The pandemic has led to the restructuring of many industries and some of them, such as tourism and hospitality, will take time to return to pre-pandemic levels. Real estate has also undergone changes, but fortunately, it has better adapted to the new reality. We will analyze how the real estate sector has changed in the year of the pandemic.
Digitization: online shopping, 3D video visits
If the sector has already seen strong digitalization, now it has accelerated: the introduction of proptech and online buying and selling of houses have marked this year. In this sense, real estate consultant Eduardo Mole emphasizes that during the pandemic, and even now, sometimes apartments are bought without a personal visit. “Of course, this is the minimum percentage, about 4%, but before Covid it was beyond belief.”
At the Inmociónate event organized by the UCI, Unión de Créditos Inmobiliarios, Carlos Rueda, Director of Idealista in the South Zone, was talking to the audience about digitalization importance “as the basis for success in real estate sector, because the pandemic has opened a new avenue for the sale of houses, with a lot of digital technologies such as interactive models, 3D video visits, digital signatures, online mortgage management or using a chatbot, all of these tools help keep the sector active despite restrictions and low mobility.”
Remote work and buying a house outside the city
Remote work seems to remain relevant. Many workers only commute to work in the office a couple of days a week. “This allows them to live further, so many users have moved to the countryside within 50-60 km from the office,” says Mole.
Jesús Duque, vice president of Alfa Inmobiliaria, also highlights this important change, as flexibility in work has almost doubled interest in houses in the countryside and villages, and even in many areas of the Spanish coast.”