Using Real-Time Dashboards to Monitor the Impact of Disruptive Events on Real Estate Market. Case of COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia

Real estate markets are complex both in terms of structure and dynamics: they are both influenced by and influence almost all aspects of the economy and are equally vulnerable to the shocks experienced by the broader economy. Therefore, understanding the extent and nature of the impact of large-scale disruptive events such as natural disasters and economic financial downturns on the real estate market is crucial to policy makers and market stakeholders. In addition to anticipating and preparing for long-term effects, it has become imperative for stakeholders to monitor and manage the short-term effects as well due to the emergence of ‘PropTech’ and ‘platform real estate’. In this work, we explore the use of online, real-time dashboards which have been used extensively in the context of urban management, policymaking, citizen engagement and disaster response as an appropriate tool for the purpose of monitoring real estate markets. We describe the process of designing, building, and maintaining an operational dashboard for monitoring the residential real estate market in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. We detail the techniques and methods used in creating the dashboard and critically evaluate their feasibility and usefulness. Finally, we identify the major challenges in the process, such as the spatial and temporal availability and veracity of the real estate market data, and we identify possible avenues for consistent, high-quality data; methodology; and outputs for further research.