I have written this column for over four years. I started writing it at a time when no-one really knew anything...
Archive
27 January 2021
From: Breaking News

The ‘future of residential’ is a huge term to contend with but one that was addressed last week through our RE:Connect...
13 January 2021
From: Breaking News
16 December 2020
From: Breaking News

After you. No, after you. That is often how innovation seems amongst the real estate elite. And this week I see it...
02 December 2020
From: Breaking News

A slight change to the normal column this week. I was very fortunate to be given the virtual floor at the...
18 November 2020
From: Breaking News

I remember so clearly in my Foxtons days, working as a lettings manager in Putney, that lettings, though less sexy than...
04 November 2020
From: Breaking News

I had a wry smile when I read the article on Monday from the conveyancers complaining about people getting off their...
21 October 2020
From: Breaking News

Recently, when giving speeches, I have discussed investment trends and industry trends that the built environment is experiencing. They are quite...
07 October 2020
From: Breaking News

I was giving an interview this week for an upcoming conference - yet another to convert from a physical to a...
23 September 2020
From: Breaking News

For a mixture of reasons, I now only write this column every two weeks. At first, I missed the weekly consideration...
09 September 2020
From: Breaking News

An overview of the global PropTech sector is often what I am asked to cover at conferences around the world. This generally...
26 August 2020
From: Breaking News

I want to talk to you about new ways to sell homes. Let's not encourage people to sell but just swap...
12 August 2020
From: Breaking News

New information has come to light which suggests that a leading marketing platform may be planning to step into the CRM...
05 August 2020
From: Breaking News

Steve, his name was. Steve, the board man. A rather frightening man, if truth be told. When I started at Foxtons, he used...
29 July 2020
From: Breaking News

With stamp duty cuts and 90% mortgages on their way back, anyone could think the housing market was about to go...
15 July 2020
From: Breaking News

Have you ever wondered how industry-specific software and property portals have influenced the typical estate agency of today? A new book, which...
08 July 2020
From: Breaking News

"New property website launches. Not immediately sure what it does differently, what its USP is or who will use it, but...
01 July 2020
From: Breaking News

Tuesday mornings at 6am is usually my time to review all the latest PropTech news. This fires off ideas for my...
17 June 2020
From: Breaking News

I was asked a question by a German journalist yesterday. What is the biggest lesson German and European PropTech founders can...
03 June 2020
From: Breaking News

I recently read the news about Settled closing its doors. As of 6.29am on Tuesday morning, the article had been read by 8,642...
20 May 2020
From: Breaking News

“A lot of people have learned that they can work at home, or that there’s other methods of conducting their business......
06 May 2020
From: Breaking News

We are all operating in peculiar times. Times of great upheaval. Our lives are both in a complete state of flux...
22 April 2020
From: Breaking News

On April 4, EAT published a piece titled: ‘It’s 2024: what will the industry look like, post corona-virus’. To me, this...
08 April 2020
From: Breaking News

For complete transparency, I write this column first thing on a Tuesday morning and have done for a couple of years...
25 March 2020
From: Breaking News

We live in uncertain times. That I do not need to say to anybody. I am writing this piece aboard my...
11 March 2020
From: Breaking News

What an interesting few days it’s been. I don’t think the topic of this week’s column is doing anything good for our...
26 February 2020
From: Breaking News

This week I fly to Spain to present at a conference called Immotechnia. I am opening the conference with a 45-minute...
19 February 2020
From: Breaking News

A book, written by Gary Kasparov, has really made me question my opinions on Artificial Intelligence (AI). The book is called...
12 February 2020
From: Breaking News

“It appears conveyancers either aren’t too concerned with PropTech right now, or they don’t yet have all the information needed to...
05 February 2020
From: Breaking News

Quite a few years ago, I spoke at a conference for auctioneers. It was a traditional affair. Rural location. Nice hotel....
29 January 2020
From: Breaking News

“Give me 100 leads and I will make five-times more good appointments than any AI you put me up against,” stated...
22 January 2020
From: Breaking News
15 January 2020
From: Breaking News

