Mapping the Future

“Only 22 per cent of the people who bought our properties in 2021 physically inspected the location or the physical building,” declares Johannes Weissenbaeck, founder and CEO of OXO Living, an Indonesia-headquartered property and design company that develops and manages estates, villas and other luxurious homes around the world. Indeed, Weissenbaeck’s statement harks at the roots of a new beginning for realtors and prospective homeowners alike.

One of the first ways the real estate industry adapted when the Covid-19 pandemic halted travel was to step up its digital offerings. Tammy Fahmi, senior vice-president of global servicing and strategy at Sotheby’s International Realty says that with consumers digesting most content on their mobile devices, including searching for a home, it was only a matter of time before such a move took hold. On their part, real estate firms put up “listings that possess high-quality images, but also ones that prioritise compelling video assets that