1st Edition
PropTech and Real Estate Innovations A Guide to Digital Technologies and Solutions in the Built Environment
This textbook serves as a guide to real estate students and educators on the various property innovations and digital technologies that continue to shape the property industry. The advancement of PropTech in the last few decades has led to significant changes in real estate systems, operations, and practice, and this new textbook provides insight on the past, present, and future of PropTech innovations that have spread across the value chain of real estate through planning, development, management, finance, investment, operations, and transactions. The textbook approaches this subject from the real estate components, asset classes, and submarkets and links them to the associated innovations and digital technologies. It concludes by reviewing the role of education, innovation, skill development, and professionalism as major elements of the future of real estate operations and practice.
This book’s unique contributions are in putting the “property” element at the forefront and then illustrating how technology can enhance the various areas of real estate; the focus on how the different innovations and technologies can enhance the economic, environmental, social, and physical efficiency of real estate; and its coverage of some non‑technological innovations like flexible working and more practical areas of real estate innovation such as skills, employability, creativity, and education.
It contains 21 case studies and 29 case summaries, which can serve as practice exercises for students. This book will be useful to students in helping them build a knowledge base and understanding of innovation and digital technologies in the industry. Real estate educators can use the textbook as a guide to incorporate real estate innovation and digital technologies into their current teaching and also to develop their real estate curricula through PropTech‑related modules and courses where necessary. It will also be valuable to real estate researchers in search of the theoretical and conceptual linkages, as well as industry practitioners who seek insight into the current and future potential of digital technologies and their applications to real estate operations and practice.
Section One: Introduction
1.Background and Introduction to PropTech and Innovation in Real Estate
2. Digital Technological Tools and Real Estate Applications
3. Real Estate Digital Transformation and PropTech Investment and Finance
Section Two: PropTech and Property Innovations across the Real Estate Value Chain
4. Digital Technology and Innovation in Planning, Land Management, and Urban Management
5. Digital Technology and Innovation in Real Estate Development, Construction, Management, and Maintenance
6. Digital Technology and Innovation in Real Estate Funding, Finance, and Investment
7. Digital Technology and Innovation in Real Estate Valuation and Appraisal
8. Digital Technology and Innovation in Real Estate Brokerage, Agency, Marketing, and Other Allied Services
Section Three: Prospects and the Future
9. Core Stakeholders, Enablers, and Systems of Growth and Development in Real Estate Digital Technology and Innovation
10. Summary and Conclusion: The Future Real Estate Digital Technology and Innovation
Biography
Olayiwola Oladiran is currently a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Real Estate at the University of Sheffield, Lead of Shef.AI Urban Interest Group and Co‑Lead of the Shef.AI Innovation and Pedagogy Interest Groups. He is also the Co‑Founder of Bloomshill. He holds a PhD in Real Estate Economics, an MSc in International Real Estate Investment and Finance, and a BTech in Estate Management. Olayiwola is an RICS‑Chartered Surveyor (MRICS) and a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy (FHEA). He is also a Board Member of the RICS Yorkshire and the Humber Regional Board. He won the UK PropTech Association Special Achievement Award in 2022 and the University College of Estate Management Harold Samuel Research Prize in 2020.
Louisa Dickins is the Co‑Founder of LMRE, the market‑leading global built environment recruitment platform and search consultancy with operations across North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, Asia‑Pacific, and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). She hosts “The Propcast”, a built environment technology podcast; mentors for REACH, a global early‑stage technology fund; and is a Committee Member of Real Estate Women, a non‑profit association whose mission is to create an equitable and inclusive industry, advocating for fair representation of women and minorities in leadership positions. She was also previously a Board Director for the UK PropTech Association, and was awarded the Young Property Personality of the Year Award at the Property Awards.
“This textbook is a great way for real estate professionals, students, innovators, and other stakeholders to deep dive into the innovation in the built environment. It offers great global perspectives and insight into a wide range of digital tools and technologies across the real estate value chain from planning and urban management to development, investment, and brokerage across all asset classes. The authors also introduce new concepts and theories that have the potential to shape future innovation and digitisation in real estate and they provide empirical-based insights into future trends and growth areas such as climate tech, AI, and blockchain technologies. This education is a valuable and important contribution to the further development of the PropTech ecosystem.”
Aaron Block, Co-founder and Managing Partner MetaProp
"Too little has been written about innovation in the real estate industry. Oladiran and Dickins have done something about this by producing a scholarly yet at the same time pragmatic and comprehensive book focussed in digital transformation and PropTech"
Professor Andrew Baum, Chairman, Newcore Capital. Senior Research Fellow, Green Templeton College and Emeritus Professor, University of Oxford
“This timely publication will help people navigate the huge variety and number of digital solutions that are now available to support the built and natural environment right across the property lifecycle. It can be argued that the sector still needs to reap the full benefits of digitisation by replacing inefficient ‘analogue’ processes with new and more productive digital equivalents to address long-standing issues around productivity, to support the newer net zero and sustainability agendas, and to deal with the effects of the pandemic and the changing ways in which real estate is being used – all the while showing a positive return on investment.
