In recent years, technology has had a significant impact on the real estate market.

Consumers today are more tech savvy and as their expectations evolve, a digital-first approach to  buying, selling or renting homes is becoming increasingly necessary. Proptech enhances efficiency and consumer experience, streamlining processes while providing consumers with choice, convenience and cost savings.

Realtors, developers and landlords also reap the benefits of proptech through increased productivity and profitability.

Proptech defined

While perhaps a bit late to the game, the emergence of proptech, an amalgam of property and technology, is finally beginning to transform how properties are built, bought, sold, rented and marketed.

To understand how proptech works, let’s look at fintech (financial technology). The finance and banking sector has seen an influx of financial technology firms that are using technology to improve and automate financial services for businesses and consumers (think PayPal or Wealthsimple).

PropTech uses those same technologies to give greater control, access to information and an overall better and more transparent experience for consumers and realtors alike.

Enhancing the real estate experience

Like fintech, proptech’s customer-first approach uses tech and innovation to automate and improve the real estate experience.

Proptech uses a variety of technologies that have evolved over the past 25 years — including cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning — to provide access to data, online tools, market insights and personalization. Collectively, these technologies make it easier and more convenient for consumers to find and purchase property.

For example, proptech can streamline the property search and transaction process by enabling consumers to search and browse homes online, as well as book showings online.

It also uses VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality) to give homebuyers and renters a better sense of a property, as well as recommendation systems that use external data and image recognition combined with user behaviour to personalize experiences and provide helpful hints or recommendations.

Proptech can also make valuable information like sold prices and other important market data more accessible to help buyers better determine what, where and when to buy and sell, as well as estimates of current values. 

The automation of these tasks reduces the time and costs associated with traditional real estate processes. PropTech solutions offer consumers choice in how they buy, sell or rent a home, flexibility in the process and options when it comes to how much commission they are willing to pay.

Whether that’s selling your home remotely on an online auction, digitally closing on the purchase of a house, or envisioning the layout via the Metaverse, technology enables the work to be done remotely, passing potential cost savings onto the consumer. Access to real-time data and market insights also helps consumers make better real estate decisions. 

Innovation across the value chain

These technologies will continue to evolve, helping realtors, developers and builders through the integration and automation of various aspects of the real estate business, such as lead generation, property marketing and advertising, and transactions.

These stakeholders can also use data and insights to inform decisions, improve workflow, save time and increase overall productivity and profitability. 

VR and AR tools can be used by builders to create a virtual model of a building and visualize how it will look before construction begins, which can help identify potential problems from the onset. They can also help homebuyers see what a home would like once it's been transformed to their tastes.

Proptech provides a better way to connect realtors and developers with prospects.

Most people today start their home search online. Proptech companies provide websites or apps to showcase listings and reach potential buyers.

They also offer lead generation tools to help find potential clients. Freeing up the time realtors typically spend hunting for prospects means they can spend more time advising clients, thus increasing their efficiency and profitability. 

Digital real estate platforms will continue to expand their offerings over the coming years, giving Canadians the control and confidence they need to make the best real estate decisions when it comes to buying or selling a home.

As these technologies further penetrate the market, bringing big benefits to homebuyers, realtors and builders alike, we’re likely to see more innovation across every step of the value chain.