How will technological innovation transform real estate?

Technological innovations are overwhelming our ways of living, working, consuming... However, in today's destabilized world, disrupted, in which resources are dwindling and which forces us to rethink everything, these innovations are enough- them, in their rhythm and in their form, to transform our industry in full transition, in the face of climate and decarbonization emergencies? Should we choose technology or frugality? How does technology positively transform society, the City, real estate, its actors and their professions? How can she be a source of inspiration?

Real Estate and Climate, choosing between frugality and technological innovation?

In a context where COP 27 has just ended, where the latest IPCC reports clearly remind us of the impacts of climate change, provide us with solutions, and where a national energy sobriety plan has been published by the government, we We must ask ourselves about the possible levers for the building sector to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions as well as the relevance of these levers.

The building industry now accounts for 40% of CO2 emissions. This program actually encompasses the entire chain that goes from land to the creation and then the use of a building. In addition, we can add 20% of greenhouse gases for everything related to travel, and this is particularly the case for territories and their design.

“Can a territory be frugal? No, because it does not act alone, but the inhabitants act. We must therefore be able to think about a better use of materials, and of everything that is at our disposal” explains Matthias Navarro, CEO Redman.

"Frugality is therefore reasoning about a moderate and thoughtful consumption of resources, and not a reduction in our consumption because it hurts our finances" according to Arnaud Bekaert, General Manager Promotion Ile de France, Subsidiaries, UrbanEra and Commercial Real Estate - Bouygues Immobilier.

On the other hand, when we look at history and technology on a global level, this represents only 1% of the carbon impact. But this 1% has created major transformations in other sectors. It now makes it possible to do much faster, to do less but better.

"Technology makes us act in real time, 24 hours a day, to take meteorological data into account, for example...The real question we can ask ourselves is why these innovations are not being implemented more quickly in the real estate sector? » asks Khadija Nadi, CEO DeltaQ.

The primary fear is that of the rapid obsolescence of everything hi-tech. Connected objects would be discarded more quickly, thus accelerating the subject of climate impact. This must necessarily lead to a change of mentality. Today 85% of existing buildings will still be standing in 2050. And the solutions expected for 2030 are already being implemented today in towns and rural areas, such as changing uses, for example.

“Beyond the debate, this fight is won and lost together. What is important is to understand that the stakes have changed, we are tending towards a Time that no one knows, towards an adaptation that no one has ever made, towards a model that does not yet exist. We must therefore work together, hand in hand, and be open-minded to tackle this problem. » Philippe Le Fort, Director T&I – Head of Ambio Patrizia SE.

Technology today, a source of inspiration for real estate?

If the Covid period has accelerated the transformation of the uses we are experiencing today (teleworking, the quarter-hour city), these changes apply in fact to the real estate market. Changes in uses and models come, in fact, from demand and no longer from supply. Living and working habits have changed. But real estate is often perceived as being slow to adopt technology.

There are many things that have changed in tech over the past 20 years, with in particular two major key phenomena that have transformed industries: the convergence between access to technology with the deployment of smartphones (60% of people own one today) and the democratization of low-cost computing power by the cloud.

"A computing and processing capacity that was reserved for the army barely ten years ago has become accessible to everyone" explains Philippe Vimard, COO / CTO Doctolib.

In the hotel industry, for example, the digital era has pushed the hotel stock and hoteliers to significantly and qualitatively improve their quality of service. “Finally, the Web 2.0 of fifteen years ago challenged hoteliers by providing them with direct access to the customer, and at the same time, by providing the customer with a direct impact also on the product in which he consumes. says Alexandra Goguet, Senior Director Development France & Benelux Marriott International.

However, the lines will have to move. Users are looking for more services, solutions, ideas to make their daily life easier, in order to better inhabit the city and consume it “usefully”.

“Technology has a challenge it must deal with: human capital and planetary/environmental capital. Any technology must be designed without losing sight of the social, societal and planetary aspect. » explains Stéphanie Zolesio Roux, Executive General Manager, Casino Immobilier.

The reality today is that there are well-established technologies that exist that can be deployed immediately in enterprises to make a difference. To collect data, create a foundation, create the products of tomorrow, internal optimization.

“If we look at what's happened in other industries, technology is going to disrupt real estate, that's for sure. » explains Philippe Vimard.

“When handling physical assets, it's tempting to think that you're pretty immune to technology. But I think that we will not make the environmental transition, we will not succeed in attracting the talents of tomorrow if there is no modernization of technology. » concludes Robin Rivaton, CEO Stonal.

When the Steering Committee of ULI France reflected a few months ago on the theme of this conference, an agreement was fairly quickly reached, not without debate on the subject of technology. The reason ? The real estate industry is slow to integrate technological advances even though they open up incalculable possibilities for the future.

“We have progress to make in this area. So yes, technology is complicated, it's not our job. But let's not forget, it's also a wave that we won't stop. We have to anticipate, for example, by storing data for tomorrow's use. » summarizes Sébastien Chemouny, President ULI France and Head of France Allianz Real Estate.