ISME April 2018

Real Estate
acts as a stimulus for the
development of real estate. It
has been the norm for so long
that real estate entrepreneurs
decide to develop their
business on the basis of a
transit hub present already
or something that has the
potential to develop a transit
hub. Even the remotest of
resorts are judged and made
popular by the accessibility
that it balances with its exotic
location. But all that is going
to change.
Here’s why?
Let us look at the changes
that might happen after the
introduction of autonomous
vehicles.
•Autonomous cars would
encourage ride-sharing
among commuters. This
would keep people from
buying cars
because of the convenience
that these autonomous cars
would provide. Traffic jam,
parking spaces and high
maintenance cost of cars
these reasons have always
made people think twice
before investing in a car.
Autonomous cars will add one
more reason to the list making
people choose driverless and
safe commute rather
than have one’s own car.
There will be a greater shift
towards an inclination to
access public or shared
transport rather than own a
car.
•Secondly, there might be
another trend that might grow
with the rise of autonomous
vehicles. People might
lose interest in transit hubs.
Cost efficient self-driving can
easily shift people’s interest
away from
conventional public transport.
• Thirdly, when the world is
filled with driverless public
transport and private cars it is
possible that
the real estate properties that
had earlier seemed to be less
alluring because of a lack of
transit hub,
might suddenly become a
valued property. This would
naturally bring in higher
values for the property.
It is also possible that
areas that have been well
connected might lose its
value because of the
convenience that autonomous
cars would provide to people.
People might get used to the
conveniences of an
autonomous vehicle and
attach less importance to
transit hubs and its relation to
the value of a real
estate property.
What about
Commercial Real
Estate Business?
Autonomous cars have the
potential to pick up a user,
drop him/her at a destination
and again go back to where
it came from. It can also park
itself in a less prime area and
make the need of finding a
parking place less important
to the user. Some cars would
also be able to move on to
pick the next customer after
dropping off one.
A reduced need can have
a mixed effect on the
commercial real estate.
Entrepreneurs who believe that
they need to have a parking
lot can save up financially.
Parking lots define the value
of a commercial place. The
possibility of not needing any
parking lot would naturally
disrupt a lot in the real estate
market. It might work differently
with different entrepreneurs.
The ones who were not doing
well because of a lack of
parking space would see the
market open up for them.
The entrepreneurs who were
thriving because of the parking
spaces will see a rise in
competition in the market. But
they can do a lot on the space
that is left unused. It can also
become a reason why people
come to their commercial
place. All they need to do is
think ahead and think well.
The rise of autonomous vehicles
seem to be very non-disruptive.
But, it has the potential to disrupt
everything on the business
world. The effect that will be
caused by this disruption must
be watched out for. Real estate
is something that no one would
think would be disrupted by the
emergence of these autonomous
vehicles. But if you look into the
details, the real estate market
is going to be disrupted quite
deeply. Entrepreneurs in the
real estate world can prepare
their business plans in a way
that it can use the autonomous
vehicles to their benefit. The only
way to succeed in the business
world is to keep oneself updated
and evolve with the changes.
SPI thinktank
initiative
Intelligent SME | April 2018
37