Dubai Land Department launches interactive app

Dubai Land Department (DLD) has launched an interactive application for investors and developers. The Mashrooi app allows users to search for any project under development and track construction progress, and real estate developers can use it to showcase upcoming developments to potential investors.

The app also includes an augmented reality feature, through which users can view construction progress compared with artist’s impressions of the completed building. Further enhancements to the app will include the ability to order a “drone inspection” of a project site, using a GPS tracker to deliver real-time video footage and graphics.

The multi-platform app was developed in partnership with Emaar Properties Group to drive transparency in the real estate sector for developers and investors.

Speaking on the sidelines of the recent Cityscape Global expo, Sultan Butti Bin Mejren, director general of the DLD, said: “Smart city and open data initiatives aim to make Dubai one of the smartest cities in the world, providing residents and visitors with the highest levels of technology, transparency and accuracy of information in the world.

“In line with this vision, we have developed Mashrooi, the first government-funded application of its kind. This application serves to provide up-to-date and accurate information on all buildings under development in the emirate, enabling investors, residents, schools, business owners and others to be able to make informed decisions about where to live, work or invest.”

Majida Ali Rashid, assistant director general at the DLD, said Mashrooi removes a lot of uncertainty and “builds a very strong bond of trust and transparency between investors and developers”.

The DLD said it is developing a number of initiatives to foster collaboration and encourage open data across the property sector. One such initiative will convert the back-seat windows of a car into interactive screens, complete with augmented reality, so that while they are being driven through Dubai, passengers can get a sense of how the emirate’s landscape will look in the future.

The DLD’s education arm, the Dubai Real Estate Institute (DREI), recently hosted a training course in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to focus on the intersection technology and innovation in real estate.

The course was intended to educate real estate analysts, mortgage lenders, real estate developers, asset and property managers, portfolio managers, lease brokers and sales brokers on the impact of technology on the sector. It covered a variety of topics, including new and upcoming technologies that are expected to have a significant impact on the real estate sector.