Technology & Real Estate.

This ebook drills deeper to analyse some of the trends and impacts that ICT is having on commercial real estate. Articles highlight key issues for research in ICT impact, examine the impact of technology in commercial office property and discuss the impact of ICT upon the industrial property sector through the identification of observable trends now and in the near future. So what can we take from these articles, and how is ICT impacting real estate? Firstly, they suggest more research is needed to determine its impact and perhaps longitudinal analysis will reveal a more accurate picture of change. What is also clear is that we cannot understand ICT impact in isolation. ICT is important, and does make a difference to the shape and form of real estate products and services that we see today, but that ICT does not act alone to transform real estate. However, new types of real estate have emerged as a direct result of ICT (for example, call centres, data centres and serviced offices). There is also a blurring of emphasis between the traditional real estate sectors, and more marginal and secondary locations and property types are already at risk from ICT. Real estate service functions are also changing in emphasis, to reflect modified customer and service provider relationships brought about by ICT and other factors. However, as Gillespie and Rutherford (2004) point out, technological infrastructure is just one element of the built environment and does not in itself make a home, neighbourhood, or city more 'liveable' in its own right. Rather, individual lifestyle choices will determine how people (and businesses) use technology in the future.