How is technology transforming the property world?
Read this article to know how recent technological advancements have changed the world of Real Estate for good. Know what improvements the recent years have brought and how they benefit you.
Technology has had an incredible impact on every aspect of our lives, and the property industry has been transformed by these innovations. From drone footage to virtual reality, a new industry – PropTech – has arisen which fuses the tangible world of property with the new technology that is changing the industry.
James Dearsley, an advocate of PropTech, said -
"PropTech is one small part of a wider digital transformation in the property industry. It considers both the technological and mentality change of the real estate industry, and its consumers to our attitudes, movements and transactions involving both buildings and cities".
There have been many PropTech start-ups which have done incredibly well, with around $6.4 billion raised over the past four years from over 800 real estate start-ups. New technology has helped make the property industry faster, more accessible and more cost-effective too. These new disruptive PropTech companies are changing how the property buying and selling process works, with forward-thinking property companies keen to adopt these new tools.
UK property investment firm RW Invest has thoroughly embraced new technology, from online documents to VR headsets. They are using Virtual Reality to allow investors to see their new developments before they have even been built and walk around the proposed plans for the site. For off-plan property investors, this unique experience can allow them to choose which units they want, visualise the project and experience what it will be like. Realistic CGIs also gives investors an idea about how future projects will look, as does the drone footage they use to introduce potential investors to the new area of their development. Detailed market reports, area guides and property info packs can be downloaded from anywhere in the world, allowing property investors to find out more than ever before about the potential investment property.
On a more practical side, if you think about how you bought a house twenty years ago, compared to today, you'll have a sense of just how much the industry has changed. Online portals are perhaps one of the most obvious changes that have affected the property industry. Now, houses, floor plans and detailed information can be found online, without having to visit an estate agent. You can even look on Google Earth at the property in street view. Potential purchasers can now find out what the house prices in the area are like and how they have changed. The sheer volume of information available for property professionals has had a huge effect, with data analysis and targeted marketing providing more access to property investment than before.
Technology has also rapidly improved communication, with property professionals from all around the world being only an email, video chat or phone call away. This instant communication speeds up the entire buying process and thanks to online storage and the cloud, documents can be sent instantly, with secure electronic signatures. Online currencies like blockchain are also being used by some property companies, and there seem to be endless opportunities for innovation and improvement.
