REIT ASIAPAC
“ Research from the University of Oxford showed that the world ’ s proptech unicorns are either located in the US or China . With over 550 proptech companies operating from Asia , the region , led by China , holds a huge potential to rise to an equal footing with the US and Europe as leaders of the proptech world in the next 5 to 10 years , said the report .”
“ It may also be the case that there is an agency problem : the professional advisors that dominate the transaction process clearly have an interest in protecting their income sources , so chartered surveyors , brokers , and lawyers might all be expected to resist tech-driven innovations designed to ‘ disrupt ’ their work ,” it added . Currently , the research house said it is witnessing a battle for market share between traditional advisors and a discernible second wave of technology-based innovations . Amid Covid , health and safety innovations have undoubtedly formed part of the latest proptech trend . JLL said in a report published in August 2020 that health and safety-centred proptech innovations saw almost overnight adoption and played a crucial role in China ’ s fight against Covid-19 . The report , “ Reimagine the Future of Real Estate ,” surveyed more than 150 proptech companies and 80 real estate firms about their demand for technology and views regarding the industry ’ s transformation . Nearly half ( 47 %) are looking to increase their proptech budget by up to 30 %
“ Successful proptech companies are the ones who quickly understood what Covid means and pivoted accordingly . Unfortunately , funding will be cut off from those that haven ’ t been able to pivot yet ,” he said . He added that the key to success is a customer-centric process that is able to address a need in the industry .
That ’ s just part of the challenge . As technology brings about innovation , and innovation means change , proptech firms also have to deal with the market ’ s readiness to accept new solutions . “ Part of it is about the market being ready . And I think it ’ s coming slowly , but not at the pace that I think the market is growing ,” Devine said .
ADAPTING TO COVID
The sector ’ s slow progress could also be attributed to the fact that real estate is not known as an industry that readily embraces change . “ The nature of the asset class , which comprises large heterogeneous assets traded in a largely private market , is perhaps a good reason for this ,” the University of Oxford Research said in its report “ PropTech 2020 : the future of real estate ”, published in February 2020 .
Photo by Tobias Fischer on Unsplash China has been at the forefront of proptech developments
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