Conventional wisdom might dictate that the real estate industry, owing to its inherently conservative nature and its longstanding roots in bricks-and-mortar, is a sector of the economy that would be relatively slow and impervious to technological change. However, this could not be further from the truth. A perfect storm of gaps and inefficiencies in the global real-estate ecosystem – compounded by a boom in PropTech (aka property technology) innovation, supported by ample funding – is ushering in a new and transformative tide in how real estate is sold, bought, managed and experienced. According to a 2024 report from Deloitte, of all cited real-estate professionals, 86 percent reported using at least one PropTech solution in their daily operations.
From Virtual Tours to AI-Powered Matching: PropTech Takes Center Stage
No more trundling from one conveyancing office to another and a mountain of documents to sift through: PropTech is sparking a whole host of innovations in real estate experiences, including Virtual tours and 3D visualizations: walking from the comfort of your couch a virtual tour and 3D property visualization can allow buyers to feel like they live in the home and helps to save time and resources. A report by [i.e., National Association of Realtors] indicated that 72 percent of millennials (aged 26-41 in 2024) considered the ability to do a virtual tour to be ‘very important’ to their house search, which demonstrates the rise of this technology. Online marketplaces and listing platforms: proptech platforms pull in property listings from multiple sources, aggregating them into single platforms that serve as one-stop shops for a buyer. Buyers can search for suitable properties in their preferred location, refining their options with filters or using an interface that reminds them of Google Maps or Airbnb. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) forecasts that online marketplaces will facilitate more than 60 percent of all real estate sales by 2027, providing an example of proptech’s growth. AI-powered property matching tools: Analyzing user preferences and property information using artificial intelligence and machine learning, these tools recommend highly relevant listings to buyers depending on their specifications, thereby making the search and selection process much faster and helping them find properties of their dreams in no time. According to the latest estimates, AI-powered matching will be a standard feature on the vast majority of PropTech platforms by 2026. To learn more about PropTech trends, read our blog post on ‘[The top PropTech trends reshaping the property sector](link to your blog post on PropTech trends)’. [Source (e.g., Gartner)]
Benefits for Everyone: A Win-Win for Buyers and Sellers
While PropTech doesn’t necessarily produce these sex toys, its reach extends valuably to both buyers and sellers:
For Buyers
Efficiency boost: PropTech helps buyers to home in on a location, a price, and a list of features; schedule viewings with ease; and, in some cases, speed up the buying process. Enhanced Transparency: Detailed property descriptions, hundreds of photos, market trends, and neighborhood information. You can find it all on the internet. 3.6. Informed Decision Making: Users learn critical information related to the property, including its features and how it compares to others in the neighborhood, that empowers and enables them to decide whether the purchase of the property makes sense for their purposes. Article: How virtual tours can enhance your home buying experience.
For Sellers:
Broader market: PropTech platforms expose a property to a bigger pool of potential buyers, increasing the chance of it being sold more quickly and, potentially, for a better price. Better Marketing: Pictures and virtual tours help properties tell their story and make a good impression on more qualified buyers. Easy communication: The platforms make contact with the people who are interested in the product easily accessible and allow the seller to keep up with inquiries and arrange viewings.
A Glimpse into the PropTech Future
The future of PropTech is brimming with exciting possibilities. Imagine a world where VR (virtual reality) tours will make experiencing a property hyper-realistically possible. This means that remote viewings become far more feasible. According to Matthew Ball, a Metaverse expert, the VR tours will be utilized for more than 50 percent of real estate sales by the year
2030, fundamentally changing how buyers interact with a property (3). A blockchain allows us to record all property transactions transparently and securely. Blockchain technology will transform real estate transactions and the way we transfer funds. According to technology research firm Forrester Research, 20 percent of real estate transactions will use blockchain by 2028, making the whole process smooth and saving a great deal of money. Data-driven insights are now supporting all stakeholders – buyers, sellers, and real estate professionals – in decision-making on a real‑time basis.
