Technology is pushing the real estate industry into the future, with the sector identified as an opportunity for software and data. Digitalization is also driving up demand for flexible workspaces.
The real estate industry in the Philippines is growing by leaps and bounds, driving up excitement in the sector for developers, investors, and consumers.
The future of the industry was the focus for the closing remarks of The FUTU/RE Summit at the ULI Philippines Conference on April 4. Matthew Kenley, the Head of Growth Partnerships for International Workplace Group, delivered the closing keynote.
Kenley opened with the idea of the experience business, and the revolution that is currently happening in the real estate industry. He raised the difference in the world before and after the launch of the internet, and the real estate industry is reaching the tipping point that will bring a similar change in society, driven by digitalization.
The United Nations predicts that 65 percent of the developing world and 86 percent of the developed world will be urbanized by 2050, but there remains a $1 trillion gap across all sectors of economic and social infrastructure. The exponential technology revolution is starting though, including 3D printing, mass customization, new construction material methods, digital procurement platforms, supply drones, collaborative robots, beacons, big data mining, augmented reality – and all of these will change the real estate sector.
The evolution of technology will lead to a stronger impact on the real estate industry, starting with virtual communication, virtual reality, and virtual modeling. The World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Future of Cities ranked reprogrammable space as the top urban innovation. Meanwhile, proptech is transforming the property market, offering data points and analytics to help businesses understand their customers, improve efficiency, and increase sales.
Real estate has been identified as a big opportunity for the adoption of software and data, as parts of the industry such as pricing, mortgage, and building management have been slow to adopt technology to make business more efficient. Startups are taking advantage of this, with those in real estate tech raising $3.4 billion in funding last year, a fivefold increase from a few years ago, driven by digitalization.
Digitalization Driving Up Demand for Flexible Workspaces
Kenley revealed statistics such as that 80 percent of the world’s adult population will own a smartphone by 2020, 61 percent of total connections will be on 4G by 2020, and 31 percent of total connections will have upgraded to 5G by 2025.
These figures affect the real estate industry by driving up demand for flexible workspaces. According to Kenley, 69 percent of millennials are willing to trade certain benefits for better workspaces, and 53 percent of professionals around the world now work remotely for at least half of their working week. Workers are able to access their files from anywhere, and the nature of jobs are changing with the advent of artificial intelligence, automation, and cloud technology.
Among the stated benefits of flexible workspaces are the possibility of outsourcing, increased productivity, better chance to attract and retain talent, cost reduction, and greater geographic flexibility. These are part of why businesses are also opening up to the idea, with a 2018 survey revealing that 91 percent of businesses believe that flexible workspaces enable employees to be more productive while on the move. In addition, 89 percent said that flexible working helps with the growth of their business, up from only 68 percent in 2016.
The Future of the Philippine Real Estate Industry
The global real estate industry is being driven by digitalization, and the real estate sector in the Philippines is no exception.
With the support of the government and the innovation by companies working in the industry, Philippine real estate is heading towards a future that will utilize the wonders of technology.
Read our previous journal on the ULI FU/TURE Summit.
