Awareness of new technologies and interest in how innovation can drive up the value of a property is increasing at a phenomenal rate, experts agreed at PropertyEU’s PropTech & Innovation Roundtable which took place at Mipim in March.
'Property and technology are high on everyone’s agenda this year,' said Matt Partridge, CEO of Infabode. It is not just that companies - big and small - have realised how important 'proptech' is, but also that now there are technologies worth adopting because they make a noticeably big difference to efficiency, work practices and relationships.
'Usually change is never fast in the real estate sector but technology is changing that,' said Alexandre Grellier, CEO of Drooms. 'I don’t see a big revolution but rather a constant evolution.'
Pressure is increasing to adopt new technologies and also to keep up with constant changes and improvements. 'Twelve months are like 20 years where technology is concerned,' said Jorn Stobbe, COO of Union Investment Institutional Property.
The data factor
'There are huge amounts of data out there and the problem is we don’t know what we know,' said Peter Leyburn, EMEA director of client services at Colliers International. 'You need technology to put it together and process it and to truly realise what you know.'
Fast access to reliable data is crucial for investors, landlords and clients to make quick decisions, and only technology can provide the means to gather the huge amounts of data out here, store them and make them accessible.
'We help our customers with innovative new tools like building an internal market place to store and exchange data,' said Grellier. 'We are focusing on making the information digital, available, easily accessible and transparent.'
Multiplier effect
'It is amazing how technology has changed real estate, and will continue to do so,' said Damian Harrington, director, head of EMEA research at Colliers International. 'Tech is very disruptive, so we have a fascinating few years ahead as things pan out.'
Working spaces are changing and offices are becoming tech hubs. 'There is an obvious multiplier effect in all sectors: offices, resi, logistics and retail,’ said Harrington. 'There is a clear correlation between technology and investment and productivity.'
