Technology advancement has impacted many areas of our lives in significant ways. The real estate sector in particular has seen investors and major players rush to snap up opportunities that come with embracing technology in real estate.
PropTech (Property Technology) is the popular name for the emerging technologies that affect the real estate market in both commercial space and construction. Although PropTech is still in the initial stages, the technology’s future looks bright, and we are bound to see more integration of technology in the real estate business.
Technology has seen improvement in building and construction aspects of real estate. It has brought about the development of ideas that push the limits of the traditional real estate through new technological efforts like smart cities, smart buildings, and gated communities that have smart access control systems. The implementation of such ideas is made possible by startups that pool funds and implement ideas by innovative and forward-thinking entrepreneurs who design the futuristic models.
The startup companies experienced major investment for the first time in the Year 2016 when the first Proptech startup reached seed funding of one billion dollars for the first time. More startups have followed the suit. The competitive nature of startups is bound to influence the future with the launching of ideas that push the limits of imagination in real estate.
The Prop Tech ideas that are relevant to gated communities mainly have to do with how the residents access their homes, and technologies that are incorporated in their homes.
To begin with, the fundamental concept of gated communities has to do with homes that are accessible to only the residents and keep out intruders and unauthorized people. For one to gain access to a gated community, they have to either be invited by one of the residents who has access or else they are locked out of the property.
To implement the controlled access to gated communities, modern design of homes in gated communities go further and incorporate prop-tech ideas within individual homes that make up the gated community, as well as the access point where one gains access to or exits from the gated community.
Prop Tech ideas that can be used in gated communities.
Gated communities can implement PropTech ideas, especially in the areas of property management and access control using applications. Some of the widespread access control applications are discussed in the following section.
Mobile apps to grant and restrict access
Incorporating technology in the design and building of residential areas sets the tone of how future buildings will stand out. Having gates that are connected to the Internet of Things and have connectivity to smartphones and smart devices enables controlling access to buildings using mobile apps. The mobile applications can have access codes which utilize Quick Recognition (QR) codes that can easily be scanned using the camera on a typical smartphone. The advantage that comes with using QR codes is that they are secure and can be generated on demand for each person’s entry or exit.
Mobile apps for controlling come with more benefits other than the primary function of allowing and restricting access to a gated community. The robust computing power that is contained in modern-day smartphones, coupled with features such as geolocation and geofencing capabilities allow the owners of gated communities to use the additional features to manage their property better.
Moreover, security in gated communities can be enhanced through utilizing mobile access control applications which are fast, safe, and secure. A benefit that you get with mobile apps is the limited number of personnel who are involved in the management and running of the application during setup, installation, and daily use. The fewer number of people involved means the likelihood of an outsider getting access to the application’s data becomes limited, and security breaches can easily be traced and reported.
Applying Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is a great way in which repetitive tasks that are tedious when done by human beings can be automated to be done by machines. With the correct design, the results are sometimes even better than when human beings perform the same tasks.
An advantage that comes with artificial intelligence is the fact that machines are not affected by fatigue or physical stress. Machines can work for long hours without the need for breaks that would be required if humans were to do the same amount of work as a machine.
A situation where artificial intelligence would be useful in the management of real estate property such as a gated community could be showcasing apartments within the gated community. Having one agent showcase the house to new potential tenants daily makes it repetitive and tedious work. Loss of opportunity can happen when the agent required to showcase the house is under the weather or has other engagements. Such a situation would require the meeting with the potential tenant be postponed or canceled, which might make the tenant consider other options.
Embracing artificial intelligence can be done by collecting all the information of the gated community complex and having them ready for any clients who want to see the house. An advantage that comes with using artificial intelligence to showcase the house is the ability to have multiple houses for viewing all ready at the same time. The tenant will have the choice of what they want to view and should they change their mind at any time, it will be easy to switch to a new house all without having to physically travel to the new house.
In addition, artificial intelligence can handle many clients within a day unlike relying on an agent who is limited by time and physical distance.
