How Real Estate Evolved After COVID: Alexander Prokhorov Explains the Digital Shift

When COVID-19 brought global construction to a standstill in 2020, real estate faced one of its toughest resets. 

For Alexander Prokhorov, a real estate and asset management expert with over a decade of international experience, the pandemic didn’t just pause projects — it accelerated evolution. 

“COVID didn’t slow real estate down,” he says. “It forced us to evolve ten years faster. 

Remote Everything — From Meetings to Management 

Before 2020, few developers could imagine running projects entirely online. Now, according to CBRE’s Global Construction Outlook (2024), a majority of firms have adopted remote project management tools as part of their core operations. 

Prokhorov recalls how his team in Dubai transitioned within weeks to a hybrid model using Procore and BIM 360 for project coordination. 

“We learned to manage projects the way traders manage markets — in real time, across continents, without ever meeting in person.” 

That shift not only kept projects alive during lockdowns but permanently cut coordination delays by 30%. 

Even after the pandemic, those platforms stayed — because speed and visibility proved addictive. 

The Rise of Virtual Sales and Digital Trust 

COVID also reinvented how property is sold. 

With travel restrictions closing borders, developers turned to virtual tours, online investments, and blockchain-secured contracts. 

A 2023 Knight Frank report confirmed a significant surge in online property transactions globally since 2020. During that period, Prokhorov and his team began using 3D walkthroughs and live investor presentations via VR — a move that helped secure funding for several large-scale developments in the UAE at the height of the pandemic. 

“We realized that trust doesn’t depend on handshakes anymore,” he says. “It depends on transparency — and technology gives you that.” 

Today, over half of luxury real estate buyers complete their first negotiation virtually.

PropTech Boom: From Necessity to Normal 

Before 2020, PropTech was considered an optional upgrade. 

Post-COVID, it’s an operational necessity. 

According to Deloitte’s 2024 Real Estate Outlook, venture capital funding in PropTech has more than doubled since 2019, reflecting how digital infrastructure became essential to development. Platforms like VTS, Measurabl, and OpenSpace became lifelines for asset tracking, sustainability data, and 3D site mapping. 

Prokhorov notes that this shift mirrored the early 2000s tech revolution: 

“In 2001, every business wanted a website. In 2021, every developer needed a dashboard.” 

The real winners, he adds, were companies that didn’t just adopt tools, but integrated them into strategy — using data to predict risks, not just react to them. 

ESG and the Rebirth of Purpose 

The pandemic didn’t only drive digital transformation — it also reshaped the moral framework of real estate. 

Tenants and investors alike began demanding measurable ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) standards. 

A JLL survey in 2023 revealed that 77% of global investors now consider ESG performance before acquiring property assets. 

Prokhorov’s team launched a smart energy management pilot in Abu Dhabi aimed at reducing power consumption and improving operational efficiency. 

“ESG stopped being philanthropy,” he explains. “It became strategy. Because what’s good for people and the planet is now good for business.” 

He compares it to professional sports recovery: 

“You don’t win by running harder. You win by recovering smarter.” 

The same, he says, applies to how buildings consume and restore energy. 

The People Factor — A New Kind of Team 

The pandemic also redefined leadership. 

Gone are the days when success depended solely on in-office presence.

In 2021, Emaar Properties and CBRE implemented hybrid management models allowing executives to oversee multiple projects remotely — a structure that remains today. Prokhorov highlights how this evolution changed his own approach: 

“Leadership became less about control and more about trust. You have to lead people you don’t always see — and that means communicating better.” 

He believes the post-COVID generation of developers needs to blend technical fluency with emotional intelligence. 

“You can’t build sustainable cities,” he says, “without sustainable teams.” 

Lessons for the Future 

The pandemic tested every assumption in real estate — from design to delivery. Out of that disruption came three key lessons that Prokhorov says will define the next decade: 

1️⃣Flexibility beats forecasting. 

Markets shift too quickly for rigid planning — adaptability wins. 

2️⃣Data is the new due diligence. 

Transparency and tracking create trust faster than paperwork ever did. 

3️⃣Sustainability is resilience. 

Buildings that optimize resources weather crises better — financially and environmentally. 

Building the Comeback 

The world didn’t just rebuild after COVID — it reinvented. 

Real estate, once the slowest industry to change, became one of the most dynamic. Prokhorov believes that’s only the beginning. 

“Every disruption is a stress test,” he says. 

“In sport, you don’t grow during the game — you grow during recovery. The same goes for cities.” 

As developers embrace technology, transparency, and trust, the post-COVID era might be remembered not for what it broke, but for what it built: 

a smarter, more resilient, and more human real estate industry.