The on-going pandemic has severely affected buyer-seller relationship across various sectors. In the real estate market where in-person interaction tends to be more effective in settling any deal, the changing scenario has necessitated the developers to adopt new approaches. In response, key real estate stakeholders are leveraging digital platforms and technology as a way of adapting themselves.
For instance, with the possibility of in-person visits hampered, real estate companies are heavily investing in online platforms to facilitate online home booking for customers. They are also offering virtual house tours for an enhanced customer experience and enabling homebuyers to make sound decisions. In addition to this, while digital transaction is nothing new in the Indian realty market, amid the pandemic, it has gained more prominence. It is owing to such initiatives from developers' end that even though new property launches have been relatively less in the recent times due to economic slowdown, the use of online platforms for searching and discovering property is still sky-high.
From being a secondary option to now a necessity, the role of technology has changed in the past few months in the realty market because of how the idea of home has changed. Today, with the need to maintain social distance, extra cleanliness and many people working remotely, the conventional idea of a home no more remains the same.
With that said, technological tools like drones that were adopted only minimally earlier are now being used fully-fledged. Video-calling has become the new norm not only to show around the properties but also handle mundane aspects of real estate. Despite all these, there is nothing like visiting the property in person. In this regard, many online-focused real estate companies have accordingly adapted by installing smart locks in houses that are on sale to facilitate an in-person yet a contact-free experience.
