NEW YORK CITY—Much like the tools we use in everyday life, commercial real estate technology is evolving at a rapid clip. In a recent panel discussion among executives who work in the space, sponsored by PropertyShark.com, it was clear that we're further along than some might think yet there are miles yet to go.
“Technology is here to stay in commercial real estate,” declared Andrew Flint, head of business development at VTS (ViewTheSpace). “For decades, the industry has relied on excel spread sheets and lagging indicators like comps in an attempt to make decisions about how to position buildings to meet tenant demand. VTS simplifies the process of collecting that information by allowing you to aggregate your own portfolio data so you can track and measure activity in real-time.”
VTS “delivers asset managers and their leasing teams a single platform to track deal flow, manage space, and seamlessly collaborate,” according to the company website. Explains Flint, “Brokers are using VTS in pitches as an accountability tool; it proves that they're making calls, among other tasks. It also helps them show themselves as a market leader by enabling them to share information and it creates transparency between broker and landlord.”
“For owners,” he continued, “it tells them who is touring the space, what brokers are most active and more. It positions you to get the right tenants and close deals faster.”
Added Paul Fiorilla, associate director of research at Yardi Systems, a real estate software concern. “The CRE market is in the absolute beginning stages in its use of technology. Look at the example of crowdfunding, which will enable individuals to invest in institutional real estate: a number of firms have set up shop in the last year or two and we're only in the first inning of that game. The way information is disseminated still isn't that advanced relative to other industries, and I think we'll be seeing a lot of changes in the coming years.”
Among those will be new hardware tools, said Peter Alden, VP of sales at Floored, which provides three-dimensional tours of online space, including buildings not yet constructed.
“A lot of hardware is coming out that's going to change how we view space,” he said. “There's Microsoft HoloLens, which provides high-definitiion holograms of space; there's a company called Magic Leap—which blends augmented and virtual reality—in which Google has invested $542 million—while Facebook has Oculus, a virtual reality provider. These tools are inexpensive hardware that will be in people's homes in the coming years.”
In addition to new technologies, or improvements to existing tools, changes likely will include the coming together of various systems.
Said Danny Shachar, director of marketing at CompStak, the provider of commercial lease comps, “Integration between technology companies is in the back of everyone's mind; we all talk to each other.
“Right now, we're all busy building our businesses,” he conceded, “but there's always conversation about that.”
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
