How Is The On-demand Economy Impacting The Real Estate Industry?

While covering every single crucial aspect associated with the real industry, it only makes sense to shed light on one of the most promising economies in the world today – the on-demand economy. This industry has influenced every industry it has touched, elevating the lives of those associated with it.

The on-demand economy has made healthcare more accessible, precise and patient-centric with its features and capabilities. It has made sales-specific market segments like food, consumer products, retail businesses and more make profits and deliver better customer experiences. It has also made transportation simpler over the last decade.

Now, the on-demand economy is finally disrupting the real estate industry. If you notice, people have been moving away from conventional sources towards more recent on-demand outbreaks such as on-demand real estate market places, peer-to-peer portals and more for property hunting. Yes, close to 50% of the property buyers purchase their preferred property through the internet.

Even a complex segment like the mortgage industry is experiencing its own sweet on-demand bubble which will only explode further.

With the on-demand economy making a significant impact in the real estate space, we felt we had to address the scope, challenges and the future of this economy in this market segment. And this post of the Digital Transformations in Real Estate Guide series will focus exactly on that.

If you’ve been following us, we have some interesting insights for you. But if you haven’t, we recommend you check out the rest of the articles on the series here.

Let’s get started.

On-demand Real Estate Market Statistics

• On an average, homebuyers approximately visit 10 properties before they decide to buy one.
• Close to 84% of the homebuyers reveal that online information on properties played a crucial role in their property research.
• Way back in 2016, 40% of the property buyers found virtual tours of properties very resourceful.
• Houses that have aerial photographs of properties posted have a selling ration that is 68% higher than the rest.

The Scope of The On-demand Economy in Real Estate

We mentioned in one of our previous posts that the real estate segment is the least digitized industry out there. That’s why several processes such as visiting properties, maintaining properties, rent or payment collection, applying for mortgages and more are still time consuming and tedious.

Fortunately, however, things are looking a little promising with the onset of the on-demand economy. Several companies like Realtor and LoopNet are revolutionizing the real estate industry with their integration of on-demand practices. On-demand portals like these are addressing and solving every single hurdle all stakeholders in the cycle experience.

This includes taking the time out to visit properties, shortlisting properties, researching about them, listing them, promoting them, maintaining them and more. All these and more aspects are being fixed by on-demand real estate companies simultaneously offering several benefits.

This is not only beneficial for the silent generation who have to either maintain their properties as landlords but to the millennials and baby boomers (who are the major property purchasing segment of the population) as well.

On-demand portals eliminate several hurdles such as finding adequate information about properties, reviews on them, insufficient details on mortgages, proximity to work and urban sectors and more by providing authentic and verified information to every visitor seeking an ideal property for their needs.

Besides, from calling and seeking information about properties via newspapers and calls, we have every information regarding properties at our fingertips. And additional information is always one chat away.  

With these portals, consumers can schedule property visits on demand, or even make them virtual on demand, talk to a lender on demand and do more before making final decisions on purchasing.

What were concerns a few years back were turned into opportunities by the on-demand economy, in turn offering a pleasant buying journey, customer experience and hassle free purchasing options. Though we stand currently at the peak of innovation and transaction experiences in the real estate space, the scope only looks more promising with the implementation of several futuristic technologies like blockchain, virtual reality, augmented reality, personalized recommendations, advanced algorithms and more.

The Influence of the On-demand Economy in Real Estate

Like we mentioned before, the advent of the on-demand economy has only brought in benefits and added conveniences to property buyers, owners and agents. But if we had to pinpoint the impact on a granular level, it would involve these.

Alternate Channels for Real Estate Agents

If you remember, property hunting back in those years involved people sitting with newspapers and pens, circling their preferred properties for calls and visits. From an advertiser perspective, there was no metric on the impressions or conversions from the ad. From a buyer perspective, they had no idea if the property was sold out before they would make a call.

But cut to today, everything is digital and property agents have a completely different set of mediums to tap into. From personalizing their advertisements to having precise metrics and analytics on campaign performance, real estate agents are having it way simpler in several aspects. They can advertise on-demand. They can even reach out to people on-demand through a real estate app or a portal.

No Middlemen

There are several peer-to-peer real estate portals out there who completely eliminate the need for intermediaries in the overall property transaction. This eliminates the need to pay commissions and makes the entire process hassle free with minimal back and forth and optimized coordination between buyers and sellers.

And if you’re still wondering who would property buyers be talking to about questions on properties, they would be conversing with the chatbots deployed by these on-demand portals. They can mimic human interactions and probably beat the Turing Test as well.

Less Time Consuming

The very essence of on-demand is the availability of a product or a service at the time and place one prefers. This means that the entire process has to be airtight and loophole-free to deliver and keep up with such promises. That’s exactly what’s happening with on-demand real estate.

From identifying sold out properties to shortlisting those that are really preferrable, on-demand portals are minimizing the time people would spend on executing redundant tasks.

Cost Effective

When the time factor is removed from a process, it automatically becomes time consuming. The on-demand portals are offering virtual house visits and verified information available to people on demand. This means people are only visiting properties they are really interested in, eliminating those that do not match their preferences. If buyers visited 10 properties before the onset of the on-demand economy, they would probably be visiting three properties before taking a call.

