Impact of Digital Upgradation on Indian Real Estate

Impact of Digital Upgradation on Indian Real Estate

The world out there is changing. Transforming at such a rapid rate that sometimes it is too late before you even realize it. Everything is evolving, even our routine ways of functioning and networking. What is it that has brought about this global acceleration of pace? You guessed it right, its digitisation. The digital world just snuck into our unwitting lives and created this mammoth-sized presence that today, it seems nearly impossible and even foolish at times to function without it. Many industries are transforming greatly under the digital influence, though not without compulsion. 

Ever since the introduction of programming languages in the mid-20th century, we always had a hint of what was coming. However, the Indian Real Estate Sector, like many other industries, remained resistant and even successfully managed a prolonged abstinence from the digital world. There were of course instances when members of the industry welcomed this change with open arms, but these again can be categorized as rarities. The concept of a ‘Digital India’ has prevailed for almost a decade now and many policies have been put into action. For a democracy this large, it takes time to adapt and amount to any substantial alteration. 

But, as it has long been witnessed, humans adapt best when they are taken out of their comfort zones. The Covid-19 pandemic was a blow to the blissful ignorance of mankind and it compelled us to retreat to our homes. There is no debate about the ruthlessness of the virus but it was the catalyst that was missing from our plans for a ‘Digital Future’. The pandemic raged havoc on the industry, the unsuspected economic upheaval, and the constant pressure to stay afloat and relevant pushed the industry to go through much-needed digital transformations. 

But before we go any further, let’s understand what a digital transformation entails. It is, quite simply, the up-gradation of existing practices or the adoption of new methods of carrying out business activities using digital technologies. The most important perk of taking your business online is that it opens up countless possibilities and gives you a platform with a worldwide reach. Opportunities that are usually difficult to come by in the real world, have been made feasible in its virtual counterpart. 

Why does the Real Estate Sector need this Transformation? 

The pandemic-induced lockdown threatened an economic collapse, but thanks to technological advancements that proved to be our saving grace. Our lifestyles and work culture went from nine to five at the office to zoom meetings in our bedroom. The internet offered diverse tools that aid operational efficiency and made the overall framework accessible to the masses. 

If you have ever been house hunting, you know it is no cakewalk. It is a long cumbersome process, where homebuyers often find themselves clueless and scavenged upon, and god forbid if there was a miscommunication or manual error. We are happy to say that those days are gone and with diverse cutting edge tools and automated applications at our disposal, you can cut the queue without stepping out. 

Consumers nowadays are always one step ahead of you, they are up to date with the latest trends and practices that help them make an informed decision.  To attract such consumers, a strong and transparent online presence is vital. You lose a significant number of interested buyers if you fail to establish a sense of credibility. 

BIM (Building Information Modeling) without a doubt has single-handedly transformed how projects are executed. These projects have proven to be structurally safer, environmentally sustainable, and healthier for the customers. You can execute the entire project right from design to construction, maintenance, and lifecycle analysis. Hence, an innovation such as BIM can minimize margins of error that would otherwise be time-consuming and expensive. 

Digital Trends in the Real Estate Sector

We have already teleported ourselves, almost overnight, from conference halls to living rooms, from site visits to virtual walkthroughs, receptionists to chatbots and storage rooms to cloud services. There are countless other possibilities that we can all look forward to getting behind, and here we list down a few of them: 

Application of AI and Machine Learning 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) for many people, means flying cars and robots taking over the world, thanks to the world of cinema. Even though this may be what we are eventually heading towards, it is not the case for Real Estate at least. Tens of thousands of analytical data inputs are enabling us to determine potential economic value and characteristics of a prospective property, probability or prediction of natural disasters in its vicinity, the dynamic state of the real estate market, amongst many others. 

Machine learning assists over a wide range of tasks from assessment, problem-solving and decision making and can be widely utilized to improve data management and advertising. 

Big Data

Big data is a technology programmed to analyze and systematically extract information to reveal patterns, trends, and associations. How is it applied RE? Let’s say you are in the market for a house, and it is saturated with options. Big Data assists consumers in comparing these options based on their requirements and narrows down their search, which could otherwise be quite overwhelming. This saves you time and lets you do your research before you make your choice. 

Blockchain

A blockchain is essentially a digital ledger of transactions that can be duplicated and distributed across a network of computer systems. As already established, purchasing or selling a property is a cumbersome process. Blockchain aids consumers and facilitators by providing a transparent platform, eliminating paperwork and doing away with intermediaries. 

Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computing services- servers, storage, databases, networking, etc. The use of cloud computing can improve consumer reach, response times and reduce IT maintenance costs. 80% of top real estate performers are known to use cloud services, for marketing, sales, customer relationship management, property administration, shared storage, data mining, and other tasks. 

Leverage Social Media

Even a ten-year-old today can preach the importance of social media in our lives. Your customers are out there, on social media, scrolling miles to find you. Companies are going out of their way to put their best foot forward which makes room for infinite opportunities. 

Social media marketing has already established itself as a preferred mode of marketing in Indian real estate. With every passing year, the graph of social media consistently keeps moving upward in the overall marketing budget and it is expected to grow further as the reach of social media is continuously expanding and investment costs are way lower in comparison to traditional media.