Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa February/ March 2020 | Page 7

EDITORIAL VIEW JOHANN RUPERT New decade, new vision to create wealth in 2020 & beyond We have all heard about the impending Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and the impact of technology. We have seen the entrance and expansion of AirBnB where owners started adapting their properties for short-term rent, the growth of listing portals such as Property24 and online agents such as Property Fox, Eazi.com and Leadhome discounting commissions on property sales has been a game changer. The impact on Digitalisation of real estate services has really started to make a big impact on how we live, work, shop, invest and play. We saw the entrance of more technology and the era of disruption in the guise of Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality and the arrival of ‘bots’ impacting on traditional services. The growth of shared office accommodation with short-term leases with the likes of WeWork and Citiq Prepaid breaking into this sector is also changing that sector. With more than half the world younger than 30 years the impact of ‘millennials’ has been significant in terms of how they rely on technology to live, travel and invest. Millennials are more focused on city attractions, entertainment - living a life full of experiences with a nomadic life moving around from place to place regularly. This has impacted on a move to more quality inner city living in micro units closer to place of work and more demand for rentals than ownership. The impact and growth of sectional title high-tech security estates with smart homes using more security cams, digital assistants, apps, access to community services such as deliveries, and i-buying platforms is growing. How people source, buy, manage and sell their properties means that Fintech, Proptech and ConTech is here to stay and will drive the real estate market in the next decade. ConTech a new sector related to PropTech where it focuses more on the construction side of real estate in the planning, designing and building of properties. This utilises services such as 3D models and tech tools in the architecture, engineering and construction sectors. EMAIL [email protected] INTERVIEWS tv REItv Real estate innovators are quickly waking up to the fact that the local property market is fragmented and needs to be improved dramatically when empowered with technology. In a buyers’ market, as we are experiencing now, people cannot afford to pay high commissions to estate agents and need accessibility to stock quickly. This is where Proptech companies will start dominating if they identify the right sectors. BitProp is a new contender in the township rental market. Through giving ownership to township dwellers via the ‘Khaya Lam’ project creates new opportunities. New landlords create income from their property by building backyard rooms serviced through financing from the rental income. The income is shared between the financier and the landlord who both profit from the deal. According to Andrew Golding, CEO of PGP, “Apart from the wake-up call from load-shedding this month, increasingly people are looking to add energy and water saving features to their homes to reduce monthly utilities costs and enhance value, and climate change means that this will becoming a growing imperative, where affordable. This is likely to become a long-term trend which will gather momentum in the years ahead and we anticipate this will also become more widely adopted in lower income housing.” Investors, real estate and tech professionals who use change as a massive opportunity, will reap huge rewards in 2020 and beyond. REIMag is hosting their annual Proptech and Digitalisation conference again in February in Cape Town and March in Johannesburg. Email [email protected] for more information about this ground breaking event featuring the leaders in PropTrech in SA. Successful investing NEALE PETERSEN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF DEAN KAMEN Inventor of Segway “ “ T he last decade has been a rollercoaster ride for many real estate investors. In early 2010 many investors were still licking their wounds while recovering from the 2008 global financial crisis which caused widespread mayhem for even the most seasoned investors. Although there were some savvy investors who benefited from the upside of the crisis, the traditional real estate market as it was has started to change its face in both the residential and commercial sectors since then. Everybody has to be able to participate in a future that they want to live for. That’s what technology can do. FaceBook LIVE REAL ESTATE RADIO PodCasts SA Real Estate Investor Magazine FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020 5