Seattle was ranked by PwC as the number one real estate market for 2018, in part because of their technology readiness. According to the survey, Seattle more than any other market is home to the largest percentage of workers in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields – double the national average. Residents are also tech smart. Nearly 95% of households in Seattle own a computer and nearly 90% have high speed internet. There are many trends that are shaping the commercial real estate tech industry over this year. Here are a dozen poised to shape the industry moving forward: #1: More Changes to Work Spaces – The millennial effect began the workspace changes, now Gen Z is bringing a tech focus to commercial real estate in the workplace, retail, and multifamily. #2: More Innovative Housing Options – There is a housing shortage growing across the country. Although far fewer GenX and millennial adults own homes than previous generations, the new trend of boomers staying at home combined with over 150 million Gen Z and millennial homebuyers entering the market, housing options are going to get more innovative including 3D printed housing. #3: The “Silver Tsunami” Hits the CRE Market – Boomers by and large have left the workforce, now they are moving to senior housing. More active and living longer than previous generations, commercial investors are eyeing multifamily assets in order to be in position when the silver tsunami soon hits commercial real estate in full force. #4: More Disruptive Commercial Real Estate Tech Coming Online – Co-working spaces, proptech firms, and many new fintech tools are going to further disrupt the commercial real estate market. #5: AI Will Transform Big Data Analysis – Big data analysis is going to continue to be enhanced and strengthened by automation and artificial intelligence. Smart leases, lead prospecting, customer management, and agent recruiting will all be impacted over 2018 by AI technology. #6: Energy Saving Smart Features Will Become Standard – Millennials and Gen Z care more about the environment but seniors and millennials also want more energy savings through Smart technology built into homes and apartments. Expect many of these features to become standard this year. #7: New Commercial Real Estate Tech Companies Offering AI Enhanced Platforms – New commercial real estate tech firms are going to continue to expand the powers of AI specifically for commercial real estate agents and brokers. Expect more platforms to come online offering increasingly detailed and machine learned analysis for sales as well as property management. #8: Blockchain Will Continue to Evolve in the Commercial Real Estate Sector – Blockchain’s complete disruption to commercial real estate appears to be at least a few years off, but expect to see the technology continue to evolve in this sector this year. #9: Data Centers in Secondary Cities Will Grow in Demand – Secondary cities will continue to attract new investors as e-commerce and the IoT require the use of more data centers. Places like Portland, Virginia, and North Carolina have become prime targets for commercial real estate investors. #10: Office Buildings Will Continue to Shrink – Office spaces are shrinking and most businesses don’t even need a building. Co-working and remote work will continue to shrink the modern office building transforming small retail spaces into office space. #11: Tenants and Buyers Will Demand Tech Infrastructure Upgrades – In order to support Smart technology, the infrastructure of buildings has to be wired for wireless. Expect more buyers and tenants to demand those upgrades rather than pay less for assets without modern infrastructure. #12: Construction and Design Continue to be Further Automated – Housing shortages, rising prices, and conservation-minded millennials will continue to push 3D home building technology over 2018 to include automated house printers, carpenters, and new design software to make incredible strides in 3D house printing.  

