How Technology Will Transform The Real Estate Sector in 2018 Providing customers with a virtual tour of various options, is now an important differentiator for real estate brokerages

The real estate sector in India is affected by many factors like demographics, government policies, and interest rates. Similarly, another factor that has played an important role in bringing the disruption in the real estate market is technology. In the digital era, with the help of smartphones and technology, the house hunting process has become much easier.

Many real estate companies are pushing technology to next level by providing virtual tours of potential properties to save time and cost. The virtual tour experience is almost equal to visiting a property.

BIZ Experiences India spoke to few experts to know how technology will change the real estate sector in 2018:

Exploring New Areas Using Digital Tools:

According to Viral Chhajer, Co-founder & CEO, Stayabode, in the real estate industry, right from design concept to construction until distribution, technology is opening new doors.

"Technology enables people to find homes and stays without having to go around physically. The ease it has brought to the real estate sector in the past few years is great to observe. As providers of communal living facilities for the mobile savvy generation, we depend on technology and innovation to give us the edge. Being able to explore new areas, tactics and marketing techniques using digital tools and advanced applications is fantastic," said Chhajer.

Advanced Modeling Systems Will See a Great Impact:

Surely, with the help of online services, the buyers will get a more realistic view of a property. Also, technology will further bring transparency to the market.

Chhajer feels the technology revolution in this sector has only begun.

"Better engineering and advanced modeling systems, sales channels and customer proliferation will see a great impact with the increased use of technology," he added.

Virtual House Hunting:

Indian residential property continues to be a "touch-and-feel' marketplace in which personal site visits are more or less de rigueur. Anuj Puri, Chairman, ANAROCK Property Consultants emphasized providing customers with a virtual tour of various options, be it under-construction homes for purchase or furnished apartments to rent, is now an important differentiator for real estate brokerages.

"Likewise, online home festivals, a regular feature of leading property consultancies and developers, have ushered in an entirely new and convenient way for customers within and outside India to sharpen up their available options while simultaneously benefiting from spot deals, offers, and discounts," said Puri

Bringing Predictive Analytics to Real Estate:

Puri added that another tech-driven evolutionary step that will change the face of India's property consulting industry in the not-so-distant future is improved use of predictive analytics.

"Such algorithms will be able to accurately target customers with the exact kinds of properties they are looking to buy, much like e-commerce portals are already producing personalized "wish-lists' of item people have expressed an interest in buying online," he stressed.