The days when you had to explain at congresses or meetings what a PropTech company was are long gone. No longer do people skeptically question whether the solutions of these young technology companies offer any added value at all. The real estate industry is picking up in terms of digitization. Competitive pressure is increasing and innovations offer an opportunity to gain competitive advantages. The 32-page ZIA Innovation Report 2019 deals with the digital transformation of the industry. Here we give an overview of five of the future topics and most important trends in the industry.
Notifications of damage claims, queries on operating cost billing, the announcement of maintenance work – many tasks in real estate management are repetitive and therefore have a high automation potential. Various technology companies have recognized this and offer solutions to make operational processes more efficient along the entire value chain – from intelligent receivables management to AI-supported document management to digital tenant management.
In addition to improving efficiency, flexibility is an increasing requirement for residential and commercial buildings. The CoWorking and CoLiving trend will continue to expand in the future. The value for the user is measured less and less by the square meters, and rather becomes a question of being able to cover the ad hoc needs of users with relevant services and innovative technologies. This results in new, user-based business models.
In our interview series ‘my7cents’, Ralph Mamadeus talks about the future of CoLiving and how building developers can prepare for it today.
Exclusive information is still often seen as the basis for gaining a competitive advantage. Especially in the real estate industry. At the same time, hoarding knowledge is an innovation killer. Because the more complete the data basis, the better new solutions can be developed. In the ZIA Innovation Report 2019, Andy Dietrich, Managing Director of Strategiekollegen GmbH, raises the question of whether the protection of data is still up to date or whether “Open Data” will become established as a shared data basis for all market participants in the future.
Digitalization is currently the 4th industrial revolution. Thanks to digital solutions, processes are becoming more efficient, can be automated and previously independent sectors such as housing, energy and mobility are now directly linked. The next stage, the Circular Economy, will involve using healthy, high-quality materials in the manufacturing of products, buildings and urban areas as well as continuously recycling them in open, renewable systems. Business success and a positive contribution to society and the environment will be strongly interwoven in the future.
The term ‘Smart City’ originated 10 years ago. Initially characterized by the use of digital solutions to obtain a certain service with less effort, faster or more securely, a new understanding is increasingly coming to the surface. In addition to greater efficiency, improving the quality of life is playing an increasingly important role. This is confirmed not only by Prof. Dr. Russo, Chairman of the Jury of the ZIA Innovation Report, but also by the current study “Emerging Trends in Real Estate Europe 2019” by PWC. Here, 43% of the respondents stated that the aspects ‘health well-being’ will have a significant influence on the strategies of the coming five years.
These trends clearly show that innovations are being introduced throughout the entire value chain of the real estate industry. At the same time, one can feel how the primary innovation driver is shifting. While at the beginning of digitization the focus had been placed on technology, it is now more about solving real problems for real people. People at the centre of the innovation process – this gives hope for a promising development in the future.
Further future trends as well as best practices can be found here in the ZIA Innovation Report 2019.