LREF 2016: The power of property’s next generation goes beyond being tech savvy, according to 30 of the industry’s top rising stars.
Their influence extends to social issues and building innovations on top of the emerging tech scene with which their generation has become synonymous.
The millennials were speaking at an Estates Gazette round table event, held at the themed Mr Fogg’s Residence in Mayfair – an example of Inception Group’s Charlie Gilkes “worst street in the best postcode” approach to navigating London’s rising property prices.
While talk inevitably turned to tech before too long, speakers at the event were quick to point out that the start-up world is not the only environment in which they can innovate and thrive.
“Playing devil’s advocate here, why is it all about technology?” asked Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners’ associate director Simon Tonks. “We have it in our power to address real, social problems like people without roofs over their heads,” he said.
There was some debate over how intregral technology is throughout the sector. Some speakers argued that corporate real estate tech – or CRETech – is embedded in everything the sector now does, while others insisted it is not the only thing the next generation should be known for.
What the speakers did agree on was that they are being listened to more now than ever before by senior industry figures. Even though when it comes to the actual deals in which significant amounts of money change hands, the instinct was for the sector to go back to “old, traditional ways”.
But James Rolton, investment executive at British Land, said that the tide was turning. “The property industry has had a real ‘oh God’ moment, I think. People listen to what we say now. We have seen a sea change.”
Have a look inside the themed Mr Fogg’s Residence.
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