The impact of information and communication technology on real estate agency in Lagos Metropolis, Nigeria

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effect of information and communication technology (ICT) on real estate agency transactions with a view to determine its influence on the performance of estate agents. Design/methodology/approach A research approach in which questionnaire was administered to elicit relevant information from 220 practicing Estate Surveyors and Valuers surveyed in the course of the study. Data collected were analysed using mean ranking, relative influence index and analysis of variance. Findings The results showed that the use of ICT impacted positively on real estate agency transactions by promoting company’s brand thereby increasing the level of patronage. Consequently, the increased level of patronage signifies an increase in the level of income of the agents. Research limitations/implications The study was limited to social media applications otherwise referred to as ICT, which are used in real estate agency transactions. Further study on other ICT media and their effects on more areas of real estate practice in the developing economy may be required. Originality/value This paper is one of the few works on the impact of ICT on real estate agency transactions with particular reference to the social media networking especially in an emerging economy. Most of the previous studies conducted on ICT and real estate focussed only on internet use with respect to real estate agents and practices.