Corporates experimenting with emerging technologies and the availability of capital for PropTech will transform the real estate and residential sector in the years ahead. Examples of emerging technologies are drones, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. The Internet of Things is fuelling the rising demand for technology-enabled devices and homes. Tenants are getting used to higher service levels, which will require the sector to adapt. This is a path tech companies such as Amazon, Google and Apple are already exploring to create smart homes. Examples include the likes of smart lightning, temperature controls, air quality and the use of robots for cleaning.
Residential investors will have to integrate more technology in their buildings and services. For example, to generate real-time asset performance data and create so-called digital twins of the assets to manage assets more effectively and interact with users. They will also have to provide tenants with a smooth customer journey, not only when on-boarding tenants, but also to retain and service tenants. All with the aim of improving indoor living quality and enhancing the ‘living’ experience of users, while reducing energy and property management costs. On the other hand, in the future the asset and user-related data this generates will be essential to make buildings and business processes more autonomous.
There are many other technologies that can affect the residential sector to a greater or lesser extent. For the residential sector, it is especially important to monitor the development of digital transactions and new mobility solutions. The first could make the customer journey more lean, effective and private. The second could change the need for parking space and mobility-related services.