digital transformation in commercial real estate industry

The Impacts Of Digital Transformation On Commercial Real Estate

Tech Falcon
Published on March 21, 2021

Digital innovation is continuously changing the way the market and economy functions. Today, businesses are in a position to expand their market on the global platform and reach out to customers in every corner of the world. If organizations are wise about investing in this change, digital transformation could prove to be a dynamic catalyst capable of boosting productivity and streamlining business operations. As far as digital transformation in real estate is concerned, the latter can experience a positive shift by capturing opportunities to improve their business models and infrastructure, and gain a competitive edge in the market.

Current Challenges In the Commercial Real Estate Industry

The commercial real estate industry faces various challenges that are impacting its operations and profitability. Some of the most significant challenges include:

  1. COVID-19 Pandemic: The pandemic has disrupted the commercial real estate industry, causing a significant reduction in demand for office and retail spaces. Many businesses have moved to remote work, leading to a decrease in the need for traditional office spaces.
  2. Economic Uncertainty: The ongoing economic uncertainty is a significant challenge for the commercial real estate industry, leading to a decrease in demand for new spaces and potential delays in new developments.
  3. Sustainability and Energy Efficiency: There is a growing demand for sustainable and energy-efficient buildings in the commercial real estate industry. However, achieving these goals can be expensive and challenging for developers and building owners.
  4. Technological Disruptions: The rise of technology is disrupting the commercial real estate industry, with the increasing demand for smart buildings and the use of advanced technologies such as IoT, AI, and Big Data analytics.
  5. Regulatory and Legal Compliance: The commercial real estate industry is subject to numerous regulatory and legal compliance requirements, including zoning laws, building codes, and environmental regulations. Compliance with these requirements can be complex and time-consuming, leading to potential delays and increased costs.

Addressing these challenges requires innovative solutions and strategic planning. The industry must adapt to the changing business landscape, leverage technology, and focus on sustainability to remain competitive and meet the evolving needs of tenants and customers.

What Is the Commercial Real Estate Market Looking Forward To

As of now, the commercial real estate market is prioritizing analytics and dynamic business intelligence. This will help companies design strategies that can increase the safety standards of buildings, spot emerging behaviour patterns, boost efficiency and identify portfolio-level prospects and risks. The right combination of advanced tools comprising of data analytics, artificial intelligence, automation and direct digital engagement can drive the growth of CRE firms this year and beyond.

In order to thrive in a competitive market, especially when economic uncertainty is ruling all the fields, formulating data-driven decisions is indispensable. Digital tools that are meant to uncover behaviour patterns even if they change rapidly, can prepare companies to respond faster to the crises and opportunities at arm’s length. Business leaders admit that real estate fell behind the other industries in effectively leveraging the latest technologies. However, as commercial real estate companies are presently aiming at cutting down costs and increasing operational efficiency, business process automation will play an influential role in implementing the transformation.

Benefits of Digital Transformation In Commercial Real Estate

Omnichannel Connectivity

It has been quite some while since the power of the market has been handed over to customers from business owners. Considering the way technology is encumbering the modern consumers, it could be safely stated that the better a company’s presence is on the platforms, the higher are its chances of climbing the ladder of market authority. In this case, the real estate market is no exception. Cloud-based digital tools are meant to connect clients with their real estate agents through multiple channels so that the latter can pick up high-quality data from them and closely analyse the trends and capture better opportunities. Omnichannel connectivity also ascertains that a firm would overlook the prospects of improving their property management, security and services. Simply put, embracing digital transformation is important for gaining a complete view of all the properties on an agency’s listings and exercising greater control over their maintenance and management – something that is indispensable for the commercial real estate industry.

Real-Time Data and Rich Data Visualization

Commercial real estate mostly depends on ever-changing customer trends and preferences. Therefore, the fact that companies must always strive to collect customer data, sort and analyse them constantly to make improvements in services and up their game goes without saying. Cloud-based business intelligence and analytics tool can bring in data from innumerable sources, refine them into high-quality information and generate insights that would offer you a deeper understanding of the market situation, capture profitable opportunities and fix issues before they tip you off your hard-earned position in the sector. The data updated on these platforms can be accessed by anyone from anywhere and shared with other users through rich visual dashboards so that they can be interpreted used in the right places.

Collaboration

Being up-to-date about the changing market conditions isn’t limited to collecting and updating data on BI dashboards. While this aspect does call for some serious attention, collaborating with your employees, investors, brokers and buyers too is equally necessary. Digital transformation effectively removes communication silos which is one of the greatest reasons why a company falls behind its competitors. Bring everyone and all the data involved in a project together at a common site and then start planning its approach. This way you can rest assured that you are not going over the same thing or using the same information twice and cutting down costs to maximize ROI.

Enhanced Customer Experience

Digital transformation can help commercial real estate firms provide a more personalized and seamless customer experience by leveraging technology to enhance various aspects of the customer journey. For instance, potential tenants can use digital platforms to search for properties that meet their specific requirements, such as location, size, and amenities. Once they find a property of interest, they can complete lease applications and sign agreements online, streamlining the leasing process. After moving in, tenants can use digital platforms to communicate with property managers, request maintenance, and make rent payments, providing a convenient and efficient ongoing management experience. These digital solutions can improve tenant satisfaction, retention, and loyalty, leading to better business outcomes for commercial real estate firms.