Technology to lift property sector from pandemic woes

MANILA, Philippines — The use of property technology  will help the real estate sector recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and build resilience from future shocks, according to the Subdivision and Housing Developers Association (SHDA).

May Rodriguez, national president at SDHA, said that technology is quickly shaping the future of real estate and property industry.

“Our coping with the pandemic is fueling the adoption of many new technologies. In order to keep up, modern real estate technology companies create more ways and models to satisfy their customers,” Rodriguez said.

The association recently held a virtual event attended by housing and property developers, partner government agencies, and other stakeholders in the property sector to discuss the importance of sales automation and augmented technology solutions, as well as  property management software solutions for improved operations and customer service.

Umpisa Inc. president and co-founder Pamela Belen said some real estate developers exceeded their performance even during the pandemic, through digital investments and initiatives.

Belen pointed out that real estate players need to focus on client management and sales automation that provide end-user benefits.

The technology firm has an integrated platform called HomeJoy allowing buyers, developers, sellers, funders, and property managers to transact and coordinate online.

The platform has cloud-based solutions including lead generation, property documents management, data security, and client management through task automation, to  help increase sales conversion.

“Our goal is that by 2025, we want to modernize 1,000 developers in our country, which would equate to around 25 percent of the local real estate industry. These developers would have an end-to-end digital platform for automated home buying, selling, and financing,” Belen said.

Jeo Paz, founder and CEO of technology innovation company Nifty Hero Multimedia Services, also showed how augmented reality technology and artificial intelligence can link home buyers and sellers amid the pandemic.