Archive

This month’s MIPIM conference in Cannes once again played host to the final round of the much coveted MIPIM Startup Competition.  The...

An interesting debate has been sparked in PropTech this week. It started with an interview, published on YouTube, in which Kristjan Byfield...

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

No doubt we’ve all seen the recent Purplebricks news - shares have, according to the BBC, ‘plunged after it slashed its...

Interesting news this week from South Africa where the PropTech startup, Flow, has raised R20m in the country’s 'biggest PropTech seed...

What do BREXIT and PropTech have in common?  I got thinking about this question for a number of reasons this week but...

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...

By thinking outside the box, agents can truly embrace the idea of space-as-a-service and create entirely new, and highly valuable, streams...

If Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is as sophisticated as they say, Porter Pioneers’ launch could leave agents kicking their feet.  Those of...

“Estate Agents must be suffering from supplier fatigue. Where do you even begin? Most agents haven’t got the time.” So started the...

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

Today sees the launch of Unissu, a platform which has classified over 6,000 PropTech businesses in a bid to offer estate...

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

It’s that time of year again where we start saying goodbye to 12 months of hard work and start looking forward...

In his keynote speech at the recent Negotiator Conference, Professor Andrew Baum sparked debate throughout the property industry. Baum’s speech, which began...

I’m spending a lot of time in airport terminals waiting for flights. They’re not the most comfortable of surroundings, but at...

I remember renting flats when I was a 25-year-old negotiator at Foxtons. Many of you will remember my love for the...

This won’t be a long article. Just to the point and hopefully with a nice angle to it.  I get asked at...

I am currently in the back of a taxi. The deadline for this piece is looming and I am desperate to...

Not so long ago, the best estate agents were those who did the best work for their clients and therefore built...

The last couple of weeks’ articles were penned very much for a specific agent readership, something I am trying to be...

When Professor Andrew Baum’s PropTech 3.0 report was first published, a small event was held to celebrate the very first academic...

Last week, the first of a new kind of industry event took place; an open debate between agents and PropTech suppliers. Strong...

I am a patient man; a pacifist. Yet there is little in life right now that would satisfy me more than...

Those of you who receive (and read) my Sunday PropTech Review will know that, by far and away, the most shared...

DISCLAIMER: The author of this article retains no responsibility for any reader discomfort experienced when recalling the seemingly endless horrors of...

Last week, I wrote about the speed of innovation in the Far East. This week I’d like to do the same...

A few stories caught my eye this week from China, all of which announce the arrival of cutting-edge technological innovation in...

I received a press release yesterday - one of many that get sent my way - and, as I always do,...

My eye was caught yesterday morning by news that PropTech company, Agent Software, is claiming that ‘some agencies deliberately over-value properties...

Hello again from Italy. Only another week or so left out here, working every day from the same table at my...

There have been two stories dominating the PropTech headlines over this past week. As WeWork places a gentle arm around the...

Since January 2018, nine of the UK’s biggest banks have allowed competitors direct access to customer data as part of the...

Before I get into the nitty gritty of the government (well, one of its startup accelerator schemes) giving away £20,000, let...

I loved my Foxtons office. I started in the Battersea branch. It was the old-style office; traditional carpets, actual properties in...

By now we’ve all seen news about the long-term decline in property sales and competition from online alternatives leading to ‘more...

The time has come for full PropTech/property integration and only those who open themselves to the globe will be part of...

What a big week for PropTech! With the very first MIPIM PropTech conference, taking place in Paris today and tomorrow, comes...

The pace of change is extraordinary. As we reach the middle of one conversation, rumblings of the next already begin. I think...

Is there really any true value to an estate agent in our current climate? Will there be a role for traditional agents...

Well last week was interesting. The column about my decision to put the property on with a letting agent went viral.  This was...

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...

There is a lull in my imminent flat sale. Just no activity at all, despite a price reduction!  So, I am forced...

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

I have total transparency. I love that.  I know how the portals are doing, I know how many people are clicking on...

I’m writing this a week into my instruction decision. It has been a fascinating journey to date. As I discussed last week,...

To say I had a lot of reaction to last week's column about selling my flat would be an understatement. I've never...

It’s all very easy, talking and evangelising about the use of technology in the property market, but, now that I’m selling...

Last week, a story was published by CNBC about a couple who sold their home, for above the asking price, without...

Smart sensors, and smart technology as a whole, are enjoying a period of accelerated innovation and adoption.  It’s my opinion that such...

Greetings from Cannes, where the sun is finally shining over MIPIM. I’m sure many of you are out here, too, and...

The UK PropTech Awards are fast approaching. The window is open for applications and nominations and on May 2, the winners...

We think about technology all the time. At least, I do. And there’s nothing left in property that technology hasn’t touched...

Co-Founder Gary Keller has declared that Keller Williams (KW) is, 'no longer a real estate company...we are a technology company No....

And now, as if the friction between property and PropTech wasn’t difficult enough, estate agents are turning on estate agents.  We are...

