Strategic implications of information technology for the real estate sector

Abstract

How society, its institutions and organizations relate to place and space is largely defined by advances in information, and communications and transportation technology. Advances in information technology transform society’s relationships to and involvement in economic and social activity, and therefore the real estate processes, systems, procedures and relationships that characterize the real estate that support society’s space‐using economic and social activity. Information technology advances simultaneously introduce complexity and simplicity to the real estate sector. Now, we are seeing a convergence of functions, as a particular space assumes multiple purposes, similar to the earliest phases of economic history. The resources and purposes of activities that occur in traditional work environments will increasingly reflect those that have been thought of as occurring in residential environments, and homes will have all the resources and electronic capabilities of places of business and merchandising. Ultimately, the implications of information technology for the real estate discipline challenge all involved to craft strategies reflecting an understanding of the direction and pace of society’s transforming relationship to place and space.