2020, the start of a new decade. Looking back, 2010 feels like such a long time ago, and looking forward to...
08 January 2020
From: Breaking News

“There won’t be a single home but millions of different homes”, is one quote. “There will be an end to gadgets”, is...
18 December 2019
From: Breaking News

Yes, you can promise yourself that you won't eat all the mince pies, or yet another roast potato, nor drink as...
11 December 2019
From: Breaking News

Everyone thought John Bercow was short. It probably didn’t help that I was on stage just before him. 5ft 6 versus...
04 December 2019
From: Breaking News

I got an overnight flight to Nigeria yesterday. I landed at 5am local time and am only just now getting sensation...
27 November 2019
From: Breaking News

Last week, it was announced that Plentific, the London-based tenant experience, has raised $32 million in Series B funding. Plentific’s model sees...
20 November 2019
From: Breaking News

KPMG published its Global PropTech Survey 2019 last week with the title: Is your digital future in the right hands? Interesting question:...
13 November 2019
From: Breaking News

This line is one that I use a lot in my speeches and presentations, often as part of the final slide. I...
06 November 2019
From: Breaking News
30 October 2019
From: Breaking News

It was in this very column, back in July, when I wrote about how the British government was starting to take...
23 October 2019
From: Breaking News

A few weeks ago, I came across a couple of really interesting articles which I immediately thought worth writing a piece...
16 October 2019
From: Breaking News

I have been banging on about partnerships and collaborations for years now. Whether it’s between two real estate firms, two PropTech firms,...
09 October 2019
From: Breaking News

I want to take the time this week to talk about PropTech startups and how they can often be seen to...
02 October 2019
From: Breaking News

A story from America caught my eye this week. It’s about a company called Curbio partnering with another called The Keyes...
25 September 2019
From: Breaking News

There are those who say that PropTech is at risk of becoming a bubble market, and others who say bubbles don’t...
18 September 2019
From: Breaking News

I remember the day well; the day we all fell foul of addiction, the day our website was launched. Until then, at...
11 September 2019
From: Breaking News
04 September 2019
From: Breaking News

As real estate firms begin to execute their Q3 strategies and think more closely about Q4, there is one major question...
28 August 2019
From: Breaking News

News this week tells of Zehomes, the German property management company, raising €13 million in Series-A funding, bringing its all-time total...
21 August 2019
From: Breaking News

This week, you find me in Italy. Now that we’ve entered that languid month of August, where all of real estate...
14 August 2019
From: Breaking News

I wrote last week about Keller Williams and how their leader, Gary Keller, is doing an admirable job of driving innovation through...
07 August 2019
From: Breaking News

Keller Williams continues to drive culture, mentality, and process transformation by partnering with DocuSign to enable electronic signatures. It’s another lesson in...
31 July 2019
From: Breaking News

I feel I am in a fortunate position. I have been central to the PropTech movement for a number of years,...
24 July 2019
From: Breaking News

The recent announcement of a clicktopurchase partnership demonstrates some much-needed progression from Rightmove. In doing so, however, it could be said it...
17 July 2019
From: Breaking News

The PropTech era is changing the way in which employees decide where they are going to work. As CBRE has discovered in...
10 July 2019
From: Breaking News

This week, I want to take a look at the Israeli startup, Venn, an urban revitalisation firm which has recently received...
03 July 2019
From: Breaking News
26 June 2019
From: Breaking News

Facebook is set to enter the cryptocurrency business with the big reveal of its formal plans scheduled for some point this...
19 June 2019
From: Breaking News

It’s London Tech Week, everybody! The sprawling city-wide event taking in dozens of conferences, events, workshops, panel debates and so on,...
12 June 2019
From: Breaking News
05 June 2019
From: Breaking News

One of my biggest concerns in all of my writing, speaking and influencing around PropTech is that for the people we...
29 May 2019
From: Breaking News

We’ve reached the final instalment of my market transformation do’s and don’ts. In previous articles, we’ve looked at: Do encourage, don’t deter;...
22 May 2019
From: Breaking News

Whether you love or hate it, Purplebricks has undoubtedly left its mark since arriving on the scene in 2015 – much...
18 May 2019
From: Features