In Texas, they’re experimenting with the first Hyperloop “railway” which has the potential to eliminate the need for highways in the future – granted a far off future from today. But if it works at 620 mph (faster than the fastest high speed trains) from Dallas to Houston in less than a half an hour, we could definitely see it replacing air travel and eliminating much of the highway congestion plaguing nearly all 50 states. While a future that looks more like the future in sci-fi movies with elevated pods streaking above freeways may be off in a somewhat distant future, there are buildings that we’ve all grown up with that technology could make obsolete in the next several years. Here are just 5 types of real estate that could disappear. 5 Building Types that Could Disappear Below are just some of the buildings that may soon become obsolete. These 5 real estate types are already seeing a dwindling and could be the first to go away for good. #1: Parking Lots For the environment, for millennials that crave walkable cities, the move toward a future where there are fewer parking lots is upon us. However, if autonomous vehicles take off the way that many investors are banking on (add that to Hyperloop systems mentioned above) and there will be little need for massive parking structures that have been fixtures of the American landscape for decades. #2: Banks Hardly anyone takes the time to visit local bank branches anymore. Practically all banking from the simplest checking account to a multi-million dollar business account is handled with little face-to-face interaction at an actual bank. It all occurs online leading many to speculate how long these stalwart buildings will last in the face of mobile and online banking. #3: Offices Perhaps most decidedly, one of the structures we’ve gotten used to seeing and needing for decades could be going away. The standard office building from small business park structures to tall skyrise offices may soon become obsolete as the mobile workforce and co-working models continue to grow. #4: Rental Offices Even the rental office could become a thing of nostalgia soon. With all of the building management apps and websites that enable tenants to make requests, pay rent, submit an application, and upload paperwork, the need for actual front office personnel at rental properties is fast becoming redundant in today’s tech environment. #5: Gas Stations Just as millennials desiring more eco-friendly solutions are driving the future-without-parking-lots trend, they are also pushing an electric car and carless future. As future drivers opt to walk, ride, or use public transportation, the ones that do maintain their own vehicles will likely be driving electric cars that run on electricity that they get by plugging their cars into their home charging ports. All of these changes are going to have lasting effects on how commercial real estate is valued and marketed. For some real estate types, the future is still distant, but for some of the everyday buildings that sustained American life for the last 50+ years, it is only a matter of time before they go the way of Blockbuster and RadioShack.  

By:  Gabrielle McMillan, Equiem founder and CEO Amenities used to be the number one tool employers used to attract and retain great talent. But now that responsibility has shifted. Beginning at the very top of premium commercial property, communal facilities such as luxury change rooms, in-house gyms, high-end cafes and flexible co-working spaces are now commonplace in our buildings, levelling the field, and changing the way individuals and employers choose a workspace. As workspaces have become more integrated in the lives of their occupants, it’s crucial we understand exactly what people want. With over 100,000 users and +55 million square feet of real estate in our portfolio, we’ve found that the needs of even seemingly identical buildings can vary dramatically.  Last year Equiem launched two premium assets. They were similar buildings, with comparable square footage and population, but the needs of their occupants were completely different. One focussed on convenience and speed of delivery. The other turned its attention toward community events and building a sense of unity. With people working out, eating out and even socialising inside the same building, property owners have an opportunity to touch almost every part of the occupant’s life. Introducing yoga studios and boxing gyms allow people to fit more into their busy routine, while popular cafes, green areas and meeting spaces encourage collaboration between firms in the building. Only once the needs of a building are established can property managers start to develop a strategy to meet them. Equiem is helping its clients to unlock information and streamline the planning process.  One of our largest clients recently completed a portfolio-wide survey of their occupants. They found a staggering 96% of the community were interested in health and wellness. This allowed the client to confidently invest in free fitness classes for its members, curate content that helps people make healthier decisions and add luxury communal change rooms to their assets. Our data consistently shows that the key focus areas where landlords can add the most value for their tenants are with high-quality onsite food and beverage options, flexible common workspaces and by providing better access to health and wellness services. Fortunately, creating a great experience for your occupants isn’t just about having the latest and greatest bricks and mortar facilities. Soft services like pop-up lunchtime fitness classes, self-improvement workshops and even after hours events can be combined with useful content, valuable partnerships and exclusive offers to create a unique experience. These packages can be fit into almost any budget and are rolled out quickly to the community. The final piece of the strategy is putting in place a robust system to support the success of your amenities. Along with industry-leading communication, engagement platforms like Equiem’s, also facilitate event bookings, encourage RSVP’s and create a centralized location for information.  Year on year we see that buildings with an active Portal increase the usage rate of their facilities and provide more value to their occupants. While we can’t predict the next big trend in building amenities, we can leave room for organic growth and be flexible with the requirements of our community. By adapting quickly to the demands of our tenants and correctly understanding their needs, property owners have become an integral link in creating the workplaces of tomorrow.   Enjoyed this article? Read more from Gabrielle, here.

