CREtech - Discover the World of Commercial Real Estate Technology

CREtech is where the commercial real estate industry comes to discover all things tech. Our mission at CREtech is to connect the commercial real estate and tech sectors, bringing a new age of innovation and growth to the industry. Our events bring together thousands of commercial real estate and tech professionals each year. We provide a fun, casual and candid atmosphere to learn about innovation in the industry.

CREtech Blog: Are You Ready for AI to Join Your Team?

What happens when you bring artificial intelligence into your workplace? You add tremendous potential to boost productivity. However, adding AI isn’t as simple as plug-and-play. Adding AI might drastically alter your team operations. Commercial real estate professionals must be prepared to manage and interact with numerous intelligent agents. Laying the Groundwork We often expect humans to make decisions at every stage of a process. AI requires us to release some of that decision-making. That doesn’t mean humans are less important. We are key to comprehending the data and making relevant judgments based on what the AI discovers. Adding an AI system means you will have to adjust your workflows and established task routines. This goes back to letting go of some decision-making. Think about what systems you want to reduce time or expense, and what you will gain with the time earned back. Be prepared to re-assign work or modify job descriptions because the AI took over a task. Are your staff equipped with the necessary skills to handle the change? Training for Humans and Machines It’s a misconception that AIs are programmed to do specific functions. AI is called machine learning technology for a reason. It needs programming to learn and become personalized. Be ready to teach your AIs how to interact and how to do a variety of tasks. The more the program does that action, the better it will become. Take a chatbot as an example. AI chatbots study past customer interactions to find patterns that achieve the desired outcomes. That knowledge helps AI generate the best responses, helping it improve customer engagement over time. Humans need education about artificial intelligence and how it works. Some may fear AI or robotics taking away their jobs. While our daily tasks will change, the need for human interaction will not. Focus on the skills that make people different from machines: creativity, adaptability, and interpersonal skills. These are crucial characteristics for commercial real estate success. Humans are key to the problem-solving that makes deals work. Expectations for AI Adoption When the time comes to add AI to your team, be clear about the anticipated benefits. You should be able to measure processes before and after the AI’s addition to prove positive outcomes. Generally speaking, AI should make your CRE business more competitive by automating mundane but essential tasks. Staff should have more time to handle the most essential work of nurturing relationships. Gradually introduce AI technology to the team. Adding three or four solutions at once can overwhelm team members and significantly disrupt the workflow. Bring on a solution and make the appropriate changes before adding the next level of AI.

CREtech Blog: 12 Trends Shaping the Commercial Real Estate Tech Industry in 2018 and Beyond

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.

CREtech Blog: 5 Ways Tech Improves the CRE Project Management Workflow

If commercial real estate projects were easy, everyone would do them. A project’s life cycle is complex and requires numerous parties keeping tabs on its progress for an extended time period. Even shorter build-outs take weeks. Project management solutions help commercial real estate professionals tackle pain points and improve their handling. Benefits include: #1. Streamlined communications Think about how many emails, phone calls, and texts you receive in a single day. Not every email pertains to the project, nor does every email need a phone call and vice versa. Stop overwhelming project managers and sub-contractors with a slew of emails. A cloud-based project management solution keeps communication together, in one place. Any questions can be asked directly in the platform, as seen with facilities management provider Workframe. The stream of conservations keeps all stakeholders in the loop. Rather than digging through email, the answers are right there. #2. Automated task tracking and reminders Checklists allow all parties to see real-time progress and can be edited as necessary. Tie checklist items into automated reminders. These alerts keep projects moving on time. A program like Asana lets users set time-based deadlines to remind project managers on line items like contacting vendors or paying invoices. Set the reminders for weeks, days, or hours in advance depending on the task at hand. #3. Easy budgeting Project managers are under pressure to bring in new developments and renovations on time and on budget. Project management workflow platforms track the budget status with real-time information. Control invoices, see variances, and find areas for cost savings within a few quick clicks. A system like Mavenlink simplifies budgeting, forecasting, and tracking actuals in real-time. #4. Remote Access Updating records used to require a call to the office or manual entry later. Mobile apps bring project management into the tech era. Snap pictures of progress to instantly share with the team. Use a management program like Airtable to mark tasks finished from the checklist while on-site. The team can see when permits have been pulled, work begun, or new blueprints received in real-time for the latest progress updates. #5. Integrations A smart project management system needs to integrate with the other tools you’re using. That includes document storage, electronic signing, budgeting, marketing and more. SmartSheet’s platform includes Salesforce, Dropbox, and Google among is other integrations. These integrations stop the hassle of importing or exporting vital data between platforms. Everything you need is updated in real-time and ready for use.