A downside of artificial intelligence when showcasing a house in a gated community is the absence of a personal touch. The potential client interacts with a machine, where the features and details of the house they want are displayed. For clients who need convincing by a human salesperson, artificial intelligence might cause the home owner lose those customers.
Using virtual and augmented reality
One of the benefits of modern technology is the ability to design models and showcase them in three dimensional view that resembles what the real house will look like. Embracing virtual and augmented reality in real estate development can help project managers come up with models that project what the real house will feel like, and help make convincing pitches to potential investors.
Showcasing houses to clients using virtual reality is easy and has the convenience of being able to show multiple properties at once.
Gated community homeowners and property managers can benefit by embracing virtual reality, especially for new building projects. Since building a gated community can take a long time and requires a lot of capital, the use of virtual reality helps a lot when looking for funds as it enables the owner showcase real life models of what the finished product will look like.
Convincing clients to invest money for the house in the gated community before it is completed can be difficult. Many home buyers only want to buy properties that have been completed. Virtual reality helps to bridge that gap by enabling virtual viewing of the proposed model where they can even walk from one room to another to get a feel of what it will be like when the house is completed.
Document automation
The real estate business requires carefully drafted documents, especially when making lease agreements for occupancy in gated communities. Implementation of PropTech features, such as document automation, reduces the time it takes for drafting the long and comprehensive documents and makes the production of legal documents faster and more efficient.
Both the person leasing and the property owner will find it easier to go through the automated document, and making amendments becomes easier. Cloud-based document management systems allow for efficient change management, making it easier for tenant and homeowner to reach agreement, since shared documents can be edited in real time by both parties.
The advantage with document automaton is that there is reduced paperwork and efficiency, given that cloud-based documents can be virtually signed by both parties without the need to print or scan.
In addition, it is possible to track expiry of contracts. Alerts can be set to notify the tenant to renew the contract or terminate it when it expires.
Taking advantage of big data
With the majority of real estate transactions now occurring online, there is a lot of publicly available data that can be harnessed for various purposes. Information about homeowner preferences can be harvested through search data, including preferences concerning community amenities and geographic preferences. .
The technology tools that are able to collect and analyze data can assist owners and agents of gated communities to develop strategies for the future and enable them make informed decisions will continue to be at the forefront of the real estate business.
Advantages
Innovation
The speed at which this technology has moved since its inception has seen many players join the space, and this has made competing real estate companies push their ideas to new levels. In an aim to be at the forefront, investors have made ideas that were recently only feasible on paper turn into reality.
More than just buildings, new ways of incorporating technology into buildings and homes has seen the development of smart buildings with futuristic features.
Improved occupancy
With implementation of the PropTech in gated communities, house owners can increase the occupancy rate of their homes. Marketing the vacant houses to potential clients is easy and once a tenant’s lease agreement expires, the house can be listed on advertising websites for new tenants.
Increased property value
A gated community that incorporates technology is valued more than one which does not. This leads to higher rental rates on the property and increased occupancy due to the demand created when the gated community stands out as the one among many that have embraced the technology
Shortcomings
Cost
Initial setup for technology in real estate can be expensive. Recurring costs over time can amount to large investments. This locks out home owners from implementing PropTech ideas into their homes.
The cost factor, however, can be bridged though partnerships and collaborations where a number of home owners can pool resources together and implement more expensive features. Services can also be outsourced to tech companies, but the shortcoming with such an approach is the maintenance and management costs of these companies.
Requires expertise to operate
PropTech innovations and systems require some amount of technical expertise to implement and operate. Home owners who do not have the advanced technical skills are either left out or have to hire extra hands to manage their properties. Hiring more personnel increases the operating costs making house more expensive.
Conclusion
PropTech is taking off in a big way all around the world. It is imperative for any home owner to plan how they can take advantage of this growing industry and be at the forefront in the coming years. Implementing the technology might seem like an unnecessary expenditure at the moment, but it will definitely pay off in the coming years.
