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As per a KPMG report, India's realty industry is poised to touch $650 billion by 2025, rising from$120 billion in 2017. During this period, the report notes the industry's GDP contribution will jump from around 7% to 13%. 

Significantly, realty and housing are the nation's third-largest employer – after agriculture and manufacturing – providing jobs to 50 million-plus people. Naturally, the housing segment (a subset of the real estate sector) will continue growing concomitantly. Besides the above factors, housing will be spurred by robust economic ground norms, a slew of proactive reforms and the mounting deployment of technology. Accordingly, new asset classes such as rental housing, warehousing realty and co-working offices will register a rising presence in India. 

The ubiquitous emergence of technology in almost all spheres is swiftly transforming housing. Once primarily a brick-and-mortar enterprise, the sector is steadily becoming more tech-savvy and digital. Tech start-ups are linking buyers, sellers and developers, transforming the traditional model of selling or renting properties. Where site visits were mandatory for checking out a property, virtual video tours have made this convenient to do from the comfort of one's home or office. In fact, through augmented and virtual reality, buyers can enjoy a 'live' experience of the property without actually visiting the site. 

For builders and brokers too, technology has made the management of backend functions easier and seamless through accounting software and allied solutions. Besides, blockchain technology can help in improving the safety of assets through secure records that cannot be tampered by third parties. Such innovations can play a crucial role in boosting the trust quotient between buyers and builders. Once this happens, buyers will be more receptive to closing deals speedily. 

That's not all. Thanks to tech innovations, construction quality has improved immensely while delivery timelines for infrastructure development have fallen sharply. To elaborate, constructing a building earlier took months and years. Today, prefabricated units complete the construction within weeks or days. Furthermore, technology in the form of GPS positioning ascertains accurate vertical alignment of towers. 

Given the economies of scale and savings on labour and other relevant costs, such structures can be created without extra expenses. By transforming the construction of homes for developers and improving the home-buying experience for buyers, it makes the entire experience more satisfying, smooth and stress-free for all stakeholders.

The other advantages of technology include digital contracts, cloud storage, centralised command and control complexes and smart homes/building solutions. Likewise, technology can facilitate amenities-based searches, map-based location services, dynamic pricing models, online marketing, credit score retrievals, EMI services, online agreements and token payment facilities for bookings of properties and much more. All of these tech innovations have led to a dramatic increase in the market data flow. 

Moreover, property enquiries and relevant responses can now be managed within hours. A plethora of mobile apps and property listing sites, online links to funding sources, digitally-signed documents and similar offerings have seen paradigm changes in the purchase and marketing of properties. 

For individual and institutional investment decisions in residential and commercial properties too, technology can offer well-researched advice within minutes on whether a deal is worthwhile or not. Rapid information availability and analysis on popular zones, besides sales and other pertinent data, can all ensure faster deal closures. For instance, revenue and expense details can be quickly collated in examining the advantages of a deal via AVMs (automated valuation models). 

Online services also offer critical data on the recent deals done in different locations. Homebuyers can then obtain a more realistic idea about any property's market value. Therefore, buyers benefit from procuring properties at reasonable rates while developers and brokers gain from faster transaction closures. 

The spectrum of technological advancements include:

• Improvised fire safety, detection and suppression systems, which make homes safer. 

• Centralized ventilation systems that improve the air quality inside apartments and optimize the heating and cooling load of the building, being more energy-efficient.

• Intelligent lighting systems lower operational costs and enhance a project's visual appeal.

• Waste management systems help residential colonies contribute to lowering the Municipal Corporation's load by becoming self-sustainable via generation of electricity and gas from such systems. 

• Sewage treatment and water treatment plants have become so compact (with refined designs and technologies) that every housing project can have these despite space constraints. Water brought back into the system using STPs can irrigate gardens and also be put to general use. 

• Pneumatic pumps used in plumbing systems save energy, leaving a lower carbon footprint. 

• Solar technology generates enough electricity for buildings while the excess power can be given to the Municipal Electrical Grid. Such green energy minimises the supply required from thermal, further reducing the building's carbon footprint. 

• High-speed elevators whiz between floors speedily, making vertical travel easier. 

• Rainwater flowing from rooftops (otherwise wasted through drains) is collected in rainwater harvesting pits and released underground, recharging the groundwater table.

• Energy-efficient construction material has solved the waste generation and accumulation problem. Recycled materials are used in constructing buildings in different phases to increase the sustainability of buildings and the ecosystem.

Clearly, technology has reshaped the housing sector majorly while driving a balance between modern structures and the environment, thereby reducing the housing sector's carbon trail, making the industry more sustainable…