by Andrew Stanton, Proptech Real Estate Strategist – Journalist & Influencer – CEO of UNISSU
Proptech is a vast sprawling vista of different new technologies operating within the sphere of property. It is not just digitisation. It is re-imagining and interconnecting all the strands within the sector.
It covers property, its design, planning, build, sales, renting, asset management, and the way in which humans interact with property. Where the customer or end user’s experience can be analysed, distilled and digitised into a solution which enhances service levels and the experience of the consumer, hopefully driving a profitable outcome for the owner of the technology.
It could be a property with sensors – a talking house or providing seamless systems to replace archaic systems within estate agency, in fact a big problem in Proptech is seeing the wood for the trees and knowing which technology will succeed and which will not.
Just as Fintech exploded onto the scene in the past 15-years, where massive amounts of money were invested into Financial technology, Proptech is now starting to have the same levels of investment, in both the UK and the rest of the world.
The big problem is that many UK estate agents see Proptech or the sub-division of Proptech that applies to them as Sci-Fi. Agents are very conservative, and slow moving to make changes to their businesses. They fear change. (I always did) – Why change things if your business makes money? They feel bamboozled by the terminology and the complexities of Proptech, with many agents saying it all sounds a bit costly. They are not too clear which bit of Proptech works and produces a profit.
This is a shame because many property agents would benefit from automating the dull boring administrative type parts of their businesses.