Artificial Intelligence, Web3 and ChatGPT will soon disrupt the real estate market in the GCC as Web3 technology-powered start-ups are entering the property market in a big way.

The real estate market in the GCC has been running on a manual mode – as sales teams in all the real estate firms – be it development companies or brokerage firms – spend millions of hours every month to generate credible sales leads to increase sales. This is a traditional and age-old practice that is still prevalent in modern-day real estate business.

The industry has so far failed to use technology effectively to generate sales leads, except for a few who use digital media to general random sales leads.

However, Tripler, an AI and ChatGPT-powered start-up is planning to disrupt the lead-generating game – and it is generating genuine and credible real-time sales leads. The sales team will have to convert these genuine leads into sales and get the Sales and Purchase Agreements (SPAs) signed to close the deal.

While this might force many brokers out of business, this will streamline sales across the land and real estate sector. Real estate brokers in Dubai stand to gain the most from the AI and ChatGPT-powered sales leads generated on platforms like Tripler.com.

Tripler.com is the brainchild of Sam Singh, a UK-based British-Indian serial entrepreneur. “The UAE provides the perfect canvas for the development of technology companies focused on the real estate sector. While the sector has grown dramatically, many of the innovations in the property sector are only now coming through into the UAE market,” Singh told Khaleej Times.

Real estate sale transactions in the GCC between January and October 2022 totaled $143.1 billion (Dh524.81 billion). Dubai and Abu Dhabi contributed to over 48 percent of the aggregate value transacted, Kamco Invest said in December 2022. This is higher than the full-year transaction value of 2021, which crossed $137.4 billion.

Generating sales is the biggest issue for property developers and brokers. Companies spend millions of dollars to generate sales – through traditional marketing techniques, i.e. advertisement, billboards, hoardings, print media, public relations, cold calls, SMS marketing, email marketing, digital and social media.

The key is to generate credible sales leads – to convert them into sales. It is sales, or lack of it, that determines the success or failure of a real estate project – be it residential, commercial or retail facility.

“Tripler is the world’s first artificial intelligence-powered lead conversion platform. Our investors include the early backers of Uber as well as the BOOHOO group from the UK. Our research and development in artificial intelligence was funded by the UK government,” Singh said.

“Tripler is unique technology that allows the use of algorithmic matching between agent, the property, and the buyer. Rather than depend on the old-fashioned approach of finding the right agent and visiting multiple properties before our transaction can be finalised, Tripler uses algorithms and machine learning to connect property buyers with only doors property agents, with whom there is high likelihood of transaction success.

“In this way, Tripler actually triples the chances of a successful property transaction by using artificial intelligence machine, learning and algorithmic. Matching has the key tools to smooth and the friction involved in the property buying process.”

The number of real estate transactions in Dubai jumped 44.7 per cent to 122,700 last year, when compared to 2021, according to Dubai Land Department. In 2022, around 80,216 investors registered 115,183 new real estate investments valued at Dh264.15 billion, registering a growth of 59.5 per cent growth in volume and 78.4 per cent growth in value. All these have been done through referrals and sales leads.

In a career spanning 26 years, Sam has built and successfully exited previous companies. A marketing company, Candid Marketing, built from scratch into market leadership and then sold to a LSE-listed group in 2006. A hotel development company (Milestone Hospitality Ltd) built and sold to a US Private Equity Fund in 2012 and marked his second exit a few years later.

This was followed by a real estate focused technology company, I-Homes, built again from scratch to market leadership in global emerging markets including India and Dubai. In 2014/2015. Sam stepped down from the company at the height of its success and divested control to its principal PE Investors. Two years after he exited the company, it was subsequently restructured and sold.

“Dubai pride self as this is city of the future and encourages development in technology across all sectors. The advancements in artificial intelligence and machine learning over the last 2 to 3 years have meant that almost every sector is being altered by the advent of artificial intelligence,” Sam Singh says.

“Prop-tech can help you play a bigger role in further enhancing the property buying experience for an investor in the Dubai market. The entire process of searching shortlisting assessing a property by a potential investor can be enhanced and expedited by the use of technology and artificial intelligence.

“Our company manages a highly specialised database called Triton that is able to use the latest technology to maintain a master database of all properties available in the Dubai market across all portals and agent websites. The role of technology in the property sector is growing dramatically in all elements, including property, maintenance, construction, sale, and purchase, and deal structuring can all be dramatically, enhanced by the use of technology and artificial intelligence.”

“The outlook for the use of technology and artificial intelligence in the property sector in Dubai is extremely strong, and as the appeal of Dubai continues to grow companies that have the most innovative technologies for Real Estate will find that Dubai makes a perfect home for them to launch and develop their products.”

“Given the extent of the geopolitical risks that are currently visible in various parts of the world, Dubai provides a safe haven for people to park their assets in real estate, while owning handsome returns that are higher than anybody else in the world. The nature of Dubai as a neutral territory couple with the quality of the real estate development, as well as the safety and security of Dubai makes it unique property hotspot with advantages of Dubai makes it unique property hotspot with advantages that I said to continue for the next few years.