Blockchain technology will revolutionize the real estate sector

The evolution of blockchain is set to revolutionize the real estate sector with the UAE being one of the early adopters of the technology.

What really does blockchain technology do and how does it impact the real estate sector? According to CBInsights, blockchain technology offers a way for untrusted parties to reach consensus on a common digital history using a trusted intermediary.

For the real estate sector, it can help address several challenges such as enhancing trust and transparency, creating a secure and tamper-proof shared database, making transactions more efficient, and limiting the use of intermediaries, thereby reducing costs and saving time.

Realizing the enormous benefits that the technology can bring to all stakeholders, the Dubai Land Department announced the Dubai Blockchain Strategy in 2017 with the goal of converting all title deeds in its registry into a blockchain environment and eventually integrate all the real estate services.

What could have taken up to 20 days for a property transaction to be completed can be executed within 30 minutes with the new technology? By enhancing the journey of end-users, blockchain technology makes real estate transactions faster and simpler, without the need for intermediaries. 

The use of blockchain technology will no doubt have an impact on middlemen – which is why it is important for the brokerage community to step up their game and innovate themselves to be more relevant in the digital era.

The several value-adds that blockchain technology delivers are integrally linked at how various real estate stakeholders evolve. For example, one of the benefits of the technology is how property search will become more optimized and efficient – as it can be driven through one blockchain-based property listing platform.

Further, with digital identities being used, the need for manual verification of details is eliminated and will make the entire process of property management – from signing leases to managing cash flow and other property related services – seamless.

All this dramatic pace of transformation will no doubt add value to the customer. But they must also be aware that cybersecurity challenges exist, and it is important to maintain due diligence at all points.

While Dubai has invested significantly in securing the digital infrastructure, it is also up to every customer to build their knowledge and insights on blockchain and other related technology so that they are up to speed with the changes happening around them.

I believe that blockchain is an opportunity to further enhance the customer experience – and leveraging such tech advances is essential for building a sustainable and scalable business model.

This information has been provided by Cecilia Reinaldo CEO at Home Owners Direct HODShare this