Proptech seen to future-proof  real estate sector

CEBU, Philippines —  The Subdivision and Housing Developers Association (SHDA) expects property technology (proptech) to help future-proof the real estate sector in the Philippines and bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“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,” said May Rodriguez, SHDA national president and Ayala Land Inc. Residential Business Group assistant vice president.

During a virtual event, entitled “Digitizing the Customer Experience: The Latest in Marketing and Property Management Technologies,” SHDA brought together innovators, housing and property developers, partner government agencies, and other stakeholders in the property sector.

The discussion centered on the importance of sales automation augmented technology solutions, and property management software solutions in improving the operations and customer experience in the real estate sector.

Pamela Belen, president and co-founder of Umpisa Incorporated, emphasized that some real estate developers exceeded their performance even during the pandemic because of their digital investments and digital initiatives.

For Belen, client management and sales automation are some end-user benefits that real estate players should focus on fulfilling. For instance, HomeJoy by Umpisa, an integrated online platform, allows the buyers, developers, sellers, funders, and property managers to transact and coordinate online effectively. It offers cloud-based solutions including lead generation, property documents management, data security, and client management through task automation, thus increasing 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,” she said.

Jeo Paz, founder and CEO of Nifty Hero Multimedia Services, demonstrated how augmented reality (AR) technology and artificial intelligence (AI) bridge the gap between home buyers and sellers amid the widespread restrictions on community mobility due to the pandemic.

The tech innovation company delivers an advanced marketing solution that allows real estate developers to offer their clients a more personalized and unique experience. They can go on a visual tour of their prospective property through their mobile devices.

Digitization is also key to addressing the challenges brought about by manual processes in property management, according to Edward Encarnacion, president and CTO of Inventi Intellectual Holdings Corporation.

Inventi provides a complete property management solution including data libraries, gate management, online forms, billing and collection, frictionless communications and engagement, dashboard and reports, and maintenance management.

“Everything can be automated. We’re automating everything to allow developers and associations to do more and to improve their service without having to add people,” Encarnacion said.

George Siy, SHDA chairman and Convergence Realty and Development Corporation president, affirmed that these ready applications save time and energy and keep developers from having a full team to develop and maintain services, allowing them to focus on their core business of development, sales, and customer service.