For some years now, the housing problem in Spain has become a general dilemma, both socially and politically. Consequently, different proposals and projects have been launched to be able to provide a solution to the creation of new homes, but even so, the scarcity of land, the lack of labor, the difficulty in procedures, the Housing Law, inflation and other factors have led to this objective being jeopardized. For this reason, the sector has stepped up and is looking for solutions to streamline processes and deal with the current problem, and they have chosen to look for technological solutions to make their way easier.
A few weeks ago, various agents in the sector came together to create a new platform that will help the real estate industry to be more digitized. To this end, they created Enlace, a company that seeks to be the link between both worlds so that companies “can take the leap.” From the point of view of the founders, technology plays a fundamental role in ending the crisis in the residential market: “The ups and downs of legislation, the increase in the cost of living and financing, and the lack of supply create an economic environment that does not It favors the growth of the real estate sector”, they say, to which they add that the digital transformation of the real estate industry will be key to supply and demand what it needs at this time.
Among the creators of Enlace is Vicenç Hernández Reche, current president of the associations of real estate agents in Spain and Catalonia (ANAI and AIC); the founder and owner Otesa real estate management, Francesc Salas, Marc Ollé and Sergi Brun, both also part of the sector and all with consulting knowledge. Experts agree that the ‘proptech’ world will grow increasingly upward, and that to get out of the crisis the sector will have to reinvent itself and get out of its most classic structures to get ahead. “Investment in this change of paradigm and business model of companies in the sector will provide a lot of security to both property owners and buyers or tenants when making decisions and closing transactions,” they settle.
Odei.io is an all-in-one platform for the management and supervision of construction projects. Specifically, the company, which comes from the Basque Country, seeks to help construction managers (managers and directors) maintain control of projects in real time to make decisions based on data. Its platform has a collaborative model between the agents because it aims to be a contribution to the value chain by delivering data quickly and accurately, and they also bring their technology closer to the works through smartphone applications in order to keep activities coordinated. Its CEO and founder, Javier Garmendia, has commented to this outlet that “one of the problems facing the real estate market is the speed at which offers are generated; that is, to produce houses.”
For this reason, Garmendia assures that the greater the efficiency of the construction companies, and as the construction deadlines are shortened, “the greater the production capacity and therefore, to accommodate the growing demand.” As a company, it seeks to provide a solution to this problem and allow deadlines to be reduced in two clear ways: promoting efficiency and reducing the risks of possible errors. Specifically, it allows construction companies and subcontractors to be in permanent contact, eliminating administrative processes and repetitive tasks, giving way to increased efficiency. But it also allows real-time and detailed control of the finances and progress of the work “contributing to quick action in the event of identifying deviations or trends.”
“The greater the efficiency, and as the deadlines are shortened, the greater the production capacity, and therefore, to accommodate the growing demand” – Javier Garmendia
Another technological platform that helps the sector to pull the digital wing to improve the current situation is the new business unit of the Kairós Concept holding company, billdin. It’s a model known as ‘software as a service’ (SaaS), for cost management in the construction sector. The idea of its founder, Pedro Agulló, is to allow comprehensive control of the works to optimize resources, and after its launch the CEO has commented that the construction industry is little digitized: “We want to reach this tool to the largest number of companies with the aim of democratizing digitization in the construction sector”, explains Agulló.
Construction is one of the most important economic pillars in Spain. In 2021 it represented 5% of GDP and it is expected that it will continue to grow in the coming years. As a result of this, the experts highlight the importance of creating new processes: “With a focus on the cloud and greater adoption of technological tools, construction can obtain a more advantageous position and move towards complete digitization, thus improving efficiency and efficiency the results in the sector”, they say from Kairós. For the founder of Odei.io, the sector, from a technology and construction point of view, has to “promote industrialization and standardization”, adopting collaborative work methodologies such as construction information modeling, better known in the Slang like BIM.
The ‘brick’ bets on AI
For some time now, the ‘brick’ sector, specifically national developers and real estate portals, has focused on new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, the use of virtual reality, IoT systems, among others.
Its objective? Deliver better services and customer experiences, streamline processes and be more transparent.
