The Real Estate sector is on the move
With ever accelerating technological advances year on year, businesses across all sectors cannot afford to become complacent. We only have to think of companies who have failed to innovate and have been left behind as rapid digitalisation overtook their dated business models, with examples like Blockbuster and Kodak easily coming to mind.
Real estate is not immune to technological advances and those that move to adopt new technology quickly enough, often end up being the biggest beneficiaries. Traditionally real estate businesses tend to fall behind when it comes to adopting new trends, however in recent years with the introduction of PropTech, more companies in this sector are exploring what technology could do for them.
From Analogue To Digital
PropTech funding between 2014-2019 has grown by 766%, and it is expected to continue.
The real estate sector is typically regarded as conservative when it comes to technology, but with a plethora of innovative technologies in recent years such as artificial intelligence, it has become hard to not take advantage of the opportunities being presented.
Big Data
90% of all the data we now have in the world was created in the last few years.
With so much accessible information, businesses can easily gain valuable insights into their potential customers. A real estate business might be able to quickly pick up data on buying/selling trends or demographics in a local area etc. to determine the value of their properties.
Data Management
45% of commercial real estate companies are spending 15% to 25% of their time organising and managing data.
With so many assets, keeping on top of data management for a commercial real estate company (CRE) is proving to be difficult. 60% of executives say their firms still use spreadsheets instead of software as their primary tool for reporting.
Digitalisation in commercial real estate
With a combined estimated worth of $50 trillion between real estate and commercial real estate, according to the federal reserve, it is clear to see why technology companies have been keen to showcase the benefits of recent technological advancements, in recent years. Though real estate has been significantly more keen to embrace new technology, CRE hasn’t seen the same level of adoption.
The supply and creation of new, digital tools to manage large property portfolios are coming of age, with viable PropTech solutions on the market that integrate with and enhance their current ways of working. If CREs aren’t already looking to digitalise, now is the time.
Maximising property value
When it comes to maximising the value of property, those in CRE consider many factors, but what is often overlooked is inaccurate measurements of their properties due to human error or underestimating how much the floorplan of a property has changed and adapted over time. In fact, $100 billions are lost globally due to undervalued property. Embracing technological solutions like SLAM laser scanning can give CREs rapid, repeatable and highly accurate measurements and floorplans of their properties, without needing to outsource or rely on dated information.
Digital record keeping
There is a great deal of paperwork involved in CRE management, and not having a digital record is not only inefficient, but it can also be costly. Having all the documents in an easy to access digital library can be helpful when needing to access paperwork quickly. Whether you’re trying to sell your property, or you need to deal with an audit etc. having a centrally stored digital record of your portfolio can help minimise workload and maintain good standards of information keeping.
Repeatable, repeatable, repeatable
“Too many companies are prepared to put up with poor-quality data when it is entirely in their power to improve it” – RICs
With technological solutions now available for repeatedly capturing and keeping data up to date quickly and easily, CRE companies no longer need to rely on old data, ultimately saving them money.
5 ways technology has affected the real estate sector
Early adopters of new technology often pave the way for others to follow in their footsteps, however those that end up following often play catch up.
Building Information Modelling
(BIM)
The introduction of 3D digital models has been revolutionary for many sectors, including real estate. This digitised advancement means better planning and execution of real estate projects.
Property Estimates
Technology makes processing and storing complex data incredibly easy, making estimations of property value more accurate.
Virtual Tours
Virtual tours of properties have significantly reduced the distances between a buyer and seller. Somebody in the USA could now purchase a property in the UK without having physically set foot in the building.
Digital Marketing
With the advancements of digital technology comes the shift to online marketing. Traditionally selling real estate was the sole task of real estate agents, however 47% of companies in 2018 acknowledged that their highest quality of marketing leads came from social media.
Internet of Things
(IoT)
As technology is intertwined into our everyday life now more than ever, it’s shouldn’t be a shock that people buying property want their homes/buildings interconnected. Real estate buyers know this, and have begun investing and developing technologically optimised buildings for the buyers of tomorrow.
GeoSLAM Floorplans
Over the past few years, we have been working with real estate companies to make it easier to understand buildings. Combining the use of our handheld SLAM scanners and new intuitive software, GeoSLAM Floorplans was born. In a few simple steps, CRE companies can now have accurate measurements of their buildings, in often large building portfolios, and they completely own the data with no monthly costs to store the data. As a result, CRE companies are able to maximise their property value and have easy to read digital records of their assets.
Get in touch
Want to learn more about GeoSLAM Floorplans and how it could transform your business? Submit the form below and we’ll be in touch.
References
- 7 Commercial Real Estate Trends That Are Changing the Industry (impactmybiz.com)
- https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/nl/pdf/2020/sectoren/real-estate-innovations-overview-2020.pdf
- Big Data & Analytics (bernardmarr.com)
- 7 Commercial Real Estate Trends That Are Changing the Industry (impactmybiz.com)
- https://stratafolio.com/5-essential-types-of-records-for-managing-commercial-real-estate/
- https://www.rics.org/uk/news-insight/future-of-surveying/data-technology/why-is-the-quality-of-data-so-important-in-real-estate/
