Property Technology: Revolutionising Real Estate

Classic property and building management systems are due for a shakeup in this digital era. In pursuit of greater convenience and utility for the benefit of end-users, up-and-coming technologies are poised to present massive opportunities for the real estate sector.

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Traditionally, enterprises in the 20th Century focused on capturing growth in the Industrial Economy,  where accumulation of physical assets was key. In the 21st Century however, the growth of digital platforms, coupled with the fundamentally human trait to share, led to the proliferation of the “sharing revolution”, essentially empowering more efficient usage of underutilised assets.

Amongst the major global emerging trends identified in the real estate sector, PwC highlighted the following pertinent to the sharing economy:

From private apartments to office spaces, the shared economy holds enormous potential for developers across various sectors of the industry, and is responsible for the unprecedented rise in interest and demand of interim property use and a fundamental shift in leasing and investment opportunities in real estate.

To fully capture this growth however, it is imperative for real estate developers and property managers alike to keep up with the technological changes that are enabling this disruption.

“The recent PwC CEO survey showed that… Only 10% (of real estate executives) are worried about speed of technology change compared to a 38% global average.”

Yet compared to other industries, real estate developers still tend towards conservativism with regards to embracing technological disruption in the sector. This manifests as an opportunity for new entrants to disrupt the sector and capture value and market share via the first movers advantage.

And one key disrupter in the real estate space is the advent of IOT (Internet of Things).

Data is widely regarded as the new ‘oil’ across industries, including real estate, providing the means for new entrants to dominate. Intelligent buildings, for instance, allow property owners and managers the opportunity to streamline practically every system in the structure, which can lead to happier tenants, increased sales, and less waste.

Smart Access Solutions

Security is a huge growth driver, and in embracing IOT and the digital integration of smart technology into properties, smart access solutions are an increasingly common first technology touchpoint being utilised by the property industry, especially so in support of the rise of the sharing economy.

Spatial constraints and change in societal attitudes are clearly reflected in the growth of whole industries in the business of communal spaces. Despite the change in accommodation options, consumers maintain high expectations of security and privacy standards and operational upkeep can prove to be a burden.

Increasing operational efficiency

Technological adoption presents an opportunity to stagnating industries to rejuvenate their business and extend a friendly, more convenient hand, to the consumer. Amidst the perennial manpower crunch, industry players - from full-fledged hospitality businesses to smaller-scale communal property managers - are digitalising their day to day operational workload.

Virtual access alleviates the manpower crunch that plagues hospitality, saving real estate companies and property managers money by virtually checking in and engaging with guests in real-time.

This substantial reduction in operational hassle and manpower costs leaves operational staff available to attend to more pressing needs of guests,  and opens up new opportunities and capacity to capture this rapidly growing market in the new sharing economy. 

With 28% of Americans misplacing keys to their own houses, imagine the drastic plunge in productivity if keys were lost in the workplace. Other than compromising security and setting inventory storage places like warehouses up for theft, the lack of a smart, fool-proof security solution effectively presents an unnecessary problem that can be easily eliminated.

Detailed Behavioural Tracking

IOT is also enabling ubiquitous understanding of customer behaviour. With an integrated asset management dashboard, keep the whole team up to date on individual personnel movements. Easily view physical trail log updated in real-time and optimise security preferences on the go.

With the igloohome dashboard, property managers are granted full autonomy to freely customise access rights specification for different registered users. In addition, this gives owners and managers the flexibility to issue Bluetooth keys or time-sensitive pin codes at ease.

Administrators are granted the ability to monitor every access point in the building, and data driven insights derived in real-time allows for ultimate access management, empowering property managers to make lightning quick decisions to optimise security and movement.

Despite the digitalisation of existing hardware solutions, the key mechanism remains the same; to provide utmost security to consumers that demand them in the most convenient and intuitive way possible.

Growing consensus

“25% of U.S. broadband households expressed their intention to purchase smart door locks in the next year.”

This reflects modern society’s increasing inclination towards convenient and familiar digital solutions for security and privacy, and calls for communal properties to adopt technology-enabled security solutions or be left behind. 

In the IOT age, there is an increasing focus on holistic building management systems involving interaction between access controls, temperature control and so on.  And interaction between functional components in a building is bound to be increasingly pertinent in a new, globalised digital era.

With the evolution and convergence of new technologies, old technologies and practises are quickly rendered obsolete, transforming and disrupting traditional industries today at lightning speed. The real estate industry is no less susceptible. The competitive nature of the property scene means that only developers and property managers who are quick to embrace these advanced technologies will be able to get and stay ahead of the curve.

igloohome is committed to empower developers by ensuring the seamless integration of technology for properties worldwide. We are dedicated to developing innovative solutions to help your property thrive. Speak to a representative today for a demo/trial/to learn more about our smart access solutions!

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