The Indian real estate sector is growing by leaps and bounds. It is expected to reach US$ 1 trillion by 2030. By 2025, it will contribute 13% to country’s GDP. The growth in this sector will be spurred by emergence of nuclear families, rapid urbanisation and rising household income. In recent times, the sector has witnessed significant growth due to the Government’s ‘Housing for All’ initiative and easy access to low mortgage rates.Â
Currently banks and housing finance companies offering mortgages in India predominantly follow a manual valuation process. It is estimated that about 6 million valuations are done annually in residential segment in the country and total size of the market is about Rs.18 lakh crore.Â
However, owing to the manual and fragmented nature in which valuations are conducted, the mortgage valuation sector in India is fraught with a plethora of challenges:Â
- There is an eternal shortage of manpower to conduct valuations Â
- The market values of comparable properties are not available in public domainÂ
- It is possible to survey the incorrect property owing to the absence of geo-coordinates in the majority cases
- Lack of consistency in approach, leading to variance in value reportedÂ
- Possibility of collusion to modify the actual value of the propertyÂ
- Non-uniformity in reporting formats Â
- Various forms of unverified communications resulting in enhanced chances of errorÂ
- Data Analytics: Data gathered from credible sources when analysed provides rich insights which in turn enriches the quality of survey reports. Such value adds will be highly appreciated by lenders and enhance the scope of work for a valuer.Â
- Big data: While still at a nascent stage, big data will equip valuers to analyse large data sets accurately and create forecasting models. Â
- Image streaming / recording: This technology can be used by valuers to get an enhanced and objective view of the property. A visual representation of the property has the ability to improve the quality of the report.Â
- Virtual Reality: Heat mapping and virtual reality techniques can help in generating high quality risk profile analysis and reporting.Â
- Secured cloud storage: Secure cloud platforms have the ability to store large volumes of data in a safe and secure manner to minimize data security breaches. For instance, Valocity uses Microsoft Azure to provide a secure platform for seamless and secure data flow.Â