Olivera Velkova, CEO of GFA Real Estate, shares her insights into the new technology entering the Dubai real estate industry.
Technology is the future – it is constantly evolving and its use in the real estate industry is growing rapidly in Dubai. More companies operating in the real estate industry are seeing the benefits of incorporating new innovative ways of doing things to win more customers and also to better service their current clients.
In the UAE specifically, there is a drive from the Dubai Land Department (DLD) with a core vision to position Dubai as the World’s First Real Estate destination with regards to Innovation, Trust and Happiness.
Personally, I believe technology is the way forward for the industry and at our firm we embrace technology capabilities which can make the experience better for our customers. My enthusiasm for technology in the sector led to me being appointed as a judge in the category of Best Real Estate Technology in the Gulf Real Estate Awards 2019. In this appointment I was exposed to new ideas in the industry and was encouraged by what I saw from the finalists in the category.
The new innovations presented as part of the awards spanned different aspects of the real estate sector, including advanced levels of property management through to smart tenancy applications. The aim of these new capabilities is to improve the liaison between tenants and landlords, as a happy tenant means a happy landlord. I was also introduced to new facilities for investors globally which make it easier to access and invest in Dubai’s property market using blockchain technology. We also saw some of the latest developments in apps for real estate agents to generate qualified leads.
The range of technologies presented covered various segments of the real estate industry, from the largest global players to local and regional firms. I feel that the new products entering the real estate market in Dubai will really help in sealing the position of Dubai as one of the top places, globally, to invest in property. They will certainly add value to the customer experience, whether you are an investor, owner-occupied buyer or a tenant.
I would like to finish this blog by mentioning the Dubai10X Initiative. In May 2018, the DLD introduced the Real Estate Self Transaction (REST), a platform for conducting real estate trading and transactions with multiple parties anywhere and anytime. The REST project is part of the Dubai10X initiative and is overseen by Dubai Future Foundation. Some of the aims of that REST platform include creating a sustainable environment where buyers and sellers can trade across the globe and reducing costs and unnecessary paperwork. The platform could also help increase property sales by facilitating transactions where one party is not in the country. I believe REST will drive the industry forward and challenge the current ways in which property transactions are carried out in the region to the benefit of customers and end users.
By Olivera Velkova, CEO of GFA Real Estate
