Tech Developments That Accelerated Real Estate Growth

Gone are the days when home buying looked like an age-long process involving ever-lasting search, negotiating, dealing with under or unqualified brokers and sub-standard construction. And in fact, our parents or grandparents took years to have a home of their own. Well, the picture has changed. The process has fastened, there is enough information to prepare a buyer and interesting technologies that make the process more transparent. With digitisation, the value of customer experience as well as the trust has reached a new high.

Here are some technological developments that have transformed real estate sector and accelerated its growth:

The basics

Home buyers, developers and brokers all have come closer, all thanks to the various communication modes. These modes including SMS, email or phone calls which have made it easier to communicate as and when required thus quickening the buying process. These communication modes have emerged with time due to technological advancements.

In fact now, the broker can take you on a virtual tour using video calling. So, if you are sitting in a different city from where you plan to buy a property, the broker can take you on a video tour of the property as he makes a visit.

Moreover, with changing times, through online courses, the brokers have also gained insight into the business, turning them into more than just middlemen.

Online buying

Not just word of mouth, home buyers are going online to invest in property. While initially, people thought of how one could invest a large sum into a thing they haven't seen but slowly and gradually it is realised that online has just advanced the age-old process of making property visits. Many real estate advisories including PropTiger.com, Makaan.com and Housing.com have been able to provide a gamut of properties for home buyers from across cities and categories. Not just on the web, these advisories have been reaching out to homebuyers through mobile sites, too, making it convenient for them to search for property anywhere and with ease. With multiple filters, the process becomes faster. For instance, PropTiger has an interesting feature on their Android app called PropView. With this, the home buyer could see properties that lie within a radius of five kilometres to their current location using their phone's GPS system.

Furthermore, the online medium is also being used by government departments to make the property registration, stamp duty, house rent and other payments. Thus, making the process quick and seamless.

4D view

A brand new technology in India, exclusively being offered by PropTiger.com, allows home buyers to get a real-life experience of the property. We have witnessed that while one closes on a property in an under-construction phase, but what is delivered is not satisfactory. But with 4D viewing, a home buyer can look at the project, a tower, an apartment or a room and see how they would look once completed. Besides the size and interior arrangements of each room, the home buyer can also experience the view outside. Also, one could turn the property and see how it would look from different angles.

Augmented & Virtual Reality

Taking the 4D View a step further, the technology of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality will let experience the property in a close-to-reality format. Seen the latest-in-the-market Virtual Reality (VR) headsets? These headsets show 4K HDR 360-degree view of the property. This technology has come handy in times when a site visit is not possible. So, rather than waiting, or planning a trip for site visit, homebuyers can now demand a property visit at their home using AR and VR. Makaan.com has pioneered in this technology in India moving beyond 2D viewing of the property. Now, homebuyers who come to the site for property viewing can take the advantage of feature. 

Also Read: VR, AR Are Transforming How People Buy Homes In India

Social media

For communication, feedback and educating home buyers, social media has emerged as the one-stop shop. Today you will see all the developers, brokers and advisories using various social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Quora to reach to their target audience. Moreover, knowledge-based home buying has picked up as a trend, too. Home buyers come to the social media pages to gain insight and information on the complete home-buying process. They want to be educated before they take a decision. 

Morever, leveraging the social media platform Facebook, Makaan.com launched a Facebook Messenger bot that provides an assisted home buying experience using intuitive artificial intelligence. The technology allows homebuyers to view relevant information and data in a form of natural communication, like being connected to an agent.