Hannah Nöthig is KIWI’s Managing Director and COO responsible for Operations, Finance and Legal. With her team, she takes care of existing clients and the fast-growing new client segment. Hannah has made a name for herself in the start-up industry through her involvement in a new venture in Hamburg. Find out what she has to say about digitization in the real estate industry in our series “my7cents”.
What do you think is completely underestimated when discussing the digitization of the real estate sector?Parts of the industry – really only parts! – seem to want to wait and see how the digitization progresses. The change from manual to digital processes is well under way and already saving the participants a lot of effort and money. This is not only about digital access to housing, but also about smart metering and other applications. The potential of existing digital solutions has apparently not yet been realised in some parts of the industry.
“The industry is very slow, that’s why digitization takes a long time.” and “The real estate companies have woken up, digitization is picking up speed.” This is no longer true, because the industry is already in the middle of digitization, and all companies that have not yet jumped on the bandwagon are lagging behind.
What were you once convinced of, and are you no longer convinced today regarding the digitization of the real estate industry?
The solutions offered by PropTechs to the real estate industry are absolutely convincing in their approach – and mostly already in their implementation. Many established companies in the real estate industry have recognized the potential and acted accordingly. The fact that there is still a wait-and-see attitude among some players surprises me to this day.
Uber has shaken up the taxi industry. Do you already see an Uber for the real estate industry?
Of course, KIWI! Without the digital management of access it will not work in the future. The disruptive element here, however, is not that the real estate industry optimizes itself singularly, but that access functions as a platform. What is important is that the one who has to go through the door has the right to access it, regardless of whether the door belongs to him or not (residents, caretakers, service providers such as delivery staff, suppliers, disposers, nursing services, etc.).
Shared living with a community character will be the next booming usage concept. There will be building complexes, later maybe entire streets or quarters, where many rooms, services and things are shared and managed by the community. Everyone has their own private space, but it will be small compared to the shared spaces. A good example of this development is the Israeli startup Venn, which has just received $40 million in funding.
First, I would focus on efficiency gains, i.e. adding products such as digital door access, smart metering, etc. In this way, a positive effect of digitization can be felt directly, through the corresponding cost savings. The focus here would be on increasing the efficiency of one’s own work as a property owner and the work of service providers. Only secondarily would I digitize processes and products that make life easier for tenants. These give the tenant an immediate benefit, but in the first step they also lead to additional costs on the landlord’s side, as the new tools have to be explained to the tenants and resistance has to be expected here and there.
The traditional key management is a thorn in my side, of course. After all, KIWI shows how to do better. In times of digital door access, it is no longer acceptable for property managers to drive through half the city for a simple key handover – and then back again. The time required is disproportionate. The conversion to a digital locking system pays off within a very short time, especially for companies with medium-sized and large portfolios. In the case of renovation projects or new buildings, the use of digital solutions should no longer be a question at all.
As a real estate developer, it is especially important that the digital solutions that are built into new buildings are up-to-date and relevant for the future because of the long investment cycles. To install doors with 2000 year old physical keys in 2019 and believe that they will be used for the next 40 years is not efficient. If electrified frames are already installed in the doors and SmartDOORS in the apartment doors, for example, it will be possible to save on expensive refitting in a few years time.