8 ways technology is impacting the luxury property industry
Experts in luxury property design, management, software and automation systems agree that technology is key both now and in the future of the industry
Precision and exacting standards are at the heart of what designers, contractors, sellers and managers of luxury property look to achieve to meet the expectations of their discerning clientele. Expert knowledge and skill will never be replaced, but technology is increasingly an additional asset in all areas of the industry.
In a discussion hosted by Priya Rawal, Founder and CEO of The Luxury Property Forum, a panel of discerning experts agreed that the impact of technology on the luxury property industry is significant but, at the same time, overwhelmingly positive. Here’s what they found:
1. Technology improves accuracy
Building Information Modelling (BIM) is the process by which architects create a 3D model – or digital twin – of an existing building or proposed development. It is from this model that all drawings are generated, and it is a tool that can be accessed by all those working on the project. Andrew Paulson, Partner at architecture and design practice Lees Associates, has used BIM as standard for the last 10 years and is convinced of its value for improving accuracy.
“We carry out a series of room scans using a point cloud scanner, this data then is imported into our BIM software to generate a completely accurate 3D digital model of the property,” explained Andrew. “With this process, we have complete confidence in the dimensional accuracy of the model. As such, we can ensure design elements, structure and services are fully coordinated with the architectural design before tools are even lifted on site.”
2. Technology saves time
The improved accuracy of BIM software also helps to speed up the whole project – and time is always of the essence for UHNW clients. Anything that can be done to hasten the design and construction process is going to be attractive to clients investing in luxury property.
“We can hand the coordinated BIM model for a project over to the contractor to continue to develop any elements they’re responsible for,” continued Andrew Paulson. “A real benefit is that if the contractor encounters something unexpected on site, they can simply scan on their phone what they’ve found, send the scan to us, and we can be working on a solution straight away. That’s real time saving with an immediate impact.”
3. Technology aids communication
Whether it’s the relationship between the architect and contractors on a development project or between a sales agent and the client, there’s no doubt that technology has improved communication. Nurul Basher is the Managing Director of Space Galleon, a company that specialises in using the web to help marketing sales teams find ways to engage, to track those engagements, and to provide a global reach while retaining human contact with their clients.
“UHNW clients aren’t able to come and see marketing suites or experience CGI,” said Nurul. “But, at the same time, marketeers can’t ask them to download software before looking a presentation or cope with the problems of Zoom lag. Technology now exists where the marketing team are able to make a presentation to the client, then, when it’s over, the client can click on a link to a bespoke microsite that has tracked everything they’ve talked about, and that only they can see. This technology has been around for a while, but people are really waking up to the ways it can be utilised.”
4. Technology offers added insight
“Marketeers are always looking for ways to qualify their leads, so they can give more time to the right people,” continued Nurul Basher. “Online technology allows them to track engagement interest levels and keep track of that data while having a discussion with a client. Technology is effectively a virtual assistant that can make sense of the meeting they’ve just had and – along with their own experience – help to qualify the right leads. These are also the people who, we find, are most willing to embrace technology, because it actively helps them to connect with people in a more tangible way, and achieve better results.”
5. Technology imparts knowledge
“I’ve always found it surprising that people are prepared to spend extraordinary amounts of money purchasing high-end properties, but had no sense of what the total cost of ownership was likely to be,” stated Bill Shipton, Managing Director of luxury property management company Bold & Reeves. So, very much as a you’d never buy a car without knowing its history, Bill explained how he came up with the concept of a log book referencing the history of the property and all work that has been done on it.
“Our Preventative Maintenance Plan captures all data about the property, and all work that has been done on the property. So if you’ve had a contractor to sort a particular problem, you can get them back as necessary another time. By creating the plan and making it visible to our client, it provides continuity of knowledge and enables us to deliver a service that offers peace of mind and convenience. After all, very often our clients are only in London for three months of the year.”
6. Technology provides added service
One of the roles of every property management company is to monitor the buildings under their care. And this is where technology is a key tool in offering an exemplary overall service for Bill Shipton. “It allows us to remotely monitor and react to the temperature within the home, or if the boiler has broken down, we get an alert. In one instance, we were able to alert a client on a Saturday evening that his boiler had gone down, of which he was completely unaware. We had a team there 45 minutes later and instead of cold water the next morning, the family woke up to a warm house and hot water.”
7. Technology improves living conditions
Luxury properties are designed with sophisticated home automation systems. This technology has been fundamental for many years, and is as much part of the fabric of the building as the walls and roof. Where there has been a shift, however, is in the growing awareness of the importance of air quality and ventilation. These are key considerations for the infrastructure of luxury properties, and must be planned from the earliest stages of a project.
“Ultra-fine particles are present in large numbers in poor-quality air, and these penetrate deep into your lungs and bloodstream, causing heart disease, cancer, asthma and strokes,” explained Philip Dowds, Managing Director of automation systems experts OKTO Technologies and OKTOair. “Our OTKOair system measures and records the indoor air quality. This information feeds into our artificial intelligence engine, which then decides how to deal with and purify the air. It takes into account the number of people in the space, the quality of the air outside, the temperature difference between inside and out – and even whether a fan noise would cause annoyance. It then feeds the information back to the client via our app, or home automation system.”
8. Technology is part of the every day
Technology has clearly improved all aspects of the professional side of the luxury property industry, but are its clients so ready to embrace it? Philip Dowds said he believes they are. “When it comes to air quality, in the very near future we believe people will be measuring indoor air quality via their phone apps. And they’ll be leaving reviews online based on these results. We are being asked about technology in relation to wellness about 60% of the time. Poor air quality is in the news, and people are only going to get more interested in knowing how often the air in their home is cleaned, filtered or freshened. It is technology that will deliver that information to them.”
The expert panel were:
Bill Shipton, Managing Director of luxury property management company Bold & Reeves
Andrew Paulson, Partner at architecture and design practice Lees Associates
Philip Dowds, Managing Director of automation systems experts OKTO Technologies and OKTOair
Nurul Basher, Managing Director of digital media company Space Galleon
Please feel free to contact us or indeed the panellists for any further information (company links above)