Proptech: Changing the Way Real Estate Is Done
As the “internet of things” (IoT), the “cloud,” mobile devices, and, more recently, 5G have expanded the potential for innovation, market attention turned toward new applications for the untapped market of the real estate industry. Since real estate was once an industry known for “back of the envelope” calculations and standard approaches to development and investment processes, the question for both real estate and technology companies is not only which business activities could make use of new generations of technology but also where industry-specific applications would be most impactful.
This report explores the level and profile of real estate companies’ most recent activity—within roughly the last three years—in integrating the quickly growing and changing property technology (proptech) industry. It also provides a framework to understand the breadth of current applications, their impacts on business functions, as well as business strategies used for adoption, and plans for the next three years (or the foreseeable future).
Proptech: Changing the Way Real Estate is Done focuses solely on the experience of real estate companies—the end users of proptech. Data were collected via a survey of 200 ULI members who have direct involvement with their companies’ recent adoption of proptech. These companies represent a wide range of roles within the real estate industry, with the largest groups of respondents in development, investment, or architecture. Eighteen in-depth interviews were also conducted with real estate executives whose companies have recently adopted new technologies and are planning for more.
Within these companies, 11 business areas are represented. While technology is increasingly interconnected within every organization, the experiences to date—and plans for the future—often differ by business area. The report provides the experiences of the survey respondent companies, as well as the insights and observations from one-on-one interviews, by business area.
In addition to providing a structure for thinking about technologies for real estate companies, a key goal of the research was to answer the question, “What aspects of technology that affect real estate have proved to be the most innovative, impactful, or brought about the most change to date, even as the number and nature of property technologies continue to evolve?”
The survey and interviews spotlight a real estate industry that has more than begun the process of moving far past traditional approaches. Technology is now viewed as the way to remain competitive in every business product, service, and operation. And even more so, as a means to challenge the status quo and lead market change. As one company said, “We are increasing our [adoption] capacity in order to be ahead of the curve and lead the transformation in the real estate sector.”
Report Summary: As the “internet of things” (IoT), the “cloud,” mobile devices, and, more recently, 5G have expanded the potential for innovation, market attention turned toward new applications for the untapped market of the real estate industry. Since real estate was once an industry known for “back of the envelope” calculations and standard approaches to development and investment processes, the question for both real estate and technology companies is not only which business activities could make use of new generations of technology but also where industry-specific applications would be most impactful.
This report explores the level and profile of real estate companies’ most recent activity—within roughly the last three years—in integrating the quickly growing and changing property technology (proptech) industry. It also provides a framework to understand the breadth of current applications, their impacts on business functions, as well as business strategies used for adoption, and plans for the next three years (or the foreseeable future).
Proptech: Changing the Way Real Estate is Done focuses solely on the experience of real estate companies—the end users of proptech. Data were collected via a survey of 200 ULI members who have direct involvement with their companies’ recent adoption of proptech. These companies represent a wide range of roles within the real estate industry, with the largest groups of respondents in development, investment, or architecture. Eighteen in-depth interviews were also conducted with real estate executives whose companies have recently adopted new technologies and are planning for more.
Within these companies, 11 business areas are represented. While technology is increasingly interconnected within every organization, the experiences to date—and plans for the future—often differ by business area. The report provides the experiences of the survey respondent companies, as well as the insights and observations from one-on-one interviews, by business area.
In addition to providing a structure for thinking about technologies for real estate companies, a key goal of the research was to answer the question, “What aspects of technology that affect real estate have proved to be the most innovative, impactful, or brought about the most change to date, even as the number and nature of property technologies continue to evolve?”
The survey and interviews spotlight a real estate industry that has more than begun the process of moving far past traditional approaches. Technology is now viewed as the way to remain competitive in every business product, service, and operation. And even more so, as a means to challenge the status quo and lead market change. As one company said, “We are increasing our [adoption] capacity in order to be ahead of the curve and lead the transformation in the real estate sector.”