This is article was written by Andrew Gardiner and first appeared in our collaborative e-book “The Future of Property,” which features 17 thought leadership articles covering PropTech, property investment and housing. You can download your free copy here.
Andrew Gardiner is the CEO and Founder of Property Moose, one of Europe’s first property crowdfunding platforms. Property Moose has 26,000+ members in 130 countries. Andrew is a qualified solicitor, and has worked for a top-tier US Corporate Finance firm, as well as a leading Private Equity firm in the City. During his legal career he oversaw transactions in excess of £2 billion, as well as working on smaller, innovative projects.
“Endurance will prove to be more valuable than unsustainable growth.”
To be in a position where we can discuss “The Future of Property,” and for so much of it to be centered around technology, is a testament to market confidence. While various subdivisions are heading in different directions, we can have faith in the fact that PropTech is heading somewhere and it is an incredibly exciting industry to be a part of. However, if we do not plan the industry’s future with care, we run the risk of a burnout.
Cutting edge technology is not responsible for 100% of the sector’s growth, although its value is undeniable; it has streamlined the sector in unimaginable ways. At Property Moose, we wouldn’t be where we are as a business if it wasn’t for the sophisticated technology that we have built over the last 5-years. Disregarding the importance and strength of the underlying asset however (of which its primary goal is to simplify), would be naïve.
“We cannot easily marginalise it on a page littered with algorithms and code.”
In the investment world, property is deemed a “real asset,” and I believe that the clue to the future of property is in this name; it is physical, and we have all experienced it. We cannot easily marginalise it on a page littered with algorithms and code. Both counterparts must hold equal weight; within PropTech, technology is the bridge of connectivity, but we cannot bypass the underlying asset: the bricks and mortar foundations upon which the technology can enhance our experience.
Likewise, racing towards technological innovation isn’t scalable. Simplicity conquers complexity. I believe that measured movements backed by sincere intentions will drive the growth of the industry beyond its excitable youth and into maturity. The journey before us is a marathon, not a sprint. In a Tortoise and the Hare comparison, the space is cluttered with firms rushing to win the race, but we need to move the industry forward by moving together. Endurance will prove to be more valuable than unsustainable growth.
“If crowdfunding has worked on a micro-scale, we can see the PropTech industry as a whole crowdfunding its future with collective ideas.”
The PropTech sector will only be secured when the digital transformation improves every outdated system. There is value in the step-by-step approach, the collaborative effort to distribute the weight and yet experience the shared reward.
We must remember the collective nature upon which a very important part of this sector – crowdfunding – gained traction with. The collective support of the crowd creates opportunities and pools together marginalised investors and asset classes to create an investment product previously impossible. If crowdfunding has worked on a micro-scale, we can see the PropTech industry as a whole crowdfunding its future with collective ideas.
The future of property is a difficult thing to speculate, and while technology moves forwards, property operates within a cyclical market. House prices rise, house prices fall, market sentiment shifts, the industry waxes and wanes – and all of these changes occur at a mechanical pace yet unpredictable pace. We’re observing an industry that runs the risk of outpacing itself by attempting to speed up a slow-moving cycle. Industry growth is not necessarily linear; setbacks are common, peaks and troughs exist across the board. The world of technology is no stranger to mistakes.
“I think there could be a shift in the market and firms will go back to the drawing board after years of lessons, and restructure their offerings.”
While it’s scary at the time, failure and mistakes are the only way to grow; they are how we learn and how we move forward. Learning to ride a bike involves at least a few falls. In fact, PropTech is developing as a solution to market failure. I believe growth is likely to continue, evolving as time passes by, with natural selection curating the nature and scope of the industry, ensuring each category meets the needs of the customer and pushing aside the companies that fail to adapt. For this to happen, we need to keep the conversation open and we need to maintain an awareness and watch the way the environment is changing by listening to feedback and redeveloping. I think there could be a shift in the market and firms will go back to the drawing board after years of lessons, and restructure their offerings. We can’t expect the sector to grow if we’re dogmatic about what we believe our products should look like. It is not our job to dictate direction, it is our job to deliver direct solutions to existing and new issues.
In the same way that some real estate experts argue that property is not an asset to be indexed (considering the case-by-case basis masked by national averages), PropTech is too intricate and diverse an industry to be looked at as a collective. However, I believe that what binds the sector’s momentum is the intention which drives it forth and despite the competitive race, I should hope that we all started with the same intention in mind.
“The danger, of course, is reaching the top of the hill and falling apart, without taking a breath to reassess our direction.”
Property has taken time to catch up to the disruption which infiltrated the financial world. It was the injured runner lagging behind as it dragged its feet along the track. But if the past few years are anything to go by, where the fusion of property and technology has snowballed, PropTech is yet to reach its peak. The danger, of course, is reaching the top of the hill and falling apart, without taking a breath to reassess our direction. Pace is paramount, and so too is recognising that we’re in this industry to achieve similar goals around the simplification, sophistication and streamlining of property. Time will tell. Until then, let’s keep moving forward and let’s keep the conversation open.
– Written by Andrew Gardiner
Capital at risk
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