Enrico Kürtös is CEO of Inreal Technologies since 2017. The PropTech with offices in Karlsruhe and New York is specialized on virtual real time viewings of commercial and residential real estate. At the moment, Enrico is driving Inreal’s global business development – because New York was only the beginning. Find out what Enrico has to say about the digitization of the real estate sector in our interview series “my7cents”.
What do you think is completely overestimated when discussing the digitization of the real estate sector?
BIM. This topic is being completely hyped at the moment. It’s being talked about everywhere, but only a few companies are actually working with that method already. Plus, everybody who is using BIM is using it somewhat differently. A unified standard is yet missing. That’s probably related to the willingness to change processes that’s varying from company to company.
Which sentence are you tired of hearing in the digitization debate in the real estate sector?
There’s more than one sentence that I’m tired of hearing. “All people working in the real estate industry are old, slow and don’t have any clue.” “There are no innovators in the real estate industry. “Without PropTechs the real estate industry would be dead in five years.” All of these statements are simply untrue.
Airbnb taught the hotel industry a lesson in fear. Which asset class will be next to face such a digital competitor?
Retail. The decision making process for a new physical location is still pretty much done by the usual standards. Only a few measurable – and partly no longer relevant – parameters are being used to make a choice. That can lead to choosing a location that doesn’t meet the changing needs of the users. I’m sure in the future we’ll see the big players applying more and more pressure on the brick-and-mortar stores.
If you were a real estate owner: what would you do as a first step in regards to the digitization?
I’d take a look at my existing processes and think if they’re still up-to-date in this year and age. With smartly used digital tools companies can oftentimes work far more efficiently and in a more profitable manner. But first there needs to be the courage to rethink and redo existing structures and processes. The digitization by itself is no universal cure. If I digitize a stupid process, the process will be digital, but still stupid.
If you were a property manager: what would you stop immediately with the help of digital tools?
Having a person respond to damage claims, complaints and questions about the utility cost settlement. Already today there are brilliant digital tools available that help with managing questions and complaints. The real estate industry is looking for one tool that takes care of everything. But I don’t believe that an all-in-one solution by one company will prevail. What companies want and need is a modular approach that can be expanded on demand based on individual requirements.
If you were a property developer: how would you use the opportunities of the digitization for your business?
Because marketing is what I know best this is where I’d start. It seems quite unbelievable how analog for example the process regarding privately owned apartments is. Rarely any decision is being made based on data. The good old brochure and the gut feeling – that’s what most people rely on. Many don’t know about the opportunities they’re missing out on, for example in regards to a more personalized customer approach or being more cost and time efficient.
In which company – Allthings and your own excluded 
– would you like to be a fly on a wall for one week?
Amazon. I’d love to help out on the management level directly under Jeff Bezos or one level below. Just to see how new ideas are being executed. And at the end of the week I’d probably welcome new colleagues in Karlsruhe that I directly recruited.
About Inreal
The PropTech Inreal Technologies is one of the leading companies of virtual reality in the real estate industry and specialized on photorealistic 3D simulations for the commercial and residential segment. With its high-resolution, customizable software the PropTech company allows asset managers, project developers and agents to virtually show their clients around planned buildings and redevelopment properties – long before they are completed. This is how real time viewings can be used effectively for the presentation and marketing of buildings. Inreal was founded in 2011 and has virtually realized an area of 1.9 million m2 for clients such as Credit Suisse, Deka Immobilien, RFR, Art-Invest and Tishman Speyer.