The Property Voice

Series 4 PropTech: Introduction to Property Technology Part 1 – with Andrew Baum

Listen Later

OK, so after way longer than I originally intended, we are ready to go with our brand new series on the use, application and impact of technology in property, under the general theme of PropTech.

Over the next couple of weeks, I plan to share something of an introduction and overview of PropTech. To help me do that, I have managed to bag a couple of big brains and top influencers in the PropTech space to help us make sense of it all. This week, I am joined by Andrew Baum, who is a property strategist and educator, working with the Said Business School and Oxford University, as well as his private consultancy. Then, next week we have Dan Hughes who is Director of Data & Information Products and PropTech lead to RICS.

 

 

Resources mentioned

PropTech 3.0 – Andrew Baum’s paper on the PropTech movement

Intensive immersion into property at Said Business School, part of Oxford University, then make sure you check out his 5-day Exec Ed Programme on Real Estate

Link to the new Deal Tips Service

Link to the Podcast feedback survey

Today’s must do’s

Stay tuned for the duration of this series on PropTech and it applications to us as property investors.

Subscribe to and review the show in iTunes…and while you are at it please help us to spread the word by telling all your friends too!

Send in your property stories, questions or moans to [email protected] and we will try and feature YOU on the show too!

Property Investor Toolkit – here is the book link on amazon.co.uk & amazon.com in case you would like to get yourself a copy to accompany this series

Get talking!

Join in the discussion, either here in the comments section below, or by emailing us at [email protected]

Start a conversation on Twitter with us @PropertyVoiceUK or on our Facebook page

Transcription of the show

Hello, and welcome to another episode of The Property Voice podcast. My name is Richard Brown and it’s a pleasure to have you join me on the show again today.

OK, so after way longer than I originally intended, we are ready to go with our brand new series on the use, application and impact of technology in property, under the general theme of PropTech.

Over the next couple of weeks, I plan to share something of an introduction and overview of PropTech. To help me do that, I have managed to bag a couple of big brains and top influencers in the PropTech space to help us make sense of it all. This week, I am joined by Andrew Baum, who is a property strategist and educator, working with the Said Business School and Oxford University, as well as his private consultancy. Then, next week we have Dan Hughes who is Director of Data & Information Products and PropTech lead to RICS.

After hearing from these two, I plan to draw together some of the common threads to produce a PropTech industry overview to set us up for the series. These next couple of weeks are all about setting the scene, as after that I want to get into some of the sub-topics in greater detail to look at how we can profit from or be more productive through the adoption of PropTech into our property businesses. There might also be some opportunities or even threats to watch out for, so the series will be both practical and strategic in its approach as we unfold the theme layer-by-layer over the weeks ahead.

So, without much further ado, let’s have a listen to my conversation with Andrew Baum now and I will pick up some of the key themes at the end.

Property Chatter

Interview with Andrew Baum

Summary and Key Takeaways

I always enjoy talking to people who have bigger brains and different perspectives to my own, as this helps me to broaden my horizons and so learn new things. Therefore, having this discussion with Andrew was one I was looking forward to very much and hopefully you enjoyed it too!

So, apart from Andrew’s deep-rooted fear of being attacked in the night by a Terminator-style, Internet of Things, dishwasher rising-up, what were the key themes on what’s coming in PropTech that we can detect from his comments?

  1. PropTech 3.0 – the first thing to highlight is Andrew’s excellent paper on PropTech, which you can find a link to in the show notes. It’s almost 100 pages packed full of research on the sector and the trends emerging within it. As you will hear as we progress through the series, it perhaps does not include everything there is to know, such as ConTech or Construction Technology, which is deliberately excluded. Equally, I do blur the lines just a little bit by also drifting into BizTech or Business Technology, as it could relate to people operating property-related business in the general sense as well as pure property investing. Good foundations all the same, so do get yourself a copy of that. Plus, if you like the sound of an intensive immersion into property at Said Business School, part of Oxford University, then make sure you check out his 5-day Exec Ed Programme on Real Estate
  2. Cash is still king! The ones with the deepest pockets or in other words, the capital to invest in B2C branding and technological roll-out are likely to take the longest strides. So, expect the tech giants from the USA such as Google, Amazon, Apple and Facebook or China, with Alibaba and one or two others to be dominant forces, whether by their own development or through acquisition.
  3. Change may be hampered by the lower property transaction volumes and perhaps a failure to fully realise the benefits in applications that some tech initially promises, such as applying big data or AI to an individual property purchase.
  4. Some of the more short-term changes could come in property-related sectors, such as valuations and surveys, lettings and the property finance sector.
  5. Some potential game-changers along the horizon:
    1. The increased use of big data and artificial intelligence to streamline certain services, like automated valuations;
    2. Potential industry crossovers from big brand or cash-rich players, such as Rightmove crossing over into direct sales or lettings and big tech players like Google and Amazon extending their reach into the engineering space, such as with their voice-interface to gadgets developments and acquisitions of technology manufacturers as with Nest;
    3. Blockchain technology leading to greater digitisation and smart contracts that could shake up conveyancing;
    4. The increase in home automation and smart homes technologies to help deliver on our global energy efficiency goals.

      5. Long-story, short: there will be winners and losers, some quick wins and some disappointments, early adopters and resistant bystanders, amazing new technology that solves genuine problems, along with some that seem to exist without a real purpose too.

      One way or another, PropTech means change and my aim over the coming weeks of this series is to help make some sense of all of this, along with the fantastic contributions of people like Andrew Baum, who live and breathe this sort of stuff. My goal is not only to educate and signpost, but also to look at the strategic and practical implications of what is a vast topic at the leading-edge of our industry. I hope you will continue to tune in as we unravel the many layers that exist within this wonderful PropTech theme therefore.

      A couple of quick by-words. As it happens, I have also chosen PropTech as the theme for my contribution to Your Property Network magazine for February, so check that out in the next couple of weeks when it lands, or email me for a subscription-free copy of my own piece if you like. Second, a large part of the preparation for this series has to be credited to the lovely Helen Pollock, who specialises in PR and related activities. She has helped me to knock some of the research into shape and has also assisted immensely with the guest list for the series. So, if you need a writer or PR contact that also understands property, then she’s your lady! Again, message me and I will happily introduce you.

      Right, enough already!  Next week, I will be joined by Dan Hughes from RICS, who, along with Andrew Baum, occupy the top two ranked positions as PropTech influencers, so you are getting the heavyweights in this series straight out of the gate I can tell you!

      The show notes can be found over at www.thepropertyvoice.net or if you want to talk about anything from today’s show, receive an intro into one of my guests or just talk property investing, email me at [email protected], I would be happy to hear from you!

      But for now, all I want to say is thank you very much for listening once again this week and until next time on The Property Voice Podcast…it’s ciao-ciao.

      The post Series 4 PropTech: Introduction to Property Technology Part 1 – with Andrew Baum appeared first on The Property Voice.

      ...more
      View all episodesView all episodes
      Download on the App Store
      The Property VoiceBy Richard W J Brown from www.thepropertyvoice.net