Guest Contribution: Five Technologies That Could Shape Philippine Real Estate

Advancements in technology are paving the way for great and exciting tools that could shape the Philippine real estate industry.

Technology's unstoppable progress has a massive effect on how businesses are carried out, and real estate is one of the industries that are reaping many of its rewards. Many new and exciting technological advancements are being developed to make real estate selling and buying more convenient. These technologies narrow the gap between real estate sellers and buyers.

We have put together a list of five technologies that could shape Philippine real estate in the years to come.

Smart Online Listing Platforms

Over the last few years we have seen the proliferation of online real estate listings platforms, most of which follow generic designs and offer good content. This is a boon to consumers, who now can do their initial selection of properties for rent or sale without having to leave the house. All they have to do is just visit any one of these online listing platforms, where thousands of property listings are literally right at their fingertips.

However, what set the smart listing platforms apart from others are features such as completeness of inventory, easy-to-use features, and overall awesome performance. These platforms show consumers the available properties' details, such as location, property owner info, pictures, and price.

Advance search filters also allow users to view only the type of home they want to see down to specific locations. Buyers can also compare listings side by side to help them narrow down the properties that they'd like to view in person. While others, such as home-grown real estate website MyProperty.ph, show where these properties are located on a map view.

Mobile-friendly Websites and Apps

In today's mobile-first consumers, mobile apps and responsive websites are being developed to let consumers browse properties using virtually any device. In addition, numerous real estate apps have been launched that make searching for properties faster for buyers, and uploading listings more convenient for real estate brokers, agents, and owners.

This is especially important in the Philippines, where smartphone penetration is estimated at 40 percent and is expected to surge to 70 percent by 2018, according to a report published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Drone Photography

Drones are now being used in real estate photography. Drone photography provides aerial shots of properties that look good from higher elevation. Drone cameras can also capture the neighborhood where the property is located, which increases its appeal to potential buyers. Drones are not only easy to handle, but they are also a lot cheaper than renting a helicopter to provide you the best aerial shots, especially of massive estates.

Augmented Reality

With the use of a smart device, apps integrated with augmented reality combine the physical world seen through its camera with a digital overlay, which could contain information about what the camera sees. In real estate, it could display a property's details, and could also show the interested buyer more information about the location, which can save both the buyer and the real estate agent time and money.

Virtual Reality Tour

Virtual reality (VR) is currently the rage in video games, and technology has also found its way to the real estate industry. A special tool is used to capture 360-degree panoramic images of a property, which are then stitched together to create a "virtual tour." This allows homebuyers to "walk through" property to check it out as though they are actually inside it, clicking at certain spots on the images to view certain details up close.

On September 3 and 4, 2016, property buyers and sellers can experience first hand the use of VR in real estate by heading to the Bonifacio High Street Activity Center in Taguig, where the first-ever Lamudi Philippines VR Expo will be held. Guests will experience how VR is making real estate more exciting as they use VR goggles and touch-screen monitors to explore various properties built by some of the country's top real estate developers.