Rayhan’s Proptech Picks 21

Friends, Feudal Landlords and Commoners,

Felix novus annus (it’s the only time of year I can get away with saying something that sounds so rude, but isn’t).

There’s a plethora of events to get everyone back into the swing (of pretending) to work. See the list below.

A new year brings renewed optimism. 2015 was supposed to be the year of Proptech. It wasn’t.

Many are predicting 2016 will be the year Proptech becomes ‘the next big thing’. It won’t be.

I believe we will have to wait till the next property bust for there to be a real push for innovative property technology. Why? Because no-one in the property world is feeling any pain. We weathered the last recession as close to unscathed as is possible. We won’t be so lucky next time. The next ‘earthquake’ will be stronger and deeper as we’ve pumped more funny money into property.

2016 looks to be a tumultuous year for the financial markets. And as a result more money will flow to ‘safe’ assets like property. And that’s really the reason why 2016 won’t be the year Proptech breaks out: because property is doing just fine.

After all, necessity is the mother of all invention.

Saying that, 2015 was definitely a breakout year for Fintech. And it’s absolutely reasonable to assume that the trend will continue into 2016. There is a lot of interesting work to be done at the intersection of property and finance, and therefore I think it could be the year property-focused Fintech to really takes off.

There’s currently only two mainstream mortgage products out there: a loan of 4x your salary for a home purchase, or a buy-to-let loan based on rental income. I think there’s a need and indeed the room for much increased competition and product innovation in the mortgage space.

So I do declare that 2016 will be The year of the Mortgage.

Please feel free to relay news, tips and comments @realpundit

Rayhan’s PropTech picks XXI

Upcoming Events

mySPD Property Finance CPD Event — 13 Jan — LinkProptech 2016 Meetup — 28 Jan — LinkInman Connect NYC — 26–29 Jan — LinkNAR Reach application deadline — 31 Jan — LinkLendinvest Proptech Meetup — 4 Feb — LinkMobile Technology for Surveyors — 11 Feb — LinkPropteq Conference — Link

Latch and KISI launch their keyless entry systems (New York Times)

Keyless entry. Those two words do more to cause a stirring in my loins than any other technology. Cars have long perverted those words by requiring you to carry a key, for keyless entry to work. But there is hope. Not only are companies like OneFineStay developing their own tech (Sherlock), but others like Opendoor have shown how to best implement keyless entry in a secure manner which allows 24 hour property viewings. The two technologies in this article, and the sole comment at the bottom of this Real Deal rehash, demonstrate that there’s a way to go to persuade people to ditch their keyring. But man I’m so looking forward to the day I can stop fumbling around in my trouser pocket. Link

Inman’s 19 Female Real Estate Tech Entrepreneurs to watch (Inman News)

It’s stark how few female entrepreneurs give it a go in the UK. Here’s a list from the US that puts the rest of us to shame: Link

Real Estate’s Tech Arms Race (The Real Deal)

This is a very long read, but gives a comprehensive picture of US Real Estate Tech investing last year: Link

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If you enjoyed this story, we recommend reading our latest tech stories and trending tech stories. Until next time, don’t take the realities of the world for granted!