elements into three-dimensional ones. Future proptech industry would find even more usage of AR & VR.

• Internet of Things (IoT)

IoT can be explained in simple terms as objects and structures being equipped with sensors that can be read & inferred by internet applications that can translate & convert them into accessible digital data. IoT has a vast range of applications like predictive maintenance, enhanced energy, faster decision making, etc.& thus can boost up the PropTech industry as well the everyday life of the individuals.

IoT trends 2020 also declares the same – real estates find use with IoT business solutions like using IoT application in home automation, home security system using IoT, IoT roadmap,  & much more & market their business as better & efficient smart homes. Meanwhile, individuals personally use IoT smart home devices, as add ons. 

Read More : “PropTech & IoT: Adoption of technology for smart building and smart cities“

This technology finds a greater reach in the European population, especially among the old people, as these IoT implementation & IoT smart homes render utmost comfort, safety without compromising self-determination.

• Big Data

All the industries tap into the potential of voluminous data, though of varying technical & statistical complexity, for making better & informed decisions. Real estate is no exception to it & thus, “big data” is also one of the highly sought after technologies in the PropTech sector too. The companies can use it to know about the history of a location of property & property itself, present value, mortgage estimates, ownership costs, forecast of future value, etc. With the evolution of machine learning & similar technologies, a variety of companies offer great support in calculating the right decisions for the need of the hour. Especially, applications of artificial intelligence, machine learning are seen enormously by the companies that process these data.

• Artificial Intelligence and machine learning 

Though the real estate industry is slowly accustomed to the changing technologies, they believed in AI and machine learning completely due to the lucrative benefits these technologies offered –  they help in processing the data they collect to be more actionable.

An example of what AI in real estate development means is that presently all the property search websites rely only on very basic preferences like the location as well as the size of the property to display properties for potential buyers to view. But, in the future, AI might recommend these sites to display customized properties based on personality traits, values, etc.

Also, Chatbots, equipped with AI, found on these search sites can easily offer solutions to queries of customers, quickly & precisely, & even accompany the potential buyers in showings too, by which it offers a personal touch & connectivity to customers for that brand. It makes them come back for more.

• 5G 

The launch of 5G technology offers new hopes of more powerful transformations. PropTech would also be impacted positively more than ever. Since 5 G technology would offer more bandwidth, many smart devices, as well as sensors, can be linked with the internet. It’s a great advantage to IoT in home automation, IoT solutions, etc. as higher bandwidth would allow the creation of literally wireless workplaces, easier accessibility of IoT structures in smart homes, & also allows more people to telecommute at the same time.

Another example of the impact of 5 G technology is on the security levels. With increased bandwidth, many security devices like sensors, as well as cameras, can be placed around the same organization & these devices can capture perfect & high-resolution images.

• Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is the method of raising funds for a project/ venture by acquiring it in small amounts from a larger number of individuals. It is a safer game for all – both the investors, as well as the project developers as they benefit equally, can cope with the initial pressure of investing & many more benefits since it thrives on joining forces. It is one of the new emerging yet renowned PropTech as individuals are permitted to transform into investors via online platforms & to invest a small amount doesn’t cost anyone much. By collating all the available resources, all the individuals who invested get access to a wider market, which otherwise is inaccessible to many. 

• Drones 

Usage of drones in the PropTech industry would be adding on another feather to the amusing cap of real estate. Drones can help in visually depicting multi-perspective sight of a property with easy aerial photography, which is budget-friendly too. They offer a real feel of the actual majesty of large residential/ commercial space. A clear portrayal of the neighborhood can also be offered for the potential buyers for then to understand the aura of the region. Also, if owners wish to see the problems/maintenance issues/ potential risks in surrounding spaces of a property, drones are the best choices for the same.

• 3D printing

 3D printing has been helping greatly in producing architectural models and even in the generation of building parts for a very long time. One shall be surprised to know that it is possible now to create entire buildings by 3 D paintings & there are predictions by experts that entire cities can be risen by 3 D printing. 3 D printings are excellent alternatives to traditional construction in terms of cost, time, efforts & sustainability. The technology basically accelerates the entire building process, uses highly advanced analytics to produce much safer, & more environmentally user – friendly properties. ApisCor, The Russian startup, is one of the finest examples of organizations that employed a breakthrough in 3 D printing technology by producing a 3D home occupying area of hundred meters, just in a day.

• Blockchain

Blockchain, a beautiful blend of currencies & technology, is a revolutionary idea for the real estate industry as middlemen cost is nullified & transaction cost is minimized. Cost-effectiveness and informed decision-making process are the twin benefits of using Blockchain. Any decision regarding leasing can be taken after analyzing & understanding the shared database, where all the parties involved  – from stakeholders till tenants can interact & transaction history would also be facilitated on a very transparent & streamlined basis. 

Nice examples of Blockchain processes are the Brickblock & Proppy. Brickblock offers smart contracts online, removing barriers imposed by traditional financial institutions. Meanwhile, Proppy integrates blockchain technology for the government for instantaneous verification of title deeds of a property.

Read More : “Leveraging IoT & Related Technologies in Real Estate & PropTech“

10. Building Information Modelling (BIM)

Building information modeling (BIM) is a three-dimensional smart process that uses a multitude of tools, contracts & technologies that is used by engineers, constructional professionals, architects, etc. They plan, generate, organize, and manage the buildings effectively by employing digital representations of all the physical and functional characteristics of the desired property & its surrounding regions with BIM technology. Also, all the information & work processed isn’t just for a short span of time, but for the entire lifecycle of the property. An apt example is the Computer-Aided Design software, Smaptrude that converts hand-drawn sketches of the floor into the BIM model in seconds.

Conclusion

Technology breaks existing models of business & makes new paths. Moreover, the same holds true for the real estate industry too. PropTech is the vibrant melange of technology and industry. It will go to furthermore heights with revolutionizing technology like the aforementioned.

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