What Is The Impact Of Technology In The Real Estate Sector?

Technology has been shifting grounds in many sectors around the world. It is like a train that long left the station and those, not on-board risk being left out; for good. One of the sectors that have been impacted by technology is that of real estate.

Experts are calling this age the age of the fourth revolution. The fourth revolution is characterized by technology. And we cannot talk about technology without bringing in the internet and social media platforms.

Now, how has technology affected the real estate sector in Kenya and beyond? BuyRentKenya held an interesting discussion that unpacked the real estate and how technology has impacted them. BuyRentKenya is Kenya’s largest online platform that helps people to buy/rent land, homes, or property.

According to Robyn T. Emerson, the author of Building in Kenya, and the President of Women in Real Estate (WIRE), 43 percent of buyers start the home buying process by looking online, 92 percent of buyers use the internet, 50 percent of buyers use a mobile website or app in their home search, while 91 percent of realtors use social media.

The panel agreed that the absorption of technology in the real estate sector in Kenya is still at an infant stage but steady. They said there is an urgent need for most of the stakeholders within the sector to change their perspective towards technology in the sector.

“Technology is not the end in itself. It is more of an enabler,” said Mr. Alex Kamanga, the Co-Founder and Team Leader of Fundi. He said technology should be embraced to enable the smooth running of activities within the sector. “The first line of code should not be written until an actual customer is in the room. There needs to be good customer demand research.”

According to June Murage, technology in urban planning would help in increasing a lot of public participation if VR kits could “allow us all to understand how design decisions impact how our neighborhoods would look like.”

“This can be done through Building Information Modelling or (BIM). This is the consolidation of information in the construction project,” said June.

Agreeing with June, Mr. Arabbu Ndege, chairperson of the Architects Chapter of the Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK), says that there has been more than 20 percent of savings due to the use of the BIM workflow which gives detailed real-time information to all consultants.

Another that should be utilized in real estate, according to Robyn, is the utilization of data. “Data is one thing but if it’s not translated into useful information, it’s of no use.” Adding to it, June said “Big Data can be used to show more than just a house. For instance, it can show me houses next to where I work, next to my yoga studio.”

For more insights into the discussion, view the replay link here

About BuyRentKenya

BuyRentKenya.com is the largest and leading property marketplace in Kenya. Founded in 2012 and has since revolutionized the real estate industry in Kenya, by connecting buyers and sellers online in a highly convenient way make it a house name and around the world.