Digitized Processes

Further convenience is offered to stakeholders by digitization of processes. A one-time sign up and profile creation process ensures that stakeholders have interoperable information they could retrieve anytime. Through the dashboards the portals offer, stakeholders can also upload crucial documents on identity proofs, financial details, documents that support credibility and more. Even digital signatures are implemented for a streamlined process in real estate transactions.

Non-conventional Demands

The dynamics in consumer behaviour have given rise to peculiar demands in the real estate space of late. Alongside permanent spaces, consumers are also exploring newer ways to stay, work and vacation. Either as standalone services or collaborative services, a new branch in real estate as space-as-a-service has stemmed out of nowhere.

With conventional modus operandi, these spaces and their demands would have never seen their limelight. But if they are listed today, searched for and availed by consumers, this is completely because of the impact of on-demand services. Currently, there are options like staycation, co-working and other newer space requirements in the real estate spectrum.

Collaborative Tech

Because the on-demand segment is tech-driven, it allows for the integration of other tech concepts for the betterment of consumers and sellers. For instance, tech like AR or augmented reality is being increasingly incorporated into on-demand real estate portals to allow consumers get real-time visualization of how interiors would look.

This is done by collaborating with interior design companies, home décor stores and more so consumers could select paint colors, curtains and upholstery that would go with them, home décor items and more and get instant visualization of all their modifications on their apps.

This collaboration also paves the way for a new business model and newer opportunities for revenue generation for real estate businesses. What’s more interesting? They also make the entire process bespoke.

Challenges In On-demand Real Estate

While the benefits the on-demand economy offers in the real estate space makes everything seamless and glittery, only the stakeholders and developers would know what it takes to roll out an on-demand real estate portal.

To give you an idea, we have curated a few concerns and challenges. Let’s explore them.

Newer Niche And Unique Requirements

If you’re venturing out into something new, there would be tons of trial and errors involved before you zero-in on ideal solutions. Something similar is happening in this space as best practices in other segments and industries with respect to on-demand services have been already established.

With real estate, the niche is relatively new and on-demand concepts and practices are unheard of. That’s why the development of an on-demand website or an app requires more thoughts going in for the launch of services that would solve practical difficulties associated with on-demand property buying and selling.

Module requirements have to be cracked, learning curves for users and stakeholders should be studied and minimized, market demand and scope have to be explored and optimized and more.

Bringing Together Stakeholders

Like you know, there are multiple stakeholders involved in real estate. And for a portal or an app to be completely on-demand, it has to be all-inclusive and exhaustive in terms of the services offered.

For instance, an on-demand real estate portal should not only list properties on demand but pave the way for virtual property tours, scheduling in-person visits, modification of schedules, real-time notification of changes, mortgage calculator, list of lenders or mortgaging firms, documentation requirements checklist and more.

For stakeholders, the portal should be an end-to-end solutions provider. And for this to happen, the on-demand service should work with multiple stakeholders, convince them with benefits they would get to experience and bring them on board.

Consistent Updates With Trends

On-demand real estate portals should – to an extent – act like stock market portals that show the rise and fall of stock and commodity prices in real time. If there are changes in property prices or if there’s a renovation involved, buyers should get an updated notification on the same.

This will allow them to make any last-minute changes to their schedules and visits. Real-time price notifications will also enable buyers to know if they intend to proceed further with the property as other allied services such as mortgaging would also relatively change.

The on-demand real estate portal cannot afford to be out of sync with prevailing market trends.

Real Estate Is A Wider Spectrum

If you intend to launch an on-demand real estate portal, you have to include the myriad of segments associated in this industry. Even if you specialize in one of the real estate segments such as residential, you need to offer on-demand services on rental, leasing, temporary and more.

And the algorithm and modules associated with each will correspondingly change.

What technology driven next in On Demand Real Estate landscape

The future looks promising for the on-demand real estate spectrum with several exciting incorporation of technology in this space. We will have blockchain streamlining real estate associated processes, including payment with zero transaction charges, advanced recommendation engines and analytics, RPAs in property consulting and financing, advanced bidding solutions and more.

More seamless integrations of currently existing technologies are also on the cards for the on-demand real estate sector.

Case Study

There are a number of market players on the global on-demand real estate landscape. Let's look at some of them quickly.

Realtor

Realtor is probably the most popular on-demand real estate portal that offers customers genuine and precise property information on demand. From verified photos and updated property pricings to ancillary real estate services, Realtor simplifies the process of property hunting and purchasing.

LoopNet

We had dedicated an entire section on one of our earlier posts on how LoopNet offers convenient on-demand real estate solutions to its market segment. With the launch of dedicated apps, it also streamlines associated processes such as documentation, verification, credit score assessment and simpler. Customers can explore any property type across any market segment on LoopNet.

Arrive Home

Arrive Home is another market player in the on-demand real estate sector, allowing customers to check out properties on demand. With an intuitive search and listing feature, it ensures customers find properties with their preferences intact.

Wrapping Up

The on-demand real estate segment is still in its nascent stages. Meaning, there are tons of innovations on the cards like how other on-demand counterparts such as healthcare, supply-chain, groceries, travel and more have experienced.

This also means that this is the right time for you to jump onto the bandwagon with your game-changing on-demand idea for real estate and App Development or website development accordingly. We would help you meet your unique market demands. The development of the app is on us while you only have to focus on other crucial elements.

Get in touch with us today to find out how we could collaborate in bringing out the next big on-demand real estate portal into the market.