Four Tech Upgrades Featured In Real Estate 4.0 (Video Content)

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It has long been an industry resistant to major change, but everything is in flux now for real estate as disruptive technology has truly begun finding its place here. And even if many people's buying, leasing, and rental decisions continue to be driven by traditional factors like location, cost, building quality, and design, everyone is now looking ahead at the most sought-after new customers: millennials. These digital natives will be heavily influenced by what technology a property offers in addition to its other aspects. So how exactly is the real estate landscape changing?

Digitising your design dreams with 3D printing

3D Printer building bridges https://t.co/oYApqTy3nx via youtube pic.twitter.com/DpcUWXRnLy

— STEM Genius® (@STEM_Genius) November 28, 2015

The 3D printing industry was estimated to be worth USD 4.5 billion in 2015—and this figure is expected to rise to USD 17 billion by 2020. There have already been many examples around the world of entire homes and apartment complexes created using 3D printers, with one of the biggest projects currently underway in Singapore: authorities there have recently announced plans to print houses storey by storey as a way of tackling housing issues and lowering dependence on foreign labour.

Dubai has also jumped into the fray, using at 3D printer to help build, very fittingly, the Museum of the Future. One of its attractions will be an office built solely by 3D printing, where interestingly labour costs have been reduced by an estimated 50-80% and construction waste by up to 60%. This is truly real estate 4.0.

At KPMG Luxembourg, we're also excited to have completed our first 3D-printed building using our own 3D printer—check it out:

3d printed Igloo KPMG @KPMGLuxembourg pic.twitter.com/9TEKbc7V0N

— Elena Antonenkova (@ElenaAntonenkov) January 5, 2016

Looking at (not toward!) the future with virtual and augmented reality

Virtual reality is the new buzzword in town: products like the Oculus Rift, Google Glass, and Samsung Gear VR are already edging into the real estate market by providing simulations of our world—and our real estate. It is easy to imagine a not-too-distant future where this technology will save you a lot of time and travelling costs by allowing you to explore and experience investment opportunities easily, regardless of where they—or you—are.

Another dimension is added with augmented reality, which lets the architect take a real-world environment and populate it digitally...