The impact of growing tech trends on real estate sector

For example, in retail, e-commerce is transforming the way consumers do their shopping and it is forcing retailers to adapt or become obsolete. As a result, retailers are adapting their retail strategies to focus on cross-platform integration strategies and more experiential placemaking to give consumers reasons to come and spend time in their stores. 
We start to see disruptive technologies changing the way we do business in real estate sector for both commercial and residential properties . Here are some of the leading tech trends we see growing in the real estate sector.
Data aggregation using “big data” is blooming throughout every industry. Today, buyers can access huge quantities of data from multiple sources, and in real time. This equips buyers with greater in-depth information , which in turn make them more sophisticated as they will come in having already researched the targeted product. Big data is transforming the way people make decisions by giving people knowledge to streamline the decision-making process. This information ranges from historical price data, other transaction data to building information and neighborhood statistical demographic information to help buyers and sellers make a more educated decision on transactions . Zillow.com is a great example of how big data has and continues to transform real-estate websites by incorporating big data into their content. Even basic listing sites are beginning to include some of these big data tools, such as historical price data. 
In Thailand, transaction data is not as transparent as in some countries where transaction prices are public data, but sites that track asking prices in Thailand can give buyers a better idea on pricing that will leading to more transparent deals and allows both buyers and sellers to be better informed. 
Smart Building Technology is beneficial to property managers. Property managers can install a multitude of sensors – such as traffic counters, waters sensors, temperature sensors, light sensors among others in a building to gather information to help them plan and maintain the property more efficiently. These sensors feed into a central system that uses software algorithms to keep the building running at optimum performance for load and alert building managers of irregularities and other issues as they occur. 
Smart building technology is also growing rapidly in the residential sector thanks to the introduction of home automation systems from big companies like Samsung, Google, Amazon, and Apple. 
These major players are creating platforms that enable the average person to build out their smart home solution DIY-style. As a result, many appliance and home equipment companies are developing smart home-enabled devices into their portfolio including lighting controls, thermostats, home safety sensors, security cameras, locks and alarms, home appliances, sounds systems, and TVs. 
Virtual Reality (VR) is a growing trend in real-estate. As hardware and software become more powerful, designers and developers utilise this technology in pitching new designs to customers in the commercial and residential markets. CBRE recently acquired Floored to use as a tool in helping clients visualise plate design and office fit-outs. No longer do customers have to wait until the physical structure is complete to gain a 3D sense of the place. This cuts down on refit complications and is an incredibly effective tool in helping clients make the right decisions to meet their needs for their needs. 
Though not being aggressively developed in Thailand, artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the leading growth technologies across all industries. 
The benefit of AI is that it can learn and interface with abstract and complicated command sets, allowing it to analyse data and conduct problem solving and systems refinement. 
Proptech will also benefit from the use of AI to provide building management services, using smart and connected sensors to property transaction tools equipped with big data from AI analytics. 
However, there is a bright future for proptech as it is still in an infant stage of development and mainsteam adoption has just begun, especially in the residential sector. 

Property Scene By Aliwassa Pathnadabutr, Managing Director of CBRE Thailand.