It was long awaited, much anticipated and, thankfully, incredibly well attended. FUTURE PropTech 2019 was a big hit and a truly global affair. For...
15 May 2019
From: Breaking News

I hope you had another wonderful Bank Holiday weekend; only three weeks to hold on until the next one. Personally, it...
08 May 2019
From: Breaking News

During our school days, most of us did that task where we imagined and drew the homes of the future, but...
04 May 2019
From: Features

My article last week has sparked some really great engagement, which I’m delighted about! Thank you to everyone who commented or dropped...
01 May 2019
From: Breaking News

It’s not often we can enjoy beautiful sunshine on bank holidays, but I suppose this one was a particularly blessed weekend,...
24 April 2019
From: Breaking News

I am writing this as I reflect on a recent trip to Nigeria. I was asked to speak at the country’s...
17 April 2019
From: Breaking News

By the time you read this article, I’ll be in Nigeria. My first ever visit to the continent of Africa. Sitting here...
10 April 2019
From: Breaking News

Foxtons and Quintain have both recently made an important decision about their technological innovation, the same decision must also be made...
04 April 2019
From: Breaking News

Whether it is legacy providers with new, young businesses, or large banks with PropTech startups, all types of cross-collaboration are vital. It’s...
27 March 2019
From: Breaking News

This month’s MIPIM conference in Cannes once again played host to the final round of the much coveted MIPIM Startup Competition. The...
20 March 2019
From: Breaking News

An interesting debate has been sparked in PropTech this week. It started with an interview, published on YouTube, in which Kristjan Byfield...
13 March 2019
From: Breaking News

A couple of weeks ago, SoftBank’s Vision Fund led a whopping $200 million investment injection into Clutter, the US-based on-demand storage...
06 March 2019
From: Breaking News

No doubt we’ve all seen the recent Purplebricks news - shares have, according to the BBC, ‘plunged after it slashed its...
27 February 2019
From: Breaking News

Interesting news this week from South Africa where the PropTech startup, Flow, has raised R20m in the country’s 'biggest PropTech seed...
20 February 2019
From: Breaking News

What do BREXIT and PropTech have in common? I got thinking about this question for a number of reasons this week but...
13 February 2019
From: Breaking News

At the end of January the Asian PropTech company PropertyGuru announced the imminent launch of beta-phase testing of its cutting-edge new product, PropertyGuru Lens. This...
06 February 2019
From: Breaking News

By thinking outside the box, agents can truly embrace the idea of space-as-a-service and create entirely new, and highly valuable, streams...
30 January 2019
From: Breaking News

If Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is as sophisticated as they say, Porter Pioneers’ launch could leave agents kicking their feet. Those of...
23 January 2019
From: Breaking News

“Estate Agents must be suffering from supplier fatigue. Where do you even begin? Most agents haven’t got the time.” So started the...
16 January 2019
From: Breaking News

It’s time to think about planning the 2019 events calendar. This year, there are more PropTech conferences scheduled than ever before,...
09 January 2019
From: Breaking News

Today sees the launch of Unissu, a platform which has classified over 6,000 PropTech businesses in a bid to offer estate...
07 January 2019
From: Breaking News

For my final EAT contribution of 2018, I’ve put together a list of Christmas gifts that you could buy your PropTech-loving...
19 December 2018
From: Breaking News

It’s that time of year again where we start saying goodbye to 12 months of hard work and start looking forward...
12 December 2018
From: Breaking News

In his keynote speech at the recent Negotiator Conference, Professor Andrew Baum sparked debate throughout the property industry. Baum’s speech, which began...
05 December 2018
From: Breaking News

I’m spending a lot of time in airport terminals waiting for flights. They’re not the most comfortable of surroundings, but at...
28 November 2018
From: Breaking News

I remember renting flats when I was a 25-year-old negotiator at Foxtons. Many of you will remember my love for the...
14 November 2018
From: Breaking News

This won’t be a long article. Just to the point and hopefully with a nice angle to it. I get asked at...
07 November 2018
From: Breaking News

I am currently in the back of a taxi. The deadline for this piece is looming and I am desperate to...
31 October 2018
From: Breaking News

