Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa April/May 2019

TECHNOLOGY A Proptech (R)evolution Trends in Proptech that will transform the property sector T echnology has revolutionised much of our daily lives. From buying groceries, to going on holiday, and book- ing a taxi to finding a plumber, tech has made our lives easier and more rewarding. Why then, is the property rental journey still the same as it was 100 years ago  archaic and disconnected? Even the word landlord is a draconian term: it implies that if I have the land then I have the power over you, the tenant. Here are the trends we’re witnessing that I think will lead to a Proptech revolution: 1. Generation Rent Generation Rent” – those millennials aged 21-35 who are increasingly becoming tenants, because they can’t afford to own their own home – is on the rise. Renting property is becoming much more prevalent than in previous years, as people cannot afford to own, nor do they want to be ring fenced. In fact, if you look at the world over, people in various European countries like Germany have never had a notion or need to own a property. The world is also smaller these days, and people want to be more transient and have their freedom. The old concept of working your entire life to pay off one property does not necessarily appeal to millennials any more – especially to Generation Rent. 4. Streamlining Think about financial technology and how processes like applying for a loan have changed. No more going into a bank, meeting the manager and pitching your idea for why you need a loan, followed by filling out reams of paperwork that are then diligently filed away in a physical warehouse. You can do it all online now, so there is less face-to-face interaction which means the process has been completely streamlined. People are increasingly looking for shorter ways to get to the same point, especially with millennials, because their most precious commodity is time. We think that the property market is going to undergo the same types of tech innovations. 5. A more egalitarian society There’s a general trend that we’re all striving for equality in the workplace, in the home and in the world at large, and I think this is going to feed into many other relationships, notably the tenant-agent-landlord one. Through technology, tenants will be placed at the centre of this relationship, instead of them being peripheral. 6. Automation There are already players in the property market who have actively gone out DANIEL LEVY, CO-FOUNDER OF FLOW to replicate physical processes online. Companies like HouseMe connect “prospective tenants to landlords with full automation of the letting agency process”, PropertyFox is a local 2. Changing the tenant value paradigm company that focuses on selling your home, while Purple Brick Property is the biggest asset class on the planet and rental is a does similarly in the UK and US. significant portion of it. Another interesting company that has digitised the physical Tenants are therefore an increasingly important part of the experience of looking around a property is SpotAHome. They economy and property ecosystem, especially as fewer people have their own independent employees who go into a property choose to buy property. If you run the numbers, nearly a third and make a realistic video of the property, going as far to check of a person’s income goes towards rent so it’s only fair to assume every cupboard hinge, and peeking inside the toilet lid. They’re that the value a tenant derives from this large expenditure will honest and realistic, and may say things like, “the traffic noise is evolve over time. a bit loud during rush hour”, but this give the prospective tenant or buyer a more realistic representation of the property than a 3. Different purchasing decisions landlord/homeowner might. And because all this information As I mentioned above, generations before us typically worked is online, you can go back and view the videos and images as diligently to pay off that one property, which they usually achieved many times as you like, without even having to physically visit later in life. Millennials are different - they don’t see the point the property, unless of course you want to. of working hard to put their money into an asset that may only This desire for authenticity and tenant empowerment, the benefit their own children one day financially, and not necessarily streamlining of processes and rise of Generation Rent are just themselves. Millennials want to go on holidays, soak up experiences, a few of the trends that I feel will radically disrupt the rental and enjoy more instant gratification than people decades ago may property market – with tech at the heart of it all. Watch this have wanted. This is all having an effect on the property market and space. will play a big part in driving a revolution in Proptech. 22 APRIL/MAY 2019 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine

Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa April/May 2019 | Page 24