Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa April/May 2019 | Page 20

COVER STORY
The Proptech Wave: Techie
on the outside, all human
on the inside
The Property
Technology
revolution won’t
replace good old
business values.
LEANI WESSELS
J
ess is 27 and looking for a new flat to rent. Organic coffee in hand
she scans the listings on her Property24 app. She checks her Flow
app and sees she’s earned a few extra points for having paid rent on
time again. Time to go to work so she grabs her dachshund (who’ll be
dropped off at the pet day care) and she orders an Uber.
Urban millennials, like any generation, have different needs and
wants from their property specialists to their predecessors. And the
property tech industry is coming to the party in a big way. Dare we
even say: in a disruptive way? The traditional property industry felt
decidedly disrupted by FNB’s news near the end of last year that
it will be allowing its users to sell and buy houses to each other,
effectively cutting out the need for estate agents (and their fees).
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APRIL/MAY 2019 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine