My first computer was an Apple //e circa 1983. Back then the computer was a sedentary machine, never seeing the outdoors. Today, as I walk through New York City assessing properties for clients, my smartphone is equipped with software apps that deliver accurate real-time data for each property. Not only does my phone deliver the metrics of a building, I can also use an app to take accurate measurements of the property. Instantaneously delivering all this data directly to my clients while I navigate the streets of New York. The technological advancements of the past decade that I have seen in other industries has finally entered the commercial real estate domain. To me, it seemed, the commercial real estate industry would always be playing catch up with leveraging technology in order to best service the needs of our clients. Though the reasoning behind this varied, one stood out, many seasoned pros fearing their roles would be phased out through the democratization of their services.
We should welcome innovation in our industry as an upgrade to an obsolete tool-box. We can disengage from repetitious tasks and spend that time best servicing clients, customers, tenants, landlords and investors. Real Estate is a tangible asset class. For my clients, it is more than just numbers and images on a screen that tells the story of the property. Nothing can ever replace walking through town and experiencing the engagement between people and the landscape around them, the formation of a neighborhood’s culture. Through this visceral human experience can we best assess a neighborhood’s potential for investment or relocation, as most great CRE brokers do. An app can never do that.
CRE is not immune to technological innovation, as evident, in the “PropTech” movement. I am excited to be in the midst of the technological revolution in CRE, and in order to be of best service to my clients, I must throw out old ideas for new.