Not so long ago, the best estate agents were those who did the best work for their clients and therefore built...
24 October 2018
From: Breaking News

The last couple of weeks’ articles were penned very much for a specific agent readership, something I am trying to be...
17 October 2018
From: Breaking News

When Professor Andrew Baum’s PropTech 3.0 report was first published, a small event was held to celebrate the very first academic...
10 October 2018
From: Breaking News

Last week, the first of a new kind of industry event took place; an open debate between agents and PropTech suppliers. Strong...
03 October 2018
From: Breaking News

I am a patient man; a pacifist. Yet there is little in life right now that would satisfy me more than...
26 September 2018
From: Breaking News

Those of you who receive (and read) my Sunday PropTech Review will know that, by far and away, the most shared...
19 September 2018
From: Breaking News

DISCLAIMER: The author of this article retains no responsibility for any reader discomfort experienced when recalling the seemingly endless horrors of...
12 September 2018
From: Breaking News

Last week, I wrote about the speed of innovation in the Far East. This week I’d like to do the same...
05 September 2018
From: Breaking News

A few stories caught my eye this week from China, all of which announce the arrival of cutting-edge technological innovation in...
29 August 2018
From: Breaking News
22 August 2018
From: Breaking News

My eye was caught yesterday morning by news that PropTech company, Agent Software, is claiming that ‘some agencies deliberately over-value properties...
15 August 2018
From: Breaking News

Hello again from Italy. Only another week or so left out here, working every day from the same table at my...
08 August 2018
From: Breaking News

There have been two stories dominating the PropTech headlines over this past week. As WeWork places a gentle arm around the...
01 August 2018
From: Breaking News

Since January 2018, nine of the UK’s biggest banks have allowed competitors direct access to customer data as part of the...
25 July 2018
From: Breaking News

Before I get into the nitty gritty of the government (well, one of its startup accelerator schemes) giving away £20,000, let...
18 July 2018
From: Breaking News

I loved my Foxtons office. I started in the Battersea branch. It was the old-style office; traditional carpets, actual properties in...
11 July 2018
From: Breaking News

By now we’ve all seen news about the long-term decline in property sales and competition from online alternatives leading to ‘more...
04 July 2018
From: Breaking News

The time has come for full PropTech/property integration and only those who open themselves to the globe will be part of...
27 June 2018
From: Breaking News

What a big week for PropTech! With the very first MIPIM PropTech conference, taking place in Paris today and tomorrow, comes...
20 June 2018
From: Breaking News

The pace of change is extraordinary. As we reach the middle of one conversation, rumblings of the next already begin. I think...
13 June 2018
From: Breaking News

Is there really any true value to an estate agent in our current climate? Will there be a role for traditional agents...
06 June 2018
From: Breaking News

Well last week was interesting. The column about my decision to put the property on with a letting agent went viral. This was...
23 May 2018
From: Breaking News

That’s it. I’ve given up. The lull has continued and it’s becoming quite a bore. The price drop hasn’t worked. The revamped...
16 May 2018
From: Breaking News

There is a lull in my imminent flat sale. Just no activity at all, despite a price reduction! So, I am forced...
09 May 2018
From: Breaking News

Today is the day. 1,600 people will gather in London for FUTURE: PropTech, an event I have supported when there were...
02 May 2018
From: Breaking News

I have total transparency. I love that. I know how the portals are doing, I know how many people are clicking on...
25 April 2018
From: Breaking News

I’m writing this a week into my instruction decision. It has been a fascinating journey to date. As I discussed last week,...
18 April 2018
From: Breaking News

To say I had a lot of reaction to last week's column about selling my flat would be an understatement. I've never...
11 April 2018
From: Breaking News

It’s all very easy, talking and evangelising about the use of technology in the property market, but, now that I’m selling...
04 April 2018
From: Breaking News

Last week, a story was published by CNBC about a couple who sold their home, for above the asking price, without...
28 March 2018
From: Breaking News

Smart sensors, and smart technology as a whole, are enjoying a period of accelerated innovation and adoption. It’s my opinion that such...
21 March 2018
From: Breaking News