Glasses, Oculus, and Pokemon--oh, my! Augmented reality has made serious strides towards reality in the last five years, and the future is looking bright. Investment in AR and virtual reality tech is projected to reach $2.6 billion by 2025. Digi-Capital predicted AR alone could generate $85 billion to $90 billion in revenue with a 3.5 billion installed base within five years. With all this growth, what advances in AR technology are coming down the pike? Headset Design Headset design will be critical to mainstream adoption. Before the wider population purchases VR/AR headsets, consumers want to see a blend of function and value. Expect headset designs to become lighter, friendlier, and more mobile if sales of AR/VR headsets are to increase, as predicted. Magic Leap One The touted Magic Leap One is a step in the right direction towards streamlined design for AR glasses. It includes a self-contained computer, a controller, and a light to let others know when you’re recording. The AR headset will be connected to an external wearable power pack. Retail price is currently unknown, as is the exact availability date. What we can predict is users are unlikely to enjoy a hot power pack attached to their hip or the wires running up to the headset. However, depending on the video quality of Magic Leap One, it could be the first in a string of headset innovations. Microsoft HoloLens The Microsoft HoloLens is proving AR’s value for industries. Leading architecture firm Gensler applied the HoloLens in its headquarters remodel. The architects paired the headsets with Windows’ SketchUp Viewer to see the remodel plans both as a 3D model and on a 1:1 scale. All changes happened in real-time. All the stakeholders could see the changes and get a sense of scale. Gensler went on to apply the technology with its Banc of California Stadium design. Google Glass Google Glass’ original launch foundered for numerous reasons, but that doesn’t mean the concept is dead. FCC filings in 2015 showed Google planned to revamp Glass under its Alphabet X Division. Glass 2’s new market is business users, primarily in the manufacturing, logistics and healthcare industries. Clearly, Google hasn’t given up on the technology. Like the HoloLens, Glass could pair with AR and building information modeling (BIM) software to streamline build outs and ground-up development planning. AR Applications Designing AR technology will be easier with the latest rendition of development software. Apple’s ARkit will make creating AR apps for its iPhone and iPad products simpler. Google’s version, ARCore, serves the same function for Android-powered devices. These applications mean commercial real estate will see more AR use in the industry.  The value in using AR during a development’s early stages cannot be underestimated. Expect more architectural firms to apply AR to show their clients what a space will feel like. As a result, project developers and their architects will have better conversations about building design. 2D drawings and rendering only go so far. Redoing these 2D models wastes time and money; the AR changes push across the system instantly. Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) Beyond architecture and design leading the way, more purpose-built apps could apply AR to property tours or marketing. Improvement to SLAM means AR location accuracy is now inches, not yards, off base. SLAM developments are increasingly precise, as demonstrated by Lowe’s Innovation Labs. A Google Tango-enabled phone used SLAM to find in-store products with a holographic representation of pricing and other information. Better SLAM will increase the demand for enhanced marketing. Clients could use AR to self-tour properties, highlight amenities, and create navigation for large complexes. There’s marketing potential for commercial real estate. Imagine this: a potential client is idling at a red light next to an office space advertised for lease. To learn more, they hold up their phone and a message pops up detailing property specs and the listing agent. AR isn’t mainstream yet, but all these improvements show it’s heading that way. Adoption will create a higher demand for untethered AR glasses, as people look up to see the augmented world around them. Soon AR could be as essential to property marketing as social advertising.  

VirtualAPT develops autonomous robots that capture smooth, moving 4K 360° videos for advertising and marketing in a number of industries. Their content is web-based and available to a global audience in any language and on any modern device. VirtualAPT is one of the top service providers for your company’s cutting-edge visualization needs. Our team at CREtech recently caught up with VirtualAPT to learn more about their site, strategy and vision. What does your site do? VirtualAPT enables landlords and brokers to market their properties in an immersive and interactive way. Our VR/360° videos recreate a walk-through tour of real space using autonomous robots. The combination of mobility, verbal sales presentation, and 4K-quality visualization is the most advanced way to view and market space. Our content is viewable in multiple languages allowing for maximum global engagement. We bring more qualified eyes to each property: leasing and selling properties faster. Our proprietary technology connects the global marketplace while maintaining the interpersonal aspects of a face-to-face interaction. What problems are you solving for commercial real estate professionals? Giving tours of properties to all prospective tenants and buyers digitally, saving time for all parties. What is the latest news? Several new partnerships and projects including five full building tours with Alliance. What are your views on the current real estate tech sector? It's becoming to hottest sector; companies are eagerly looking for solutions to compete and save money. What are your future plans? Full-time teams on the West Coast. Follow them on twitter @VirtualAPT, Facebook and Instagram!