Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa April/ May 2020 | Page 16

TECH
Defying the
digital odds
for tenants, with the top tier of performers saving hundreds of
rands per month. 

This app’s focus is on putting things together in an optimal
way using technology, which will provide the most innovation
and value for everyone, overall.  

“Flow 2.0 is going to change the way the South African
rental property space functions – and driving that change is
our aim. Our focus for the next few months is on properties in
the Johannesburg CBD, but we’ll be looking to expand rapidly
into other areas and regions, growing our base of both tenants
and landlords,” says Sperling.  
Unlock more value for tech growth
Download
Flow’s App
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T
he property space is as ripe for tech innovation as any
other area – and Africa’s most-funded PropTech com-
pany, Flow, is leading the charge. The release of the
second version of the Flow platform this month is less ‘iter-
ation’ and more ‘revolution’, building on the strong launch
offering and adding new features & Behavioural Search
functionality. 
Flow benefits both landlords and tenants, servicing both
sides of the rental property marketplace and innovating with
rewards for tenants and improved retention for landlords. Flow
Co-Founder & CEO Gil Sperling says that the emphasis of the
platform is – and always will be  - providing a full-stack rental
platform for the property rental marketplace, matching great
tenants with top-rated landlords.
 “The new version of the service lays the rails for the future
of the platform, adding more data science layers and providing
more tools for both renters and landlords.  The arrival of
‘Behavioural Search’ is set to revolutionise the rental property
space and make finding the right property even easier and
more rewarding for Generation Rent,” says Sperling. 

According to Sperling, the Behavioural Search functionality
of the app matches highly-profiled renters with the right
properties and gives landlords the tools to retain good tenants.  

The ‘always-on’ functionality removes the need for phone
calls in the rental-hunting market – the properties a tenant sees
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APRIL/MAY 2020 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine
are available, in real-time, and the app’s functionality allows
them to instantly connect with landlords for a quick turn-
around on viewings and sealing the deal. The matching process
maximises efficiency for landlords too, with up-to-date listings
of their ‘unlet inventory’ constantly being served to the right
rental prospects. This helps mitigate against price pressure in
an unbalanced market which suffers with oversupply in some
areas, and tremendous scarcity in others. 

“We’ve solidified the concept of rewards for sound rental
behaviour – and now we’re looking to unlock the full Flow
journey. By harnessing the power of behavioural economics to
unlock all aspects of the rental marketplace, we’re re-inventing
the classifieds and offering unprecedented ease of rental
for would-be tenants, and helping landlords manage their
properties and relationships with tenants, more efficiently,”
says Sperling.  

Sperling says that the ‘rails’ laid for the evolution of the
platform will include the potential to add value-added
products like insurance and deposit loans for tenants, and
additional tools for landlords. The ‘one-stop’ approach targets
the millennial market, with ease of use and a comprehensive
rewards scheme that puts money back into tenants’ pockets,
as major benefits. 

“Generation Rent is a generation of people aged 22-35,
who are opting for the flexible benefits of renting property – a
lifestyle choice also linked to affordability. The trend is growing
in South Africa, on the back of a global shift
towards the rental space – rental occupations
have grown nearly 10% in the past decade in the
UK and 85% of residential properties in Berlin are rentals.
Projections are that South Africa’s current rental rate of 55%
within the developed economy will reach Berlin-like levels
within the next 10 years. It’s a hugely valuable sector, too, with
the country’s 2 million formal rental properties generating in
excess of R168 billion per year  – rentals are easily the most
valuable asset class in South Africa, as they are in the rest of
the world,” he says.  

Flow has already racked up over 80 000 registered renters
and 4 000 registered landlords, who are taking advantage of
the platform’s benefits. Leading behaviours tracked include
the fact that Flow tenants pay their rent earlier, associate
greater value with their landlords – meaning they stay in their
properties, longer – and that Flow is unlocking greater value
SOURCE FLOW
https://flow.rent/listings
SA Real Estate Investor Magazine APRIL/MAY 2020
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