Greetings from Cannes, where the sun is finally shining over MIPIM. I’m sure many of you are out here, too, and...
14 March 2018
From: Breaking News

The UK PropTech Awards are fast approaching. The window is open for applications and nominations and on May 2, the winners...
07 March 2018
From: Breaking News

We think about technology all the time. At least, I do. And there’s nothing left in property that technology hasn’t touched...
28 February 2018
From: Breaking News

Co-Founder Gary Keller has declared that Keller Williams (KW) is, 'no longer a real estate company...we are a technology company No....
21 February 2018
From: Breaking News

And now, as if the friction between property and PropTech wasn’t difficult enough, estate agents are turning on estate agents. We are...
14 February 2018
From: Breaking News

I had an interesting meeting last week with a VR company called Garou. Based in New York, they claim to have...
07 February 2018
From: Breaking News

I have high expectations for this year’s PropTech events and property conferences. Those that I attended in 2017 demonstrated a real step...
31 January 2018
From: Breaking News

There was an excellent article, published last week, based around an interview with Chandra Dhandapani, CBRE’s chief digital and technology officer. The...
24 January 2018
From: Breaking News

Fall-through rates have long been a problem for the UK residential property market, the issue is nothing new. Today, however, the...
17 January 2018
From: Breaking News

In last week’s column, I asked 14 industry leaders to give their predictions for the year ahead. Well, it seems a handful of...
10 January 2018
From: Breaking News

Well, I don’t know about you but after the holidays I've got an imprint just below my navel where my belt...
03 January 2018
From: Breaking News

This week, news broke of the ‘first bitcoin homes’ being sold in the UK by Go Move, an estate agency in...
20 December 2017
From: Breaking News

Bitcoin has smashed into the headlines again recently with major news outlets describing the ever increasing worth of this wildly volatile...
13 December 2017
From: Breaking News

Property has always been an industry built on a foundation of personal relationships. Deals made, promotions gained, clients won, portfolios grown;...
06 December 2017
From: Breaking News

Hands up if you’ve read all of the property reports that have been published in the past week or so? Forever...
29 November 2017
From: Breaking News

As Augmented Reality (AR) and Microsoft’s Hololens showcase the finest in modern architecture, it’s time for me to think again about...
22 November 2017
From: Breaking News

Online estate agent eMoov recently set itself apart by directly addressing the issues of openness and transparency that have long dogged the online business...
15 November 2017
From: Breaking News

Countrywide's decision to 'pause' the roll-out of its online option for sellers and landlords is "unforgivable and dumbfounding" according to a...
14 November 2017
From: Breaking News

The rise of Airbnb has been majestic, going all the way from conception to becoming a common noun in less than...
08 November 2017
From: Breaking News

Saudi Arabia has announced it’s to build a new mega-city, rising out of the desert sands in the kingdom’s north, adorning...
01 November 2017
From: Breaking News

With more news of PropTech investment, this time with Spotahome and Nested, one can’t help but wonder if this boom period is...
25 October 2017
From: Breaking News

Last week was MIPIM PropTech Summit 2017 in New York, and it was the most oversubscribed to date - proof of the...
18 October 2017
From: Breaking News

As we outlined in our EAT and LAT stories earlier this week, we (Angels Media) are seeking responses from estate and...
14 October 2017
From: Features

If an industry, which is going through a major change is going to truly implement change at every level, it must...
11 October 2017
From: Breaking News

In his PropTech 3.0 report, Andrew Baum dedicated an entire section to blockchain; it was titled: ‘Blockchain is coming – get...
04 October 2017
From: Breaking News

As those of us in the industry know, there is a fine balance to strike between disruptive technology – and the...
30 September 2017
From: Features

90% of PropTech’s work is good and vital, but that final ten has the potential to damage the rest. In my Sunday...
27 September 2017
From: Breaking News

When Kenneth Bruce, co-founder of Purplebricks, published an emotional post on social media this week, my first reaction was; what a...
20 September 2017
From: Breaking News

And so summer draws to a close. The slow, lazy months of July and August have come to pass and the...
13 September 2017
From: Breaking News

