The potential for smartphone applications to provide insight and education for property investors can’t be ignored; hundreds if not thousands of applications are available for download, ready to assist both up-and-coming and established property developers with everything from feasibility to studying blueprints, population growth and government plans.
Below we’ve listed 10 downloadable apps for property developers offering smarter ways to strategise and design your next property development.
PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT FEASIBILITY STUDY
This comprehensive app estimates property development feasibility by entering a handful of simple figures for your next potential project.
Feasibility calculations consider stamp duty, property rates and taxes, plus settlement costs and agent fees, among others. With this, you can ensure you’re gaining a wide-ranging knowledge of costs involved.
STUDIO 216
JLL in partnership with Studio 216 have created a ground-breaking way to experience the unbuilt environment in a dynamic virtual world.
Here you can immerse yourself in 360 degrees of graphics to observe ground-up developments, capital improvements and shell space come to life with architectural 3D visualisation.
PLANGRID
Though not created solely for designers and engineers, the PlanGrid tool has assisted in the construction of more than 500,000 projects and brings the focus back to the drawing board, transforming blueprints into responsive smart sheets.
These digitised images can be marked up with notes and photos, hyperlinked to project documents and instantly disseminated to team members’ mobile devices with point-and-click simplicity.
To date, the app has aided in the construction Levi’s Stadium and Yelp headquarters, both in San Francisco. PlanGrid may have roots in the US, but their reach is international.
VERTICAL
As the name implies, this app manages each of the ‘verticals’ for complex organisations that integrate with multiple aspects of a project. Designed to be paperless, and aiming to move the business world from paper to glass with Google Glass, the SaaS cloud-based app includes a support team specialising in many industries and their respective ISO standards.
Features include platforms for sale, time, safety and asset management while an eForms module allows users to digitise business forms.
HOMESKY
Uniquely tailored to the needs of Australia’s building contractors, Homesky includes an easy to use, but comprehensive CRM interface.
Builders can communicate with customers by sharing photos and other project-specific data, keep check of day-to-day operations and configure in-house notifications for deliveries or other on-the-job happenings.
PLANTMINER.COM.AU
Get free quotes on plant and equipment hire from suppliers across Australia on the PlantMiner app. The app presents an easy way to source quotes from multiple subcontractors and hire equipment for construction projects.
Simply enter the details of your project location and exactly the type of equipment you may need, then sit back and wait for quotes to come rolling in, giving you an idea of various hiring costs.
PLANNINGVIC
For Victorians, the app accesses the Victorian Government’s Planning Property Report service which provides free planning report information for any state-wide property.
The app uses your current location, or allows entry of other addresses in Victoria, to gain access to reports for that property. Reports are delivered via PDF format and are identical to Government documents found online, with options for viewing offline.
ACONEX
With a project history including the renovation of Heathrow Airport, Aconex’s cloud and mobile platform currently attracts over five million users worldwide.
Aconex is a leading tool for owners, developers and designers, involving all internal and external stakeholders within in a development venture. This presents a united system interface with the same audit trail, providing transparency and better communication.
Included is an interactive RFI feature linking directly to BIM workflows so project workers in any department can ask questions and stay informed every step of the way.
GEO OP
Users in 4,900 cities across the globe are taking advantage of this all-in-one personalisable solution for digitised development. Built from the ground up to accommodate each new customer, this mobile device app is available without a down payment and for a flat monthly fee (which will increase depending on the number of licenses you wish to activate).
You can also deliver photo and audio files to team members, schedule recurring jobs, send in-app text messages, construct detailed profitability reports and navigate site visits via one 256-bit SSL encrypted system.
