How 'proptech' is changing real estate

Real Estate Jeff Karger Jeff Karger is a senior vice president at the Grand Rapids office of Jones Lang LaSalle, or JLL, a commercial real estate firm. He has more than 15 years of experience in office agency leasing and tenant representation. He can be reached at jeff.karger at am.jll dot com and 616.836.6493. How 'proptech' is changing real estate September 26, 2017 | By Jeff Karger TAGS Proptech Share Text Size: A A Jeff Karger. Courtesy Jones Lang LaSalle Hundreds of industries have seen dramatic changes in the way they operate thanks to advanced technologies in their fields. While the real estate industry traditionally has been slow to adopt new technologies, it now is getting in on the action. Property technology, or “proptech,” is a catch-all term that covers the numerous advanced technologies and companies being introduced to the real estate industry. Proptech deals with everything from the way buildings are run and managed, to the methods for evaluating data and deals, to the way available spaces are marketed. While proptech still is in its early stages, we are seeing many tech advances that already are providing substantial benefits for both owners and occupiers of real estate. Showing spaces in new ways The traditional methods of marketing and touring available spaces are changing rapidly and proptech tools are breathing new life into this field. Building owners are using drones to capture views of their properties that were previously not possible. Drone images and videos can give occupiers a more complete vision of a space before ever setting foot in it. Proptech tools such as Matterport allow owners to capture their available spaces as an immersive virtual tour. From there, a potential occupier can take a detailed walk-through of a space without even leaving their desk. Making visions come to life One of the biggest challenges in real estate has been selling and envisioning a space that doesn’t yet exist. Traditionally, the most an owner could do was complete a drawing or rendering of a proposed building. Now, with proptech advances in virtual reality and augmented reality, owners can create a complete vision of what their space will look like, but more importantly what it will feel like. For occupiers, even if they find a space that works, it can be hard to actually see what their specific final space will look like. Now, with advances in test-fitting and 3D floor planning, companies can distinctly lay out their vision for a future space. What’s next? These examples are just a small sampling of some of the proptech introductions we’ve seen in the past few years. As the demand for proptech grows, real estate companies are investing hundreds of millions of dollars to be on the forefront of the next generation of property technology. Where technology will take the real estate industry still is very much unknown, but no matter the answers, it will be fascinating to watch.