Technological transformation in the Real Estate Industry

A Building is one of the first inventions of mankind, like modern-day inventions, which include airplanes, personal computers, telecommunications etc. It also shelters life so it is an important need of any human being apart from food and clothing. We can say its technology that is constantly transforming this industry.

Technology started solving day-to-day issues and making human lives easier. Property Technologies or Prop-Tech does not have any authentic definition as such, but anything that is moving technology in a direction that is solving various issues of the property industry can be termed as Prop-Tech.

We all have seen the elimination of Real Estate agents by online Real Estate listing websites all over the world, the very recent launch of Flats, Houses, Apartments for Rent, Buy, sale without Brokerage in India created outrage amongst the broker community as well. There used to be a time Real Estate brokerage business was more reputable and ethical especially in Tier 1 cities of India. The common man still needs a Real Estate broker but since every unemployed-uninspired youth of the country has taken up this job, the work of a Real Estate broker is limited to connecting buyers and sellers. This was not the scenario at least a decade back; brokers in any field exist because certain industries are so complicated that everyone cannot get into its Essentials before investing their hard-earned money into it. A broker in Real Estate is supposed to know maximum details of the property and hence there are websites that connect people better. This basic technological transformation is capable of saving huge costs on both ends of the transactions.

Even common inventions like e-mails, LinkedIn, Facebook and telecommunication have given the industry speedy transformations. Now all paper work is done in a better way than before. Also, today with the help of e-mails, LinkedIn and telecommunication we can do a project anywhere in India by picking the best architect, corporate lawyer and all brilliant minds available over the globe. Because of this kind of facilities available today we have seen Airbnb (online Marketplace) a Start-up that responds to them very efficiently and has given the Real Estate industry a real taste of prop-tech. Because of Airbnb many other industries have created small inventions for the Real Estate sector.

Architects who used to work entirely of A1, A0 sheets have now gone paperless because of software and home-printing technology. Charles Correa used to refer Sketch Up software to be the modern-day thermocol for Architects, like thermocol made model-making fast, Sketch Up is the new answer to this necessity. Not only the way they work, but also what they work on is changing drastically because of technology. Construction technology has always being going through tremendous.

Research since the time Reinforced Concrete Cement was discovered, Neri Oxman a researcher at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) is doing research on incorporating 3D-printing in construction of massive real-life structures. 3D-printing has already started assisting Architects with model-making and once this technology improves it can even be capable of eliminating construction laborers and lot of unwanted staff involved in construction. Obviously many will argue about the unemployment scenario that will prevail after that, but if you observe carefully every little invention is taking someone’s employment and also creating someone’s employment. Inventions from calculators to 3D-printing have proved to be a boon to the Real Estate industry. Also, every new invention is an opportunity for those getting unemployed to learn new skills and seek better opportunities.

Real Estate feasibility is another dimension where prop-tech is creating wonders. Liases Foras’s Desktop Feasibility Solution is one such technology developed in India by Indians just by a few clicks you get the data required to make decisions. This online software helps you find the following data by just setting with your site location on Google maps and entering details of your land and project:

1. Catchment Area
2. Market Indications
3. Market Trends
4. Price Distribution
5. Product Distribution Analysis
6. Product Mix
7. Product Size Mix
8. Annual Sales.
9. Top Project of the vicinity
10. Estimated Achievable Market Share
11. Competitive Projects
12. Cost and Revenue Assumptions, etc.