No escaping global technological onslaught

GLOBAL industry disruptions usually occur some time before the challenge is felt in South Africa, but this time the local property industry is facing the technological onslaught at the same time as their international counterparts.

Some traditional property players are fighting the challenge, believing that their models are safe from the threat, says Ben Shaw, chief executive of HouseME.

“The reality is that this sort of thinking is simply an example of what Taleb, in his book Black Swan, calls the ‘Thanksgiving Turkey’.”

Well- fed and protected turkeys do not believe they will be slaughtered, but on Thanksgiving, this is exactly what happens.

“Technology companies could shortly bring Thanksgiving Day to traditional industry.

Shaw says the industry is witnessing a “fundamental swing” away from high-touch clients innocently believing that, without an all-expenses-paid agency, they would be “left floundering in the dark depths of property management”.

Instead, these clients are now highly capable, yield-protecting, brand-agnostic landlords, prioritising easy-to-use technology providing better returns over face-to-face relationships that cost them a lot more.

“D i s i n t e r me d i a t i o n through technology brings efficiency. Will the eventual uptick in the economy deliver the innocent high-touch clients back to the bosom of upmarket agency offerings? We doubt it.

“To have a future in the changing property industry, traditional players must begin to rapidly offer different – or more – valuable services.

“They will need to partner with a tech company willing to work alongside them, or take a risk by trying to transition from a property company into a technology-driven services company.”

HouseME’s Ben Shaw