13SepCA

Event: CREtech Los Angeles

Michael Beckerman: Tech Will Put These Five Jobs At Risk in CRE...

Yes, I have become THAT guy. The one that goes around the country talking to anyone that will listen about the pending job losses and massive overhaul coming to the commercial real estate industry as a result of the extraordinary tech investments now being made in our industry. And even more importantly, as a result of tech that is COMING to our industry in the not too distant future. Alarmist? For sure. Extreme? No doubt! But... What if I am only half right? Or even 10% right? That’s still a shit ton of jobs lost. And my real purpose for being THIS guy is because the commercial real estate industry is a sector I love. It has been so good to me over the course of my career and I have so many good friends in it. I am worried that many of my peers are going to become obsolete and they won’t even see it coming. That’s why I give a shit. That’s why I am constantly ringing the alarm bells. The impact that tech will have on CRE is still to be determined. But it will have a significant impact. Just look at what tech is doing to financial service professionals. Same thing with healthcare. Transportation has been profoundly impacted. And the legal, banking and accounting professions are going to be hit hard soon. How? AI, Machine Learning and Robotics will take over so many of the current jobs that humans are doing and get them done faster, more accurately and without much supervision. This is not to say ALL jobs will go. In fact, I believe that those with the ability to think, strategize, sell, communicate and lead will actually make more money in the future. Those that are at the top of the food chain will actually thrive. It’s where our economy is actually headed. I don’t think it is a good thing, but it is inevitable. The gap between those at the top and those at the bottom will be even greater, and the middle will just get decimated. Sadly, that’s an underlying trend happening all over the world. But there is no stopping it. In CRE specifically, I worry about these five jobs: Research. There has been an explosion of sites doing incredible things in data collection and interpretation. Just look at how fast REOnomy is scaling. Marketing and Graphics. Sites like Buildout or SharpLaunch are doing amazing things in marketing that would have taken an entire team to produce just a few years ago. Legal, Accounting, Finance. This one is probably still a ways away but tech is sweeping through the legal, accounting and finance sectors and its only a matter of time until real estate companies begin to adopt these digital solutions. Construction. There is so much innovation happening in construction, it’s hard to keep track. From Honest Buildings to Katerra, the pace of innovation is astounding and most of it is creating incredible efficiencies for both landlords and tenants. As a result, fewer people will be needed. And that’s even before robots and 3D printing really have an impact on the actual building of buildings. Lead gen. If you look at the impact that Zillow has had on residential and how online search now plays a big role in that industry, it’s only a matter of time until platforms like Truss, SquareFoot and even ProspectNow become the norm rather than the exception. And yet, there is so much you can do NOW to get in front of these trends. If you do work in any of those functions I mentioned above, you can actually strengthen and secure your job by learning about and embracing tech in your job TODAY. That way you will be MORE in demand as tech sweeps through every aspect of our industry, not LESS. If you feel like you are someone I might be describing, reach out to me directly. Come to one of my events. Follow us at CREtech.com. Follow us on social. GET INVOLVED. There is still time to re-invest in yourself and in tech, but the clock is ticking!

CREtech Blog: 5 Types of Real Estate that Tech Will Make Obsolete

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.

6DecNY

Event: CREtech Venture Conference NYC

Michael Beckerman: CREtech 2018 Mid Year Industry Outlook

What’s the pulse of CREtech right now? It’s clear things are accelerating at an incredibly fast pace with funding at historic levels, startups scaling, developers and brokers investing and the introduction of more important trends. But what’s REALLY going on? What’s happening beneath the headlines. In the trenches. On the front line. To find out, I asked some of the people who are leading the charge in CREtech for their perspective. Hope it sheds some light on the state of CREtech today. Love to hear your thoughts, as well!

