By Viktor Chong viktorchong@thestar.com.my
Kuala Lumpur: The Property Conference 2019 recently held at the Quill Convention Centre featured an array of future-themed topics focusing on real estate.
Some of the subjects addressed include virtual reality, smart home technology, artificial intelligence, Big Data and Blockchain – and how they impact the property market, business entities, investors, house buyers and stakeholders.
A joint collaboration between Wealth Wolves and BiGE, the property conference assembled a lineup of experts in the region to share their knowledge and experiences.
The speakers included Fourth Industrial Revolution Structural Transformation (FIRST) president Aaron Ting, Juwai.com chairman Georg Chmiel, Alpha REIT Managers Sdn Bhd chairman Datuk George Stewart Labrooy, Mahzan Sulaiman founder Mahathir Mahzan and Wealth Dragon Ltd chairman Vincent Wong.
“The government wants to build a million new homes in the next ten years, but we can’t seem to sell the ones we have in stock,” said George. According to him, the Malaysian market is in need of more data to facilitate better decision making.
Ting suggested the usage of block-chain to streamline property transactions and market information sharing between government agencies, developers and other related stakeholders.
“Ministries can transform their database of personal information, properties, assets, qualifications, permits and et cetera into a Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) format,” he said, adding that Malaysians will be able to use their digital identity to facilitate exchange through smart contracts in an efficient way once this is done.
Georg addresses disruption as a positive force, stating that it is a process of making things easier and more efficient.
Regarding the fourth industrial revolution, Georg cautioned that social jobs that are more operational based will decline, taken up by automated systems. Instead, he foresees that social jobs involving creativity and strategic thinking, such as CEOs, concierge, hair stylists and social workers will still be in the safe zone.
Concerning property-based vocations, George said real estate agents will be focused less on matching clients with their dream homes, but rather in providing the necessary human touch, something that robots cannot replicate.
