Tech-savvy entrepreneurs are seeking to revolutionize the brick and mortar industry. Sadly, in today’s advanced tech world, the property technology segment hasn’t received a lot of praise. Throughout the year 2014, investors from around the world put a colossal $1.4 billion into real estate businesses and start-ups; and yet, changes are happening rather slowly. The largest and most significant deals were closed in the US for $950 million, but also in throughout Europe, India and China.
Over the last 10 years, innovative discoveries in this sector have been aimed at the consumer. The power has been completely shifted from the landlord and agent all the way to the renter. The launch of official real estate websites such as Zillow and Trulia in the US transformed the way people sell and buy houses. Sales advertising of properties was moved into the virtual world, and everything we once knew about this industry has been completed shaken up.
Crowdfunding – property investment for newbie investors
Crowdfunding emerged as an opportunity for rookie investors to get involved in real estate, particularly in the property finance niche. Websites such as Crowdrise in the United States and LendInvest in the United Kingdom are aimed at a wealth of borrowers. This way everyone competes with traditional lenders, not just the wealthy or the experienced. Some other online platforms such as Rentify, eMoov and SpareRoom operate are middlemen. Their purpose is to be intermediaries between online lettings and house sales.
The emancipation of a new breed of property tech
A brand new category of property tech has been upsetting the way companies do business with one another. Let’s take LandInsight for example. The platform is aimed at UK developers and it is meant to find land, carry out valuations, identify current owners, and make comparisons with nearby parcels. People’s urge to come up with innovations in the real estate industry is driven by the ancient, slow working ways they’ve stumbled upon in property-related enterprises.
Property companies thrive for extended leases, although technology-savvy companies lack the financial resources to commit. Pi Labs managed to raise over £500,000 on Seedrs, which is a British Crowdfunding website. Its main contributor was Countrywide, and the whole move was not at all charitable. It’s definitely great to have insight into the community and know almost everything the community is doing. This way companies can have access to feedback at an incredibly early stage.
Meeting blue-chip companies is a struggle
Faisal Butt was the venture capitalist who funded Pi Labs. He also founded Spire Venture, and is probably one of UK’s most active property investors. Landlords and advisers are searching for entrepreneurs who can understand the way their business might change in the following years, and believe it or not, it is extremely tough for technology companies to find blue chip real estate companies.
That being said, Pi Labs is transforming into an R&D scheme for the real estate industry. They’re eager to know more about the defensive and offensive tactics they should have in order to deal with industry changes. And yet in spite of this attempt, founded of GetAgent.co.uk – Rayhan Omar – has mentioned that technology is struggling to make an impact in the real estate business.
Traditional vs. technology real estate investing
Apparently, there aren’t enough investments of this kind; hence the lack of investors. The brick and mortar industry still militates against technological innovation, and this is disruptive, not to mention really disturbing for the whole property market. There has to be more capital – at least £50 million per year – for tech companies to feel that they’re being accepted and for investors to fee that their money will actually have a purpose.
There’s definitely hope for advanced technology to have its big break in this sector. Companies such as StreetEasy, Realtor.com, Trulia, RedFin, Zillow, and others, have showed that they can be powerful, and that they can have a voice. Each and every single one of these online platforms operates as residential listing services – and they’ve succeeded in becoming the low hanging fruit of the real estate marketplace. Whether you’re searching for a property for sale in Bodrum or you’d rather explore the US or the UK markets, on these websites you will be able to find everything you need.