How Technology Is Reshaping
And Reinventing The Real Estate Frontier
How you buy or rent property – and how others sell or lease it to you – is in the midst of dramatic change, the kind perhaps not seen in the real estate world since the birth of the skyscraper in the 19th century.
The reason: property technology or “PropTech,” which is a collective term used to define startups offering technologically innovative products or new business models for the real estate markets.
PropTech could even alter who wins and who loses in the real estate profession.
“Some who don’t embrace real estate technology will be dragged along, forced to up their game by vendors and clients,” says Aaron Block, co-author with Zach Aarons of PropTech 101: Turning Chaos into Cash Through Real Estate Innovation (www.proptech101.com). “They may discover one day that they are well behind the competition. Some of them won’t survive.”
Block and Aarons, co-founders of MetaProp, a leading PropTech venture capital firm, say that PropTech is creating far-reaching change for the real estate industry that’s comparable to what happened in the late 1800s when innovations in construction technology helped make building skyscrapers possible and profitable.
“The ways in which real estate gets bought, sold, leased, financed, appraised, designed and managed already have changed dramatically in recent years,” Aarons says. “And you can expect PropTech to drive even more changes, and at a fast pace.”
Block and Aarons say that’s a good thing for consumers, for the industry – and for those working in real estate who are willing to adapt. Some of the many changes and benefits PropTech is creating are:
Energy savings. One key benefit of PropTech is the potential cost savings involved with energy. “Detailed data about how a space is used, lighted, cooled, and heated, and the ability to automate or remotely control the built environment, make for a powerful combination,” Block says. “This sort of information and analysis moves landlords and management closer to the customer, allowing them to present real estate as a service, not a product, which increasingly gives them an edge over the competition.”
Availability of data. The growing transparency and availability of real estate data has a democratizing effect and makes providing good service more important than ever, Aarons says. “Much of the commercial brokers’ value used to lie in their relationships with other brokers and their access to information,” he says. “Residential sales agents were hired in part because they had deep local knowledge and exclusive access to a jealously guarded multiple-listing service.” As technology makes such information readily available, those who can differentiate themselves in such areas as good deal-making skills and smarter strategies stand to make more money, Aarons says.
Efficiency. In the past, commercial real estate brokerages had to spend a lot of time and resources gathering information and plugging it into spreadsheets. Now they can devote that time to deeper market analysis, planning, and strategy, Block says. Meanwhile, residential sales agents who are willing and able to adapt to innovations will have the means to replace their exclusive access to the MLS with perhaps something better – a forward-looking online advertising strategy, a suite of powerful digital tools, and a comparative marketing analysis that harnesses data in ways their competitors’ CMAs don’t.
“The fact that real estate managed to insulate itself from technological advances and innovations for longer than most industries only means that the pace of change is that much faster now,” Aarons says. “The good news is that, for those willing to embrace innovation, there is a future rife with opportunity.”
About Aaron Block
Aaron Block, co-author with Zach Aarons of PropTech 101: Turning Chaos into Cash Through Real Estate Innovation (www.proptech101.com), is co-founder and managing director of MetaProp, a leading PropTech venture capital firm. Previously, he was chairman of Chicago-based BayRu, the U.S.-Russian -commerce company. Prior to that, he was an executive running the Chicago region of global commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield.
About Zach Aarons
Zach Aarons was one of the top angel investors in PropTech before co-founding MetaProp, where his team has funded more than 60 start-ups. Previously, he worked as a commercial real estate developer with Millennium Partners; an investor at ENIAC Ventures; and as the founder of Travelgoat, a walking-tour company. He is a professor of PropTech at Columbia University.
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(PresseBox) From Timo Gemmeke (Westfalen-Blatt)
If there is a "German dream", a dream of diligence, precision and severity, which finally pays off, then Ragip Aydin lives this dream. As a child he sold water bottles at the Istanbul bazaar. Today he sells software and services to the largest companies in the world.
In his office at Paderborn Technologiepark a small sign with colourful letters and numbers has been placed since a couple of days: It says "Raynet 20" thereon. "It's one of the presents we received for the anniversary," says Ragip Aydin, as he takes the sign, briefly drives his hand over it and puts it down again. By the way, the celebration was remarkable, more than 200 guests in the Quax Hangar at Paderborn Airport, great food, great program, great atmosphere. That "Raynet" once would throw such a big party for the 20th anniversary, nobody in the company imagined. "Including me," says Aydin, "certainly not me. [...]
