The borderline between physical and digital reality is further blurred with the arrival of the fifth telephone network. The 5G becomes the great infrastructure capable of bringing the digitisation of the economy to a new stage, but how can it transform real estate brokerage?
The world of possibilities opened up by the 5G triggers creativity: the real estate agent will show his client the house virtually no matter how many thousands of kilometres separate them. The developer will be able to show what the office or residential building on the site will look like with virtual reality glasses. The number of virtual real estate fairs will multiply, where potential buyers can be shown dozens of flats in a single day.
The expectations of 5G networks are based on their three main capacities. On the one hand, greater speed in data processing, for example, to send and download high-resolution video in seconds or work remotely without limitations thanks to cloud solutions. Secondly, the total hyperconnectivity between devices. Vodafone reminds us that under the coverage of the 5G mobile network there can be «up to a million devices or elements connected per square kilometre». And finally, an instantaneous response capacity to a telematic order, known as latency time, which we all relate to the arrival of assisted driving.
But one does not have to imagine a more or less near future to begin to appreciate how disruptive this technology is. The 5G can already provide the real estate agent with great mobility in his daily life, being able to access all the information he handles from any device and place through the cloud. It also offers working environments with tools capable of automating many of their more routine tasks and those that provide less value to their work.
«We think that we are at the right time to incorporate this technology,» insists Fernández: «Just a year ago perhaps these advances would have seemed more like science fiction than real life, but after the situation we have been through in recent months, I think that we are at the right time to start investing and working on these technologies if we do not want to be left behind. Furthermore, let us not forget that we are waiting for the arrival of European funds from the Next Generation EU programme, which represent a hopeful financial instrument for the property model in order to promote its modernisation and maintain its competitiveness».
«The need to limit social contact or the difficulties of visiting homes in other areas or travelling to sign a contract have meant that video tours, virtual visits and the digital signing of contracts have become a reality that thousands of professionals already enjoy,» say the leading real estate marketplace in southern Europe, confirming the extent to which the pandemic has forced the reinvention of digital services.
Virtual Home Staging (VHS), a tool that allows houses to be digitally decorated, burst onto the scene last May. A few weeks before, the video visit had been presented, a complete but friendly channel for the virtual viewing of homes. But the need to digitalize all the needs of the sector led to the design of services such as the signing of rental contracts online, completely free for individuals and professionals; an online mortgage comparator or idealist/energy, which calculates the energy potential of any home and the savings that can be obtained with the installation of solar panels.
This digital offer of services shows to what extent «the changes caused by the pandemic have accelerated many technological processes that had been in the making for years», explains idealista. «The future that was predicted for the arrival of 5G has become a reality much earlier,» they conclude from the platform.
