Top 11 Technology Trends Driving Real Estate Innovation in 2022

Gone are the days of traditional property dealing, technology has now taken over the world, including our homes, land, offices, and whatnot.

Property technology or PropTech is revamping the way we interact with our property, whether it is for construction purposes, property management, home services, buying, selling, or renting.

In the periphery of proptech lies CREtech and REtech, which stand for – commercial real estate technology and real estate technology, respectively. As the names suggest, they entail the technologies and software implemented in real estate applications and tools.

In this article, we will discuss in length the top real estate technology trends 2022 and the way they are redefining the consumer experience in the industry.

However, before that, let us take a brief look at the growing real estate industry.

Real Estate Industry Market – An Overview

The future of the real estate market is bright and growing exponentially! Here are a few stats related to the real estate industry:

• As per a report by Grand View Research, Inc, the global real estate market is expected to generate a revenue of USD 4,263.7 billion by 2025.
  
• North America, Asia Pacific, and Middle East Asia are set to witness considerable growth in demand for personal real estate spaces during the forecast period (2014-2025).
• Real estate spaces for commercial, retail, industrial and healthcare infrastructure are in high demand with increasing urbanization.

Here’s a graph depicting the results of a survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors on how people search for properties –

As the above data suggests, technology is helping real estate thrive. With that addressed, let us look into the different real estate technology trends which are playing a crucial part in transformation of the industry.

Key Technologies Driving the Real Estate Sector

In this section, we will highlight the key tech trends in the real estate sector and how they are playing a vital role in redefining the customer experience while directly impacting the cost of developing a real estate mobile app.

1. Big Data and Analytics

Sometimes when you are confused, what is the best possible way to reach a decision? Well, sound decisions can be made using data-driven facts! This emerging technology in real estate uses both historical and real-time information in order to provide insights on into patterns, trends, pricing, associations, demographic data, and potential value in specific locations.

How do real estate innovation and technology trends like big data affect each other? Let me wrap it up for you in simple words:

• It helps you price a property through real-time regional price analysis and forecasted future price fluctuations.
• The risk is very high in the real estate industry since price fluctuations are very common. Big data provides risk mitigation by predicting future prices.
• It tells you how to market and sell a property with better strategies based on data insights. 
• It decreases the risk of choosing the wrong property.
• It makes the real estate industry’s workflows more efficient by advising profitable projects.

For example: The first stop for all property buyers in the United States is generally Zillow and Trulia. The basic model of these companies is based on big data as they provide trend insights. They not only collect all the buying, selling, and renting trends but also the demographic information, internet traffic, and results from consumer surveys.

This data is further analyzed, which results in providing the consumers with insightful information regarding the pricing and potential value of a particular property.

2. Virtual and Augmented Reality

The VR/AR technologies used by real estate technology startups has made the online property search experience so effective, exciting, and convenient. Properties are so accessible just at the touch of your fingertips! You can visit potential properties online via virtual tours. For property managers, this one of the popular property management technology trends is a blessing. There is no need to write detailed instructions when a virtual tour can demonstrate instructions along every step of the way. According to the National Association of Realtors, 87% of people found photos very useful, while 46% of people found virtual tours extremely helpful.

The result of this real estate innovation is leading to an impressive growth in the AR/VR market domain.

Augmented reality allows you to superimpose images and create a realistic architectural image to help customers understand the property even before the property is built. Using AR one can tweak the property’s designs and make it customizable. 

For example: Roomy is a company that transforms your online property buying experience by adding furniture and accessories virtually. 

What are the benefits of AR/VR  technology in real estate development? Let me churn them out for you:

• AR and virtual reality in real estate save time because there is no requirement to physically visit the property. 
• Virtual reality in real estate enhances the customer experience because the entire process is easy, personalized and provides a clearer product representation.
• Since there is no travel involved, it enhances the global reach. 
• Real estate technology is providing a better ROI while eliminating the costs for staging a property.

3. Internet of Things

IoT refers to the appliances and devices that are digitally connected to the cloud and are constantly sending and receiving information. The adoption of this technology in real estate is a game-changer! It is because of IoT that we can imagine a world of ‘smart properties’ that seamlessly integrates the physical and virtual world. According to IoT analytics, the global IoT sector which was $150 billion worth in 2018 is poised to exceed $1.5 trillion by the year 2025.

The market size has, in turn, resulted in an increase in the number of IoT devices active globally.

Proptech is using this technology to create an unparalleled level of comfort for consumers. Home devices will contain smart sensors for predictive maintenance by alerting property managers or owners about potential problems. IoT in proptech can increase energy efficiency and help the property owner in saving money. 

[Also Read: Emerging IoT Technologies You Need To Know]

4. AI and Machine Learning

Today, if we look closely, we will find AI and machine learning being incorporated in almost every application we use. AI in real estate is proving to be the turning point in the real estate industry. In fact, PWC found that  businesses are using AI to eliminate repetitive tasks like  scheduling (79%), paperwork (82%), and timesheets (78%).

Gone are the days when finding, viewing, purchasing and selling properties used to be a tedious process.  With the help of the new technology trends in real estate, we have overcome these issues. AI in real estate turns raw data into actionable information, thus enhancing the customer experience and the entire process is now faster than what it used to be. 

