Estate surveyors and valuers have been advised to be abreast of the latest advancements in property technology, which is revolutionising the profession, making practitioners provide more efficient and effective service.
The experts urged practitioners to adopt technologies such as data analytics, geographical information systems for property analysis, electronic databases for efficient data management, virtual reality tools, drone technology for property inspections and AI-powered Automated Valuation Models (AVMs) to expedite valuation processes and other areas of the profession.
Speaking at Estate Surveyors and Valuers panorama, a forum that x-rays the latest trends and innovative solutions shaping the real estate industry, organised by the Lagos branch of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), the Vice President, International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI-Nigeria Chapter), Mr Ayodeji Odeleye, said property technology impacts property management, valuation, facility management, property marketing and others.
He said that the technologies have more of a transformative impact on the industry because they help professionals to do their job properly.
Odeleye pointed out that the tools have become more pronounced in the industry, hence the necessity for professionals to adapt and adopt the technologies to streamline various processes.
For professional estate surveyors and valuers, he explained that property technology offers tools that make practitioners work more efficiently and faster, enhance data accuracy, as well as change the way houses are rented to tenants.
“These technologies enable professionals like us to provide better services, reduce manual errors and focus more on strategic decision making. By the time professionals start to integrate property technology into their activities, there are many benefits to it.
“For instance, Property technology enables you to do remote property and facility management from the comfort of your home, a tenant can tell you about maintenance issues and conveniently you can analyse and assess the issue from your office or home and send message to the artisans that will carry out repairs,” he said.
On the property market, he emphasised that a virtual tour of property is now easily done irrespective of the location of the prospective buyers and helped practitioners to reach a broader spectrum of clientele.
He said, “Digital marketing, one of the proptech solutions used in the industry, is a good tool that helps to improve client satisfaction. The role of estate surveyors is advancing proptech to serve clients better.”
“Data analytics is crucial in real estate. For instance, in property valuation, you try to analyse historical costs of a property, comparable properties in the market and current market conditions of a neighbourhood of a property, typical use or type of property in the market.”
According to him, the technology also helps practitioners in carrying out predictive analysis of the market trend, when and where to invest in the market and essentially helps to examine patterns of events in neighbourhoods.
He added that it also helps to provide insights into demography, economic trends, and consumer behaviour, upon which decisions to invest in property can be arrived at by investors or developers.
Another estate surveyor and valuer, Abiola Ajibola, noted that property technology has become so vital for professionals, particularly estate surveyors and valuers, as it makes the practitioners more relevant in a changing time.
