Technology is one of the most important topics at the global level today. This is the driver of development for all business segments. The finance sector is the most advanced in this regard: FinTech has been around for many years and at the dawn of its development it seemed like something incredible.

Fundamental Changes in Real Estate

Despite the fact that the real estate market is traditionally quite conservative, in the coming years under the influence of growing demand for innovations it will change beyond recognition.

These changes occur due to the development of technologies, mainly mobile, where the focus is finally and irrevocably shifted from the company to the consumer armed with a gadget. Now it’s the customer who defines the requirements for shopping centers, hotels, restaurants, offices and even industries. The industry is influenced by the shared consumption economy which has spawned new formats — all sorts of co-and-sharing (i.e. co-workings, car-sharings). Together, this gave the real estate market the opportunity to increase the efficiency of disposal of the facility.

What is PropTech?

PropTech (short for Property Technology) is practically both an industry and a set of innovations designed to change the way we research, rent, buy and use real estate. PropTech, most likely, will develop similarly to FinTech: if now it is mainly interesting for businesses, it will soon reach the end consumers of services. In terms of investment in the world, PropTech is already catching up with FinTech.

The classification of developmental areas for PropTech is related to the life cycle of a property — from creation to implementation and management. Having imposed key end-to-end technologies (big data, artificial intelligence, distributed registry systems, virtual and augmented reality) on real estate segments (retail, residential, hotel, office, industrial) and life cycle stages, we get PropTech segments and businesses.

Startups appear all over the world in the following areas: listing and search for real estate (Zillow, Realtor, Immobilienscout24); rental management software; marketplaces and classifications; crowdfunding and joint-stock platforms; real estate data, valuation and analytics; mortgage platforms; brokerage/agent services; property/construction management; virtual tours of the facilities.

So What Are the Steps to Integrate PropTech Now?

1. Digitalization of existing business processes, optimization through the use of technologies and software products. You need to automate everything that can be automated; make data your tool — collect, structure and copy data about customers, transactions, objects.

Increase communication in a single digital environment where there is a digital footprint from the actions of your employees and clients. The business model does not change, you simply thereby increase your operational efficiency and lay the foundation for future changes.

2. Creating added value for your business as a result of digitalization of business processes. The accumulated data, which when used and interpreted correctly have the character of insights, give you extra income.

3. Development of fundamentally new, breakthrough solutions that will change the business process itself and form a new volume of value for all market participants.