Modern Technology and Real Estate Practice in Nigeria.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become the bedrock of modern societies with activities being streamlined to technologically meet the needs of individuals willing to adopt it in their day-to-day lives. The emergence of ICT has influenced the activities of real estate practitioners all over the world. Despite sectoral shifts and the introduction of innovative technologies, real estate professionals have been quite conservative towards industry modernization which threatens to limit their influence in society.

The global outlook generally is that the 21st century is going to be driven largely by technological changes. The world is fast-changing and very rapidly for that matter; the old order is fast crumbling and new ones are equally emerging fast. Developments in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) have brought about change in almost every sphere of modern humanity. Real estate practice has also enjoyed the presence of ICT, particularly in developed nations.

The advent of the Internet and social media has boosted the avenues through which we interact with clients, enabling us to connect more effectively with those whose lifestyles are suited for those platforms. It has also enabled us to expand our reach faster. Across the world, companies, organizations and even governments respond to the rapidly evolving technology by creating new business and operating models for unmanned aerial vehicles, otherwise known as drones which get things done without any physical presence.

Globalization has played a major role in how the internet has improved the economics of location. A more mobile and technologically advanced workforce now means that businesses can operate anywhere. Although not every company can afford telecommuting gadgets for employees’ use, many organizations have been able to develop strategies that reduce the amount of office space needed to accommodate employees. This has helped to increase efficiency among businesses by reducing the cost of leasing large spaces in expensive locations. The internet has made it possible for several transactions and activities to be carried out without the need to travel for a meeting in a specific location. The rapid growth of the internet and the need to gain a competitive advantage in business made it imperative that organizations embraced the use of ICT for productivity and strategic management. 

It is definite that technological progress will affect both the demand and the requirements on real estate but with different impacts on different types of real estate. This describes the direction the world, particularly the developed world has charted for efficient service delivery, real estate service inclusive. Suffice to say that we are not moving at the same technological pace as the western economies.

The main challenges to the growth of the sector in Nigeria still stare us in the face. Challenges such as comprehensive, accurate, reliable and readily available data, with the accompanying challenges of significant delays in processing building approvals; timelines for registering titles and legal enforcement; lack of transparency; restrictions to the legal title; and high cost of acquisition of real estate including financing costs, registration costs and service fees.

These challenges are surmountable and must be redressed with scientific inclination. We must build verifiable data for strategic real estate decisions, in addition to providing valuable advisory services to serious investors and developers to enable them to make fact-based, intelligent decisions that ultimately improve their profitability. This has become one of the fastest-growing parts of our business. These should be one of the core services implementations of real estate practices. Should we fail to do that, we would not make the essential impact in the industry.