Proptech 3.0 and the UAE’s real estate sector

Has the UAE embraced the third generation of Proptech? Will Expo 2020 be a showcase opportunity for the latest in real estate technology?

Proptech 3.0 uses elements of FinTech, traditional Real Estate economy, and Smart Real Estate
With blockchain, the industry will see increased fraud prevention, digital currency management and an end to end transparency
investments in prop-tech start-ups soared from $20 million in 2008 to a whopping $12 billion in 2018
By: CECILIA REINALDO, CEO, HOD.CO

As a country with an appetite for all things modern and innovative, the UAE has been embracing the latest technological innovations across almost all sectors and industries. Real estate has been no exception, with Proptech taking over the property landscape and scaling it to unparalleled heights. The UAE has been at the forefront of this step-change in embracing that technological revolution and encouragement of the need to disrupt the sector.

Before delving deep into the concept and its apparent implications, let’s understand what the much-used term means. Proptech is used to describe the wave of technological innovations shaping real estate markets across the world. It is basically a portmanteau used to describe any aspect of technology that is applied in the real estate space. In its first iteration, Proptech 1.0 brought together the existing models of the real estate models and introduced them to emerging tech through the introduction of mass-market adoption of computing, mobile phones, and the internet. This changed market dynamics, speed and provided a real disruptive state to the industry. Following the dotcom crash, technology firms re-evaluated their positions, business strategy and quickly adapted and matured into a new, more responsible industry. This allowed Proptech 2.0 to emerge.