I had an interesting meeting last week with a VR company called Garou. Based in New York, they claim to have...

I have high expectations for this year’s PropTech events and property conferences.  Those that I attended in 2017 demonstrated a real step...

There was an excellent article, published last week, based around an interview with Chandra Dhandapani, CBRE’s chief digital and technology officer.  The...

Fall-through rates have long been a problem for the UK residential property market, the issue is nothing new. Today, however, the...

In last week’s column, I asked 14 industry leaders to give their predictions for the year ahead. Well, it seems a handful of...

Well, I don’t know about you but after the holidays I've got an imprint just below my navel where my belt...

This week, news broke of the ‘first bitcoin homes’ being sold in the UK by Go Move, an estate agency in...

Bitcoin has smashed into the headlines again recently with major news outlets describing the ever increasing worth of this wildly volatile...

Property has always been an industry built on a foundation of personal relationships. Deals made, promotions gained, clients won, portfolios grown;...

Hands up if you’ve read all of the property reports that have been published in the past week or so? Forever...

As Augmented Reality (AR) and Microsoft’s Hololens showcase the finest in modern architecture, it’s time for me to think again about...

Online estate agent eMoov recently set itself apart by directly addressing the issues of openness and transparency that have long dogged the online business...

Countrywide's decision to 'pause' the roll-out of its online option for sellers and landlords is "unforgivable and dumbfounding" according to a...

The rise of Airbnb has been majestic, going all the way from conception to becoming a common noun in less than...

Saudi Arabia has announced it’s to build a new mega-city, rising out of the desert sands in the kingdom’s north, adorning...

With more news of PropTech investment, this time with Spotahome and Nested, one can’t help but wonder if this boom period is...

Last week was MIPIM PropTech Summit 2017 in New York, and it was the most oversubscribed to date - proof of the...

As we outlined in our EAT and LAT stories earlier this week, we (Angels Media) are seeking responses from estate and...

If an industry, which is going through a major change is going to truly implement change at every level, it must...

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

As those of us in the industry know, there is a fine balance to strike between disruptive technology – and the...

90% of PropTech’s work is good and vital, but that final ten has the potential to damage the rest. In my Sunday...

When Kenneth Bruce, co-founder of Purplebricks, published an emotional post on social media this week, my first reaction was; what a...

And so summer draws to a close. The slow, lazy months of July and August have come to pass and the...

Stephanie Slater died last week, aged 50. Whilst she died from cancer (tragically, only 11 days after diagnosis), it’s the events...

In this week’s Natter I’m going to get all political. Don’t worry, I won’t be giving my opinions on Brexit, Trump...

“When an industry is new, still finding its feet, finding its purpose, the tendency is for those few people within it...

As someone who spends his days peering into the PropTech world, one thing I’ve observed is the way in which certain tech prompts...

I’m excited to write this piece. I love it when something comes along and delivers that genuine thrill; the thrill of...

Even if you didn’t watch it, you’ve almost certainly heard about it by now.  The recent BBC Watchdog exposé of Purplebricks has...

Property has been changing hands for centuries, but when did estate agents as we know them today – with their branches,...

You saw it, right? This article from Monday’s Guardian? It says that one in five estate agents are at risk of...

I would argue the property industry is fundamentally inefficient. Much of that inefficiency is now being handled by PropTech companies and...

You may have heard that Airbnb and property management company, Lavanda has closed a £1 million angel investment round.  Backers include Purplebricks...

Facebook has finally released more details about its previously announced plans to build 1,500 homes, 30 miles south of San Francisco,...

Supporting the adoption of technology does not mean we have to stop protecting the core values of the property industry. In...

The UK PropTech Association (UKPA), of which I am a member of the steering committee, is an organisation with a purpose...

It was only a couple of weeks ago that I was writing about the Google City, in Toronto, and now the...

This week, the obvious thing to write about would be easyProperty's merger with GPEA. It's such a huge and potentially influential...

Not in vain the distance beacons. Forward, forward let us range, Let the great world spin forever down the ringing grooves of...

It has been announced that Uber, the taxi company, has teamed up with build to rent firm, Moda Living, to ‘revolutionise renting’.    This...

Google, under the command of parent company, Alphabet, has set its sights on building the world’s first digital city, in Toronto,...

On behalf of The University of Oxford, Professor Andrew Baum has overseen the compiling of an academic study of the PropTech...

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

I was recently contributing to whitepaper by a major bank about the future of the property industry and, as I was...

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

This week, it would be very easy for me to focus on the startling figures that easyProperty logged with Companies House...

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

In a week that I am recovering from the exuberance of MIPIM (I didn't want to focus on it in this...

It has been a busy week for investment in PropTech businesses and no doubt you have already got reading fatigue about...

There has been some really interesting talk recently of the relationship between FinTech (Finance Technology) and PropTech (Property Technology). A few...

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

London based property management startup Airsorted has raised £1.5m in a funding round led by Concetric and the ever present PiLabs.  What...

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

The first week of February has seen some extraordinary goings on in the property sector, from which two stories particularly stand out...