The continued and dramatic rise in the use of artificial intelligence in all its forms is now presenting the sector with both opportunities and risks, and in tandem with the drive to digitise, the sector will have a profound impact on skills, job roles, and how we train, develop, and nurture the next generation of property professionals.”
Andrew Knight, Global Data and Tech Lead, Though Leadership and Analytics, RICS
“This book is a gold mine of information detailing the A–Z of the real estate tech sector. A must-read for students and those looking to break into PropTech. It reads like a novel…you will not be able to put it down!”
Anouk Khan, Chief Operating Officer Real Estate Women
“I wish this book was available when I started in PropTech! Oladiran and Dickins demystify PropTech, offer valuable insights into current practices in real estate and construction, and present case studies to demonstrate how technology and innovation are reshaping the way we design, build, and live. Sharing these lessons is essential for innovators, professionals, and students who want to learn from the past and drive the industry forward.”
Courtney Cooper, Principal at Alate Partners and Co-founder of PropTech Collective
“The transformation of real estate through digitization, well presented in this book, is a testament to the evolving dynamics of the industry. As global PropTech actors (owners/operators, startups, venture capitalists, etc) proliferate, the discourse around them has notably shifted, no longer merely focusing on the technological tools but emphasizing the genuine integration of these tools into the value chain of real estate. This evolution is cogently showcased through Oladiran and Dickins' writing, weaving a seamless narrative around the profound marriage of technology and real estate. The expansion of the ESEP (Environmental, Social, Economic, and Physical) efficiency framework provides readers with a structured lens to analyze both the antecedents and outcomes of real estate digital tools and platforms.
Not only does it demystify complex technologies; but it also showcases their practical applications, paving the way for future innovations in real estate. Each chapter is tailored to ensure that students, educators, professionals, and even PropTech enthusiasts are well-equipped with a robust understanding of the sector's evolution. This work resonates with both the novice seeking foundational knowledge and the expert yearning for a deeper understanding. Through a meticulous blend of historical analysis, technological elucidation, and real-world application, this book is an indispensable guide for anyone navigating the ever-evolving corridors of real estate in the digital age.”
Jeffrey Berman, Partner Camber Creek
“Proptech and Real Estate Innovations is an absolute must-read not just for professionals in the real estate technology sector, but for anyone who is interested in where the future of the built world is heading. The authors absolutely capture the pulse of this growing industry and the book is a fantastic way to understand the PropTech sector, gain insights on the major tech adoption trends happening today and provide a terrific lens into where innovation and technology are heading in the future in the built world. I have no doubt that technology will profoundly change the way the real estate industry invests, builds and operates in the future and this book is a terrific primer to gain great insight into the sector in a very digestible manner. I therefore highly recommend this book and appreciate the authors’ outstanding leadership in being catalysts for reimagining real estate.”
Michael Beckerman, CEO of CREtech
“PropTech has taken centre stage in disrupting and redefining the value chain of real estate markets. However, in-depth knowledge of PropTech is lacking. This book by Oladiran and Dickins addresses the many unknowns and myths surrounding PropTech. There is a careful and thorough unpacking of the PropTech ecosystem from the concepts to existing deployments to solve real estate problems. This book is a game changer in documenting advancements in the real estate markets through innovation and digital technology. It pioneers a new strand of innovativeness in the property industry. This book is a must-have on the shelves of real estate academics, professionals, students, and any keen enthusiasts interested in the changing dynamics of real estate.”
Professor Omokolade Akinsomi (PhD, MRICS), President-Elect- International Real Estate Society (2024), Associate Professor of Real Estate Finance, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa
“We have experienced exceptional advancement in real estate innovation and digital technology in the last decade and it is important that built environment students are exposed to the drivers, concepts, principles, theories and applications of these innovations and digital technologies. This textbook is a valuable resource that provides students and educators with a solid knowledge base for the application of digital technology in the built environment. Oladiran and Dickins cover a wide range of digital tools, their applications to all segments of the real estate value chain and the emergent digital systems within these segments. They also present case studies that can be used as springboards for further innovation and digitisation in the industry to enhance environmental, social, economic, and physical/spatial efficiency. I, therefore, highly recommend this book to built environment academics, professionals, students, and other enthusiasts who are interested in transforming the use, operations, and services in the built environment”.
Sammy Pahal, UK PropTech Association Managing Director