CREtech Blog: Meero’s Revolutionary Image-Editing AI Closes $45M Funding Round

Investors are putting their money behind industry-changing artificial intelligence applications. One exciting field with implications for commercial real estate is computer vision, specifically, in image processing. After a photo shoot, processing usually takes hours. Meero is changing that timeline. With is proprietary application, AI reduces this processing time to seconds. About Meero Meero launched in 2016 with a game-changing artificial intelligence platform tackling image editing to speed up image processing. What takes a human hours to touch-up, its program can do in seconds. Meero is delivering quality real estate photos, videos, and 360-degree imagery with a 24-hour turnaround. The platform’s computer vision algorithm is backed by a unique 25-million photograph database for learning retouching. The results of its dual-deep convolutional neural network means it can edit lighting, semantics, and capture image defects. Just two years after its launch, Meero has over 40,000 professional photographers across 100 countries. Clients include Airbnb and Sotheby’s. Investors Backing Meero Eight months ago Meero closed its first $15M financing round. Now it announced the close of a $45M second round led by Alven and Idinvest. Other investors include Global Founders Capital, Aglae Ventures, and White Star Capital. Meero plans to use the financing to open France’s largest computer vision center and new offices in the United States and Asia. “The fact that our historical investors are renewing their confidence and new supporters are joining the Meero adventure is encouraging us in the strategy we have chosen to pursue,” said Thomas Rebaud, co-founder and CEO of Meero in a press release. “This significant fundraising will enable us to accelerate our development, both commercially and technologically, and thereby consolidate our leading position in this market.” Meero is used by professionals capturing images in real estate, e-commerce, retail, food and lifestyle.

CREtech Blog: Guest Blog - Office tower or country club? How amenities are breathing life into our city's buildings

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.

18OctIL

Event: CREtech Chicago

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7 Ways facility managers can create value with technology
Vaishnavi Murthy 8/14/18

"Sometimes a change in perspective is all it takes to see something familiar in a totally new light" With businesses, big and small, blooming all over the world, the growing demand for commercial spaces never ending, the art of having a well-maintained building has never been more important. For...Read more
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CREtech 2018 Mid Year Industry Outlook
Michael Beckerman 8/14/18
What’s the pulse of CREtech right now? It’s clear things are accelerating at an incredibly fast pace with funding at historic levels, startups scaling, developers and brokers investing and the introduction of more important trends. But what’s REALLY going on? What’s happening beneath the headlines. In the trenches. On the...Read more
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5 Ways Tech Improves the CRE Project Management Workflow
CREtech Blog 8/14/18
If commercial real estate projects were easy, everyone would do them. A project’s life cycle is complex and requires numerous parties keeping tabs on its progress for an extended time period. Even shorter build-outs take weeks. Project management solutions help commercial real estate professionals tackle pain points and improve their...Read more
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WeWork is still growing phenomenally — and losing a lot of money
RECODE 8/14/18
WeWork’s growth is accelerating as the office-rental firm adds more locations and tenants. But the company is still spending a lot to achieve that growth.Read more
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Redfin takes ‘experiment’ tag off Redfin Now, making direct home sales a key part of its business
GEEKWIRE 8/14/18
Redfin Now, the company’s direct home buying and selling operation, is now a key piece of its long-term strategy.Read more
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Tech Workers Call the Shots for Space
GLOBEST 8/14/18
With the unemployment rate at 4%, many companies are taking a cold hard look at just what employees, especially the decision-driving Millennials, want in office spaces.Read more
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Self-Driving In Style: Amazon & Apple Patents Aim To Personalize Your Ride
CBINSIGHTS 8/14/18
Newly published patent applications by the tech giants envision autonomous vehicles that identify passengers and adjust to their preferences. One of the systems even detects when a passenger is feeling stressed.Read more
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US proptech fund Fifth Wall attracts strong interest from Hong Kong, Asian developers
SCMP 8/14/18
Fifth Wall Ventures, a California-based venture capital firm that manages dedicated property technology funds, is seeing growing interest from Hong Kong and Asian property developers seeking to access new technologies.Read more
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Scooter Startups Roll Into Trouble as Cities Slow Their Expansion
WSJ 8/14/18
Shortly after two startups dropped hundreds of scooters on the streets of Denver without permission in May, frustrated city officials responded swiftly with vehicles of their own. A platoon of workers in vans and pickups scooped up more than 300 of the scooters and impounded them.Read more
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How Airbnb went from renting air beds for $10 to a $30 billion hospitality behemoth
TECHCRUNCH 8/14/18
Happy 10th anniversary Airbnb. When we first wrote about the company a decade ago, it was a spare website cobbled together by its founders for the low low price of $20,000. In the years since, the marketplace Airbnb created has radically transformed the rental landscape in cities, created an entirely...Read more