The real estate industry is known to be one of the critical drivers of any country’s economy. The pandemic has impacted the real estate industry by bringing about significant changes in the patterns of investments, insurance, and construction due to the change in workplace environment and social and economic behavior. While many industries use location analytics to enhance their businesses, the real estate industry heavily relies on it to generate valuable insights about the location trends and demographics of the visitors and customers.
Moreover, it uncovers the opportunities crucial for businesses growth in the longer run; from finding ideal sites to getting the best value for property deals to finally maximising the chance of growth and investment opportunities.
Also Read: The value of location intelligence for retailers
Why use location intelligence for the real estate industry?
Real-time demographic trends
Location Intelligence not only helps to derive granular insights about the foot traffic trends but also maps the psychographic trends. It determines the behavioural patterns of the consumers as well as the types of incoming and outgoing traffic in the surrounding area. It provides information on consumer behavior such as what kind of population is attracted to a given site, their age, gender, how frequently are they traveling, etc.
Site selection
Identifying the right location is crucial for a consumer to determine the scope of business in the desired site. Factors such as connectivity, cost-effectiveness, presence of competitors, social and economic behaviour of the population in its surrounding area governs the site selection process. Location Intelligence, thus, helps to maximise profitability of that location. For instance, if a new branch of a hotel has to be established, there is a need to know how much traffic passes by the site, does it have any offices/colleges/schools in the surrounding area, if there are any competitors nearby, is the road accessible and much more. Location Intelligence, thus, has made things easier for real estate industry to render intelligent decisions from complex datasets.
Marketing
Better demographics with valuable insights and rich aerial map visualisation is helpful to attract the consumers or the buyers within the desired location. One such marketing process is the Hyperlocal marketing. Hyperlocal marketing is used to target potential consumers in a specific geographical area or neighborhood, analyse foot traffic trends and capitalise on the ‘near me’ searches which is crucial for the real estate agents to be ahead in the competition. By focusing on a particular smaller area which might be few blocks or streets, the real-estate agents are able to attract customers as well as provide them the location which they require.
Enrich business insights to drive growth
Understanding market demographics and spatial analytics is essential to drive growth and achieve success. Geofencing, which is defined as a virtual perimeter generated around a location helps to gain insights about the competitor’s site. Businesses are able to stay ahead of the competition by sending push notifications to the target audience at the right time. Location Intelligence, thus, enhances decision making process, mitigates risks and improves the yields of investment operations.
Also Read: Significance of location intelligence in COVID-19 vaccination drives
Trends & directions: post pandemic
Work-from-home (WFH): With the Real Estate industry being one of the worst hit markets due to COVID-19, the workplace has undergone a complete transformation; thus changing customer needs and requirements. Today, people are choosing to work-from-home even after the lockdown has opened up in several countries as it is the most suitable option for them due to the current situation. With this WFH trend, people may move towards the city periphery for affordable housing and open spaces. Nevertheless, this culture will give rise to a new demand and supply.
Impact on the Commercial Real Estate (CRE) investments
As per a study by JLL, CRE investment volumes declined sharply to USD 321 billion, marking a 29% fall in the year 2020 from the first half of 2019. The impact was felt globally due to widespread lockdowns and border restrictions. As a result, short-term investments were stalled. CRE investment volumes in Americas, APAC and EMEA plummeted by 37%, 32% and 13%, respectively as compared to the previous years.CRE tied to the customer foot traffic such as hotels, gyms, and other recreational spots have shown a major slowdown or, in some cases shutdown due to the pandemic.
AI & Location analytics helping real estate management
AI + Location Analytics possess the ability to provide meaningful predictions involving customer’s needs and requirements. For instance, it can predict the cost of an area based on various factors such as geographical location, future prospects, changes etc,. It also shows analytics related to areas which are prone to crimes, theft, disasters, hazards or any other component which the consumer would consider before purchasing or renting a property.
Found this interesting? The Location World- Real Estate digital series scheduled on 22nd April 2021, 8AM PDT/4PM UK, provides a platform for the technology experts and practitioners to learn, share and drive the location industry forward. The event will focus on the role of location intelligence in the CRE investments, changing workspace environment and to discover the power of AI and Location analytics in Real estate management.
Do not miss out on this. Book your slots NOW!
