For our first post of 2019, we spoke to Gary Chimwa, founder and CEO of FUTURE PropTech, the global event dedicated to technology innovation and digital transformation, taking place in London on 13 & 14 May. 2019 is a big year for Gary and his team as they are celebrating the event's 5th anniversary, and with so much having happened in #property and #proptech in the past five years, we asked Gary what trends continue to affect the industry and how prominent they will be at this year's event.
Future:Proptech is celebrating its 5th birthday this year - what will be the highlights of the event?
There are so many highlights that I don’t know where to begin! Firstly we have a much more #international focus. Over 25% of the speakers, over 30% of delegates and over 20% of exhibitors & sponsors are from outside the UK. This is a reflection that #proptech is truly an international phenomenon.
Secondly, we have much more breadth & depth to our content which will be delivered by the world's leading minds. As the sector grows the focus is now on how entire #property lifecycle will get affected by wider global #trends such as sustainability, urban mobility, flexible working & living etc.. We have a range of speakers from outside the property industry that will bring some fresh perspectives. So we have new speakers from companies such as Uber, Airbnb, Softbank to name a few.
Thirdly the networking & socialising will be unparalleled. It's our 5th year anniversary so expect an epic party after the event!
How has the property market changed over the past 5 years?
Naturally the biggest change for me has been how #proptech is now widely embraced as an important part for all real estate companies. Technology is being widely adopted and a recent report by Altus Group highlighted that 53% of all #CRE companies have invested in or actively use a #proptech solution. That’s a massive shift ! The other big trends affecting the property market are tenant experience & flexibility. Real estate companies are becoming more customer centric and are therefore considering how they can attract & retain tenants through those two things.
Who are the 2 or 3 proptech #startups we should watch out for this year?
So many to choose from! I would say Spaceflow which focuses on tenant experience, Spacemaker which helps to maximize the value of a building and Archilyse which can be used to improve planning, valuating or any other architecture related decision making. Of course all these companies will be exhibiting at FUTURE PropTech so you can meet the teams & founders there !
To register to FUTURE PropTech 2019, go to: https://futureproptech.co.uk/tickets
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