Navigating the Digital Shift: Adoption of Smart Homes and Prop-Tech-Enabled Purchasing Journeys in the Indian Real Estate Market

Abstract

The Indian real estate sector stands on the precipice of a profound technological metamorphosis, catalysed by the ascension of smart-home ecosystems and the rapid proliferation of Property Technology (Prop-Tech) platforms. These digital innovations are not merely auxiliary tools but are redefining the contours of home-buying behavior—streamlining discovery, enhancing decision-making, enabling secure transactions, and elevating post-purchase engagement. With India's Prop-Tech market projected to surpass $1 billion by 2025, and smart-home penetration forecasted to reach 15.4 million households by 2026, the digital tide is both formidable and irreversible. This paper offers an extensive secondary research analysis to explore the nuanced behavioral, infrastructural, and socio-cultural dimensions of Prop-Tech and smart-home adoption in India. Anchored in the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Diffusion of Innovation (DOI), and Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), the study synthesizes empirical findings and theoretical insights from global and domestic literature spanning (2018–2024.)