Stephanie Slater died last week, aged 50. Whilst she died from cancer (tragically, only 11 days after diagnosis), it’s the events...
06 September 2017
From: Breaking News

“When an industry is new, still finding its feet, finding its purpose, the tendency is for those few people within it...
30 August 2017
From: Breaking News

As someone who spends his days peering into the PropTech world, one thing I’ve observed is the way in which certain tech prompts...
23 August 2017
From: Breaking News

I’m excited to write this piece. I love it when something comes along and delivers that genuine thrill; the thrill of...
16 August 2017
From: Breaking News

Even if you didn’t watch it, you’ve almost certainly heard about it by now. The recent BBC Watchdog exposé of Purplebricks has...
09 August 2017
From: Breaking News

Property has been changing hands for centuries, but when did estate agents as we know them today – with their branches,...
04 August 2017
From: Features

You saw it, right? This article from Monday’s Guardian? It says that one in five estate agents are at risk of...
02 August 2017
From: Breaking News

I would argue the property industry is fundamentally inefficient. Much of that inefficiency is now being handled by PropTech companies and...
26 July 2017
From: Breaking News

You may have heard that Airbnb and property management company, Lavanda has closed a £1 million angel investment round. Backers include Purplebricks...
19 July 2017
From: Breaking News

Facebook has finally released more details about its previously announced plans to build 1,500 homes, 30 miles south of San Francisco,...
12 July 2017
From: Breaking News

Supporting the adoption of technology does not mean we have to stop protecting the core values of the property industry. In...
05 July 2017
From: Breaking News

The UK PropTech Association (UKPA), of which I am a member of the steering committee, is an organisation with a purpose...
28 June 2017
From: Breaking News

It was only a couple of weeks ago that I was writing about the Google City, in Toronto, and now the...
21 June 2017
From: Breaking News

This week, the obvious thing to write about would be easyProperty's merger with GPEA. It's such a huge and potentially influential...
14 June 2017
From: Breaking News

Not in vain the distance beacons. Forward, forward let us range, Let the great world spin forever down the ringing grooves of...
07 June 2017
From: Breaking News

It has been announced that Uber, the taxi company, has teamed up with build to rent firm, Moda Living, to ‘revolutionise renting’. This...
31 May 2017
From: Breaking News

Google, under the command of parent company, Alphabet, has set its sights on building the world’s first digital city, in Toronto,...
24 May 2017
From: Breaking News

On behalf of The University of Oxford, Professor Andrew Baum has overseen the compiling of an academic study of the PropTech...
17 May 2017
From: Breaking News

It’s that time of year again – peak conference/event season. And, while Brexit and a shock snap general election are dominating...
06 May 2017
From: Features

I was recently contributing to whitepaper by a major bank about the future of the property industry and, as I was...
27 April 2017
From: Breaking News

News was released this week of a new PropTech partnership: banking disrupter Revolut has joined up with mortgage brokerage, Trussle, to offer...
20 April 2017
From: Breaking News

This week, it would be very easy for me to focus on the startling figures that easyProperty logged with Companies House...
05 April 2017
From: Breaking News

As Trussle and Placester add to 2017s bonkers tally of PropTech investment, isn’t it time we end the conflict between Tech...
29 March 2017
From: Breaking News

In a week that I am recovering from the exuberance of MIPIM, there are two big pieces of fundraising news that...
22 March 2017
From: Breaking News

It has been a busy week for investment in PropTech businesses and no doubt you have already got reading fatigue about...
08 March 2017
From: Breaking News

There has been some really interesting talk recently of the relationship between FinTech (Finance Technology) and PropTech (Property Technology). A few...
01 March 2017
From: Breaking News

So, Property Week has announced its Property Awards shortlist for 2017. Looking at the entries for PropTech Company of the Year, I'm surprised...
22 February 2017
From: Breaking News

London based property management startup Airsorted has raised £1.5m in a funding round led by Concetric and the ever present PiLabs. What...
15 February 2017
From: Breaking News

Excuse the puntastic (or not) title, but as you’ve no doubt already deciphered I took a trip northwards a couple of...