The Need to Bridge the Digital Skills Gap in Real Estate Consulting

ESV Eshiett Inokon Samuel

The rapid and pervasive digitalization of the real estate space, locally and globally has led to a sharp digital skills deficit across the entire value chain of the real estate business. The digitalization processes in the real estate sector especially in the developed economies of the World is not only pervasive, but fast penetrating that no forward thinking real estate firm or agency can afford to ignore the on-going digitalization wind.

In a very simple definition, real estate consulting encompasses all the professional stages and skills deployed by industry professionals in meeting the needs of clients and even prospects. At present, we live in a digitalized global economy, making businesses in all sectors of the economy to depend largely on information technology and the new media in the efficient delivery of services to their array of clients.

In most developing economies like Nigeria, where most real estate firms are not operating on a very large scale, there is a huge digital skills gap for them to align with the current reality of real estate business. Where these gaps are not quickly bridged by real estate operators in Nigeria, it will be very difficult for them to make a global impact in the highly competitive real estate space. In advanced economies of the World like the United States of America (USA), and the United Kingdom (UK), real estate firms have been closing deals, leveraging on their digital channels to reach prospects, interact with them, convert them to clients, and subsequently close deals in a most seamless manner.

For real estate firms and other allied organizations operating in Nigerian real estate space to quickly bridge the digital gaps that is evidence in their operations, a lot of things must be done, and paramount among them is the training and re-training of their young team members who are adept in the use of new medial tools and are willing to embrace the digital skills as they unfold.

Investing in human capital and technological tools that will help in bridging the digital skills gap should be a long term strategy every real estate firm should adopt and run with as a way of catching up with the global wind of digitalization. Hiring, developing, and retaining digital talents across the real estate value chain should be an utmost priority.

The various professional organizations in the real estate ecosystem should as a matter of urgency include digital modules in their training calendars for their teaming members of all cadres.  This umbrella approach will go a long way in making the Nigerian real estate space a digitalized sector.

The start-up Act as recently signed into law by President Muhamadu Buhari provides a window of opportunity for real estate start-ups to cash in and leverage technology in the running of their business and position their firms for global competitiveness.

In all these, the government has a greater role to play by providing the congenial business environment for real estate businesses to thrive, make profit and contribute their quota to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

ESV Eshiett Inokon Samuel, a registered Estate Surveyor and Valuer, is a Partner at James Iniama Consult, a leading Firm of Estate Surveyors and Valuers. He sends in this piece from Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State.