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Further information
Your contact
Isabella Borth
Marketing
Chief Marketing Officer
Tel: +49 (5251) 54009-2425
Fax: +49 (5251) 54009-29
E-Mail: i.borth@raynet.de
About Raynet GmbH
Raynet GmbH is a leading and innovative service and solution provider in information technology and specialized in the architecture, development, implementation and operation of all tasks within "Application Lifecycle Management". Raynet's Headquarters is in Germany and presently has additional locations throughout Germany, the USA, Poland and the UK.
For more than 20 years, Raynet has supported hundreds of customers and partners with its products and solutions for enterprise application management projects worldwide. These include license management, software packaging, software deployment, migrations, client engineering and much more. Additionally, Raynet maintains and cultivates strong partnerships with leading companies in Application Lifecycle Management.
Raynet products and solutions are unique in design and functionality. Their development is highly driven by our customers and partners which is a key reason why our products are always cutting edge. Whether you plan the introduction of a new deployment tool or start a SAM project; whether you plan a packaging factory or a migration - Raynet is the choice for best-of-breed practices in services, products, and solutions for Application Lifecycle Management. Find out more about Raynet under www.raynet.de/en
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USDA Radio Newsline
Thursday, September 12th Stories:
Fintech Unicorn Brex to Open New Location in the Salt Lake Valley
SALT LAKE CITY (Sept. 12, 2019) — The Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) is pleased to announce Brex, the financial technology company that helps ambitious companies scale, will open its new location in the Salt Lake Valley, creating up to 1,000 new jobs over the next seven years.
“Utah is the place for technology and our fintech industry continues to expand,” said Val Hale, executive director at the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development. “We’re pleased that Brex has chosen Utah, and we wish them the best as they continue to grow as a company.”
Brex was founded in San Francisco in 2017 with its first corporate card designed for startups, determining credit limits based on non-traditional metrics like real-time monitoring of businesses’ bank accounts and transactions. Since launching out of stealth in 2018, Brex has announced offerings in both the e-commerce and life science industries, intending to bring tailored underwriting, benefits and rewards to these two new verticals in need of a financial solution.
“Brex has grown tremendously over the last year and we’re excited to play a part in creating more opportunity for Salt Lake City’s thriving workforce,” said Henrique Dubugras, co-CEO and co-founder of Brex. “We recognize the incredible talent working in Utah and look forward to continuing scaling alongside Utah’s Silicon Slopes.”
Brex may earn up to 25 percent of the new state taxes it will pay over the seven-year life of the agreement in the form of a Utah Legislature authorized Economic Development Increment Finance (EDTIF) tax rebate. The GOED Board of Directors has approved a post-performance tax rebate not to exceed $2,736,847. Each year that Brex meets the criteria in its contract with the state, it will earn a portion of the total tax rebate.
“The Brex project is notable for two reasons. First it confirms Utah’s position as a national center for fast-growing, financial technology companies,” said Theresa Foxley, president and CEO of the Economic Development Corporation of Utah. “Second, the opportunity to compete on the project is the culmination of a long-term, relationship-building effort with a prominent site selector.”
State of Utah Tax Rebate by the Numbers
Tax revenue: $10,947,387
Wages: $281,412,106
Jobs: 1,000
Capital investment: 23.4 million
Timeline: 7 years
About Utah Corporate Incentives
The Utah Legislature has authorized economic development incentives in the form of post-performance tax rebates. Eligible companies work with the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development to outline specific performance criteria. Once GOED confirms those criteria have been met, according to statute (U.C.A. 63N-2-106(2)), companies can receive a refund up to 30 percent of the state taxes they paid for up to 20 years. The contract with the state is post-performance; it only provides a state tax rebate if the company meets its obligations.
About the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED)
Under the direction of Gov. Gary R. Herbert, the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) provides resources and support for business creation, growth and recruitment, and drives increased tourism and film production in Utah. Utilizing state resources and private sector contracts, GOED administers programs in economic areas that demonstrate the highest potential for development. Learn more at business.utah.gov or by calling (801) 538-8680.
About Brex
Brex is transforming B2B payments by creating corporate cards, rewards, and travel programs that are tailored to specific industries. In 2018, Brex launched the first corporate card and rewards program specifically designed for startups. By rebuilding the credit card tech stack from the ground up, Brex is able to reimagine every aspect of corporate cards, including underwriting, transparency, and approvals, to create a radically better experience for customers. Brex is backed by Y Combinator Continuity, Peter Thiel, Max Levchin, and more, and has raised $315M in equity and $100M in debt capital. The company’s headquarters are in San Francisco with an additional office in the Salt Lake Valley.
