Digitization: The new way forward in the Indian real estate: Ashish Bhutani, Managing Director, Bhutani Group
Digitization is now a weapon in innovation that drives every small, medium or large enterprise to leverage its potential for growth. Real estate is also adapting to this new change making the technology a pivotal role in the growth of the real estate sector in India. This helps to bridge the gap between realtors and buyers by maintaining transparency through a highly connected digital ecosystem.
The need arose, especially after the pandemic situation, as people relied heavily on digital tools for their day-to-day dealings and needs. Many developers of repute realized the changing scenario and employed ways to reach out to the potential buyers. One of the ways was to give them the feeling of the project that they are investing in and this is being done through virtual tours. Simultaneously, digital marketing has to be utilized to its full potential. In fact, the developer community witnessed the pros of using digital marketing during the past tumultuous months where they clocked in good sales despite so many restrictions on people going out or meeting each other. Digital tools helped the sector stay connected with the potential buyers not only in India but abroad too.
The marketing spend on digital tools have to be increased gradually; the sector has already started increasing digital spend and in the months to come it is likely to overshoot the ad spend on offline tools. Moreover, digital marketing has now become a trend as it helps to attract stakeholders through social media and keeps virtual meeting or webinars to be connected with stakeholders. Historically, real estate has always kept pace with the needs and demands of the people. As people matured and tend to spend more time on smart devices, real estate too chipped in with options that could help people choose the property of their dreams by sitting at home. The psyche of the people has veered off towards spending lesser time visiting the places; realtors understood the need and created online visualization of built-out spaces. Hence, Virtual reality comes into the picture enabling users to conduct a virtual tour of the space providing a more tangible view of the space so that the potential buyers can analyze how space would look in real world.
Another trend that is being witnessed is the sense of heightened security among the people. The way they move in real estate spaces has changed and even more so when they decide to spend their life staying at a place. To meet this demand, realtors sought refuge in the IoT-enabled security systems that provide real-time monitoring and can direct building managers to security, maintenance, and repair issues.
In fact, digitization will act as a disruptor in the way commercial properties are being managed or positioned. Using the IoT enabled devices at the commercial properties will help the mall owners or retailers understand the pattern of people walking in and thereby position their product/service accordingly. This will help the segment get organized and increase the returns in a short span of time.
Last but not the least, there are technologies that have to be used by the realtors to maximize gains and ease out the time-consuming processes inside a property. In this regard, Blockchain technology will come to the rescue of the sector as it will help the realtors keep a check on their ROI when making a deal and processing big financial transactions. This technology will also help to utilize the shared database of property-level information, which is important for leasing, purchasing and selling properties. The same can be said about the use of Cloud technology, which can help in keeping the track of the documents and updating information automatically. Then we also have to use AI-controlled automation for organizing warehouses by maintaining the inventory, sortation, ordering, and scheduling.
In conclusion, digitization is inevitable; it would be saner to adopt it for better functioning of the sector, enhance customer experience, and maximize gains.
