OPENRED - Artificial intelligence for the real estate sector

Outdated process of a project plan

In the real estate it is common to make a few versions of the project plan, each with a different perspective on the problem. Top down those plans are analysed and the management team decides which one is the best and should be developed with more detail. There is hardly any room for discussion about a combination of plan A and plan B, because that is difficult to imagine how it is going to work out. But neighter plan A nor B is the optimal solution, it can be somewhere in-between. Or even something completely different. With the help of available data about the housing market and a tool which is able to process this data and apply this to the problem, optimal solutions can be found.

Data Science will dominate the real estate industry

According to Joost van der Zon of OPENRED, it is not about the question whether the real estate industry will use data, algorithms and artificial intelligence, but rather when will all the decisions be based on these. In other sectors digitization is already adopted or is making its appearance with amazing results. It is time for the real estate sector to follow that trend and if a company does not adopt the usage of data, it will no longer exist anymore in 10 years, van der Zon predicts. “The most successful companies in real estate are led by directors who dare to believe in applying data and analyses.”

Benefits of the OPENRED application

To be the frontleader, OPENRED created an application. In this tool they support project developers with data, models and algorithms to make better residential project plans. Van der Zon explains: “With the OPENRED application you can find the optimal balance between returns, risks and market fit, with the result that you earn more and make better plans, faster.”

Investing in innovation

At OPENRED they started with working on the tactical decisions process at insurance companies, retailers and the government. And for four years they are also working in real estate. Van der Zon: “We noticed that during the real estate crisis nobody was investing in innovation. Now they got money to do this again, although they have no idea how and therefor jump on all the hypes like BIM, blockchain or drones. But those are not effective, data science is what they really need!”

Distribution of knowledge to customers

OPENRED already had their own algorithms, calculations and insights to be used for their customers. To make this faster and easier, they were searching for a web-based platform with a good user interface. That’s where they found a match with VIKTOR. “VIKTOR makes it possible for our customers to use our complex models, algorithms and data source without them noticing. They only need to set the correct input parameters and the result is clearly displayed in the practical user interface.” Van der Zon explains: “With the OPENRED application they have made their knowledge and service proposition scalable and accessible to all their customers.”