The property industry is among the most collaborative out there, or at least it should be.

Any one property project requires the involvement of countless different parties, from contractors to engineers, solicitors to estate agents, and many more in between.

As it stands, however, the industry is fragmented; one in which disjointed processes and inefficient supply chains reign supreme. This needn’t be the case.

Given the events of recent months, greater levels of collaboration and communication are going to prove more pivotal than ever before for the property industry. Collaboration shouldn’t be seen as an inconvenience or a box-ticking exercise.

Networking vastly benefits every property business, regardless of what property or construction sub-sector you may be in.

The Landsite was set up with this collaborative focus in mind. A property hub for both professionals and personal users alike, it helps people find what they need, where and when they need it.

A networking-based approach helps mitigate potential crises

Property projects are often stressful and fast-paced. There are few industries where the term ‘deadline’ is bandied around as much as it is within the property sector.

The obvious solution would simply be to plan the project and source for the professionals you need, months in advance. Best made plans, however, often go awry.

One of the worst feelings as a property professional is being left in the lurch when someone, on whose services you were heavily relying, falls through for whatever reason. Project managers face this issue in particular.

As a result, problem-solving is a more prominent job characteristic than they would perhaps like it to be. Being able to quickly get in touch with the ideal contractor eliminates this issue.

Networking of any kind, but particularly online, means you can build relationships with other industry professionals and contacting them is accessible should you need assistance quickly.

Collaboration fosters stronger relationships

The property industry is one grounded in trust; confidence both between the client and the contractor, and between contractors themselves. The more trust placed in one another, the more smoothly a project will invariably run.

To use an example, if as a property developer, you once had a particularly bad experience with a building contractor, then this may instil a weariness and hesitancy in the future.

Where your plans may once have been ambitious, they now become more cautious, and you don’t aim for what you perhaps could. Rock-solid relationships, however, the kind in which you know your contractor will deliver time and time again, enable property developers to push their standards as high as they can.

Of course, established relationships aren’t built overnight. However, by using a trusted source for your contractors in the first instance, greatly improves your chances of developing such a relationship.

The Landsite helps property businesses establish a list of contacts that they can trust, and with whom they can push to the very limits or margins on a project, rather than holding back on account of caution.

Don’t settle for less than you have to

Competition stimulates higher standards, that’s a universal fact and not something unique to the property industry. Pooling competitors into one collaborative platform does two major things. Initially it enables property professionals to communicate with one another, to network in the way that they would at trade fairs pre-Coronavirus.

However, it also encourages competitors to up their game, as on a platform like The Landsite, they’re being listed side-by-side with their competitors.

The property industry benefits from such collaborative opportunities, because the healthier the sector is as a whole, the more that will feed back into the individual players that comprise said industry.

In other words, collaboration encourages a more dynamic and energised market, one in which industry-leaders only stay as such if they don’t rest on their laurels. That can only be a good thing.

The upshot

Recent events have put the property and construction industries in a turbulent and precarious position. In fact, it’s been found that around 40% of construction companies believe they could fail in the wake of the virus pandemic.

A stronger sense of community has never been more important in pulling the industry through this period of great instability. Platforms such as The Landsite make it much easier for property professionals to benefit from each other’s services.

As an architect, builder, land manager or estate agent, it very much feels, at the moment, like you’re a lone dinghy floating out in the ocean. With other professionals by your side, the water becomes much more tameable.

Collaboration in the property industry enables several things; a streamlining of processes, greater project fluidity, and the ability for projects to ultimately be delivered to a higher standard.

The Landsite helps pool these separate resources together, providing a platform on which property professionals can forge meaningful connections, without having to wade through Google for hours on end.

*Ramsey Assal is founder of The Landsite