How? Let me sum it up for you!

• Real estate mobile applications that are powered by machine learning are better at predicting rent rate fluctuations. According to a research done by McKinsey, real estate applications based on machine-learning models can predict changes in rent rate with 90% accuracy while changes in other property metrics can predict with 60%. Hence, this technology knows the value of your money and provides a better choice for investments.
  
• Machine learning and AI in real estate personalize the whole customer experience. It enables proptech to recommend properties and show tailored search results based on the preferences of a consumer such as, values, location, trends, and personality traits. This keeps the customer engaged and shows that the application values them.
• Chatbots in real estate applications quickly and easily answer the questions of a prospective customer.
  
• With the help of such technologies, the process of looking for a property becomes more pleasant. It saves time as inappropriate choices are never shown to the potential customer.

5. Blockchain

The worldwide blockchain sector is expected to grow from $3.0 billion in 2020 to $39.7 billion by 2025, during 2020–2025. 

All my tech-savvy friends out there must be thinking what does blockchain technology have to do with the real estate industry? Well, buying, selling or renting any property involves a lot of money and personal information! Earlier, transactions of high-value assets such as real estate have never been executed through digital channels. Such transactions have often been conducted offline involving person-to-person engagements with various entities. 

Blockchain in real estate, however, opened up ways to evolve this process. It enables assets to be tokenized and traded such as cryptocurrencies. Real Estate is witnessing a disruptive evolution with Blockchain acting as the driving force. Also, blockchain in real estate can be used to verify encrypted transactions and ensure that no tampering can be done with the financial records.

6. 5G

5G is one of the most important commercial real estate industry trends. We are yet to see the complete version of a fully evolved technology in the real estate industry! It will involve truly wireless workplaces which will obviously need higher bandwidth.

Commercial buildings generally need numerous cameras and sensors around the property. With the help of 5G, it will be easier to connect them and produce high definition images to transmit them instantly anywhere.

7. Mobile Apps

From ordering food to booking a ride, we can do just anything at our fingertips. Thanks to mobile applications. This technology is another important commercial real estate trend in 2022. As of now, there are 3.48 million apps available for download on the Google Play Store. While the Apple App Store has 2.22 million apps available for download.

Extending that convenience to the real estate industry trends, there are different mobile apps to buy, sell, browse properties, or find an agent. Buyers can now virtually meet sellers and look for properties that seem attractive. This makes the whole process easy and transparent. A mobile responsive site helps to reach out to customers on the go. Therefore, it’s important to opt for real estate mobile app development that enriches the customer experience by allowing them to access the portal whenever and wherever they want.

8. Drones

It is one of the latest real estate technology trends that you should keep track of. With drones, you can capture efficient and budget-friendly aerial pictures to create a better virtual experience. Real estate drones will provide compelling and dynamic images of otherwise inaccessible areas. Also, drone images lead to better marketing. Advertising drone images and videos drive consumer interest in the property and can be instrumental in attracting the desired audience required to make a sale. Combined with geolocation, the drone system will point to the physical position of the chosen property and be able to visualize parameters such as landscapes, zone maps, soils, and country maps to determine the value of the land.

Drones can also be used to spot potential risks or maintenance problems, which could lower the price of a property or be used in negotiations. 

9. CRM Software 

Implementation of Customer relationship (CRM) software helps manage your client relationships and interactions through a carefully organized database. With CRM, you can keep track of details like the last interaction with a customer, the type of home they’re looking for, and their contact information. This will give you plenty of time to focus on what’s really important: serving your clients. This technology trend of using CRM for property websites isn’t new. Nevertheless, it’s expected to take a mighty step further in the real estate industry.  

10. Email Automation

The advent of email automation has taken off many mundane tasks off real estate agents’ plates. With time or action-triggered emails, messages can be sent to prospective clients with follow–ups and information about new listings. 

You can set up customized sequences and send mails to whoever meets your set criteria. Email automation can be used for marketing campaigns, securing new leads, or just managing the emails piling up in your inbox.

11. Hyper-Personalized Messages

Datasets and predictive analytics allow agents to understand their customers better and group them with those who share similar lifestyle characteristics. As a result, real estate agents can now build highly-targeted content and messages that target particular audiences. They send emails to describe the housing, the benefits, and the documents needed to conclude a deal. Agents also use Facebook and Instagram to conduct tours of apartments and houses. 

[Also Read: How to build a real estate crowdfunding investment and REIT platform like Fundrise?]

Final Thoughts

I think it is safe to say that real estate and technology trends are evolving everything we know about properties and their management. 

The future of real estate market is now!

The magnitude of technology in real estate development is increasing by the day and this industry is rapidly growing. This is the right time for you if you are thinking of setting up a startup or are thinking about real estate application development or upgradation. We will be happy to help you!

Thanks to our extensive technology background, Appinventiv can assist you with real estate software development. We are a leading real estate software development company. Feel free to reach out to us in case you are looking for a real estate mobile app development company.

THE AUTHOR

Sudeep Srivastava

Co-Founder and Director