Most Australian real estate companies think technology will reshape their assets over the next three years – but half are still using spreadsheets to assess the performance of their portfolios.
This is the big takeaway from the second annual proptech survey by the Property Council and software company Yardi.
The survey of 172 senior industry professionals – 92 per cent holding mid-level management positions or above – was undertaken in November 2021.
Respondents said their biggest barrier to technology adoption was changing existing behaviour. 24 per cent nominated this as the top obstacle, surpassing resources, costs, time or confidence in a project’s success.
Jonathan Hannam, managing partner of proptech venture capital firm Taronga Ventures, was a contributor to the report. He says there are many “entrenched” groups in the property industry that rely on “tried and trusted” relationships, or who “don’t want to share their data because their power base will be eroded with transparency”. But this is about to change, he says.
Another leader who contributed insights to the report is Charter Hall’s chief information and technology officer, Sheridan Ware. She says companies “looking to scale, provide industry-leading customer service and attract and retain top talent will struggle to do so on spreadsheets”.
Just under half (49 per cent) of respondents think Australia is trailing the rest of the world in proptech investment – up from 30 per cent in 2020. But Property Council chief executive Ken Morrison says the COVID-19 pandemic was a significant catalyst for change.
“Leaders are turning to technology to address long-term structural challenges like climate change, to respond to investor demand for real-time reporting and transparency, and to enhance the experience for people who live, work and play in buildings.”
Yardi’s Senior Regional Director for Asia Pacific, Bernie Devine, says the pandemic has taught the property industry that the world is “now consistently inconsistent”.
“Leaders have learnt that preparing for ongoing unpredictability requires new systems and processes that can simplify complexity and enable flexibility,” Devine says.
The survey found business process automation was the technology most likely to be adopted over the next three years, with 32 per cent of respondents noting it was on their real estate radar. This was followed by big data analytics (22 per cent), automated access control systems (17 per cent) and artificial intelligence (16 per cent).
“This survey gives property industry leaders a clear sense of where they stand and exposes areas for investment and focus,” Devine adds.
“We expect to see more testing and trialling over the year ahead as Australian property companies embrace technology to sharpen their competitive edge, find new sources of value and enhance the customer experience.”
Download the Yardi/Property Council of Australia Proptech Survey.