Didn’t make it out to New York for this year’s event? Got out there only to find that you struggled to pick up all of the key messages as you dashed from venue to venue and stage to stage? Fear not, EG has got your back. Here we round up nine of the key quotes, thoughts, takeaways and musings from one of the biggest real estate tech weeks of the year
1. We are doomed
Admittedly, not the most uplifting of points to start on. But this message was put out to delegates loud and clear at this year’s event and sometimes it is better to get bad news out of the way early. So here we go. The comment itself – “we are on a slow gradient to doom” – was made with only a hint of jest by Sidewalk Labs’ head of sustainability Charlotte Matthews as part of a panel discussion on climate change. It was a warning about just how bad things need to get – in this instance on the subject of the environment – before the real estate sector specifically and the world at large actively embraces widespread, significant change. Matthews did temper her comment, adding that the gradient is an important element of context and that there are still varying speeds at which we could descend into the aforementioned doom and that working together to ensure we are on the slowest gradient possible should be something everyone working within tech and real estate is collectively focused on.
2. Change is coming whether we like it or not
What was marked at this year’s event was how many of the keynote speakers and panellists flagged the impending threat of a plethora of current and future factors on real estate. This wasn’t your standard ‘failure fuels innovation’ chat. This was a warning. Basically, if you don’t change soon, something will happen that will force you to change so you may as well start now. From the emergence of new data laws to cyber security threats and a multitude of other issues, delegates were told in no uncertain terms that the time to evolve is upon us, if not behind us in some cases. As cyber security expert Min Kyriannis said on a panel about how the industry can protect itself from cyber attacks, until there is a major cyber breach that catches the attention of the sector, progress will be slow. “There hasn’t been a real, true threat or incident around cyber security in real estate,” she said. But there will be. And when it comes the industry will, most likely, be far from prepared.
3. Sidewalk Labs is powering on
Sidewalk Labs’ chief development officer Josh Sirefman took on more questions than most speakers after his keynote at Mipim Proptech New York as delegates were keen to find out about progress on the Sidewalk Toronto project. Apart from an amusing quip in response to a question asking him to “address some of the resistance Sidewalk Labs has had to the project” – to which he replied “I’ve only got 15 minutes” – the big focus was on data and privacy. Off the back of controversy around Sidewalk Labs’ proposed use of data and sensors, Sirefman conceded that there had been some initial naivety around this subject. He added that “robust public dialogue” had fuelled a ground-breaking data policy to protect privacy. “As a result of this increasing focus on data and privacy where government will set the guidelines for use of data on this project. There will be guidelines for everything. There is no other model like this as far as I am aware for a policy around data capture in the public realm.”
4. The WeWork legacy will live on…
No surprise that WeWork got more than a few mentions over the course of the week as the story you couldn’t make up rumbled on. Scott Rechler, chairman and chief executive of New York-based developer RXR Realty told delegates at Mipim Proptech New York in partnership with MetaProp that the co-working group deserved “credit for recognising the desire for flexible space” but added that future co-working spaces could see a 30% mark-up if the flexible workspace giant unravels.
He said: “Wherever WeWork lands, it has really led the way with this new way of working and that will live on. But the challenge is that the current model of co-working is great for the user as so many offerings are subsided by VC. Going forward it might need to be priced by real estate companies looking to make a reasonable profit. This could be up to 30% more than what lots of companies were paying before. Is that a price they are willing to pay?”
5. Workforces need to upskill. Like, now
Lisa Picard, chief executive of real estate investment company EQ Office, was another keynote with some home truths to dish out. She argued that over half of global employees will need upskilling by 2022. She said that upskilling existing staff would be a major hurdle for companies to overcome, not least because it is hard for people to “relearn”. But this does not alter the fact, she added, that at least 54% of the current global workforce will need upskilling within the next three years. In terms of the need to upskill for a changing, tech-advanced sector, Picard said that new skills don’t necessarily need an intrinsic technological component but are more related to the creative side of work. She said that complex problem solving, critical thinking and relationship fostering will become the most valuable attributes future employees in real estate can bring, replacing skills such as logging and reporting, predictable analysis and quality control.
6. Should maker spaces anchor development?
New York Real Estate Tech Week wasn’t all about organised events. It also offered the perfect opportunity to meet the people and companies who are busy innovating. EG visited the new Sandbox space at the Zaha Hadid Residences to speak to Related Companies’ executive vice president Greg Gushee about the launch of this tech education concept. A space that has both a private and a public entrance, the Sandbox space has been created to help encourage people, and children in particular, to learn about all aspects of technology. “It’s like a Soho House for mad scientists in one way,” said Gushee. “But equally we want spaces like these to be open to everyone, so we have our public area too.”
7. Driverless cars are further away than you think
CIV:LAB co-founder and executive director Simon Sylvester-Chaudhuri said that “we have a long way to go” making driverless cars happen as part of a future of mobility panel. He added that although the technology exists for getting autonomous vehicles off the ground, the number of parties that need to be consulted in making this a reality is vast and complex. “Part of the fun about working at our organisations is that you get to talk to all these multi stakeholders, but it’s also a pain in the ass,” he said. “All different stakeholders need to be at the table, not only the autonomous vehicle companies but transportation companies and real estate companies. Those discussions need to happen to ensure that autonomous vehicles can speak to lots of other vehicles.”
8. US proptech valuations are ‘bananas’
Look away now US readers but during the event, Concrete VC partner Taylor Wescoatt said that finding a good investment deal in the US is hard as current valuations of proptech companies are “bananas”. He went on to say that Europe was a better place for investors to seek a good deal for investing in proptech companies. “There is so much money here in the US and the market is so big, there are so many funds competing for any hit deal that valuations are bananas,” he said. He added that in Europe there are “lower valuations and there are fewer people competing for each deal which drives them down. But there are good deals to be had”.
9. Sustainable real estate events should be the future
Not all lessons and messages from Tech Week came from the stage. Teeming with delegates – over 2,000 people attended the Mipim PropTech NYC event alone – plenty of ideas emerged from networking. One of EG’s favourite conversations was with HB Reavis’s innovation scout for Europe Gaia Arzilli.
On top of the work she is doing for the company as part of her day job, she revealed her plans to focus as much on the sustainability credentials of the company’s future events as on the content itself. She said that as of this December she will be putting on entirely plastic-free, sustainable events and conferences with vegan, locally sourced menus and a pledge to deliver any leftover food to a homeless charity at the end of the day. This sort of responsibility, she said, is something that the real estate sector and the world at large had not always been too good at. The time for this to change is now, she added. A small change with a potentially significant impact and hopefully one that will take us one step closer to slowing down that descent into doom.
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