Proptech/Innovation

By Bernie Devine, Senior Regional Director, Asia Pacific, Yardi

Last year, artificial intelligence shifted from headline hype to hands-on experimentation – and with it, real estate’s attitude to technology began to change. But will momentum become maturity? Yardi’s annual Proptech Survey tracks how far – and how fast – the sector is really moving.

For more than six years, Yardi has surveyed Asia Pacific real estate leaders on technology adoption – and we’ve confirmed what everyone knows. Real estate lags, rather than leads, on tech adoption.

Surprise twist? Last year real estate made a move. 

In 2024, 26% of Asian firms, 27% of Australian firms and 35% in New Zealand had started implementing AI systems. It’s true that only 12–16% had reached the point of an established, growing solution. And implementation isn’t integration. But it’s a start.

So, the gap between testing and traction is what we’re watching this year. Not just who’s using AI, but who’s getting value and how.

Source: Yardi, 2024.

AI climbs the org chart

In 2024, we asked AI to write our emails. In 2025, we’re asking agentic AI to manage our calendars, delegate our tasks and chase us for deadlines.

Picture a digital organisational chart, where agents are assigned tasks, report to other agents, and interact with human counterparts. These agents don’t just assist. They execute, escalate and learn. 

We’re already starting to see early examples embedded into real estate. Think agents that triage maintenance requests, manage lease workflows or update records in real time.

This kind of orchestration demands software built to speak fluent AI, so our survey asks: Who’s getting ready to put the agents to work?

The bots are coming (for both sides)

If AI is the frontline change agent, cyber is the fight in the background. Despite this, our 2024 survey found the industry underprepared: 33% of firms in Asia, 37% in Australia and 53% in New Zealand had already faced a cybersecurity incident or data breach.

AI is now in the hands of attackers. Deepfakes are getting harder to spot. Phishing is more sophisticated. And traditional firewalls aren’t built for AI-generated code.

The real estate industry is catching up. Slowly. We’ve tracked a growing investment in auditing and training. But this can’t be a one-and-done exercise, and it can’t be the sole responsibility of the tech team.

This year we want to know: Has your cyber strategy evolved as fast as the threat landscape?

Source: Yardi, 2024.

Real estate hits refresh

In the tech adoption race, real estate has always been the industry tying its shoelaces at the starting line. But not anymore. Maybe. Our 2024 data revealed less resistance to change and more willingness to experiment. 

But CIOs are now fielding a new set of questions from their colleagues and the C-suite: “Can we get an AI for that?” It’s a fair question, but often the wrong one. It reveals a lingering mindset: that technology is something to add after the fact, rather than something to build the business on. 

We’re looking beyond adoption. We want to know: What is driving real impact?

Over to you

The 2025 Yardi Proptech Survey is now open across Asia, with Australia and New Zealand launching soon. We want to hear what’s changed in the past year and what you’re planning next.

Your insights help your industry to benchmark progress, challenge assumptions and sharpen its collective focus. Tools themselves don’t create traction – smart systems, smart strategies and shared learning do.

Keen to get involved?

Reach out to Nina.Feldman@yardi.com 

At a time when commercial occupancy rates across the country remain stubbornly low, the report delves into how Australian office worker expectations are changing in a digital-first, hybrid work environment and how this impacts their office attendance.

Next Flex | Technology for the next generation Australian office, which surveyed 1,000 office workers across the country, was launched by essensys, a leading global provider of software and technology for the commercial real estate industry, in partnership with Flexible Workspace Australia.

The report’s critical findings highlight a lack of adequate tech is a key factor in people deciding to work from home or an alternative third space, with more than four in five respondents (86%) reporting a disparity between the existing technology in their office and what they need to enable them to do their jobs efficiently.

The unprecedented crisis created by the COVID-19 outbreak has propelled the data center business providing an unexpected tailwind. Technology adoption and digitization across the sectors were fast-tracked globally and India also leap-frogged at least a decade in the past couple of years.

The lockdown and subsequent restrictions threw life and business out of gear. However, this very black swan event became a massive catalyst for digital adoption across the country.

The government’s initiative and drive towards a digital economy was accelerated further as all aspects of daily life from banking, education, and shopping were forced to switch and adapt to the digital ecosystem. This had led to increased use of data consumption and internet bandwidth across the country, driven by the ever-expanding reach of social media, increased use of smart devices, data localization, increased adoption of cloud services, and digital transformation journeys of several Indian companies.

India accounts for 14% of the world’s mobile subscriptions and 15% of the total mobile data traffic. This is likely to increase to 17% by 2027 as our economy is poised to grow despite a global slowdown and other economic headwinds. Hence, it is evident that a substantial volume of data will be generated that will require enhanced storage capacity.

While the presence of data centers is primarily in the major metropolitan locations as of now, soon tier II & III cities will emerge and offer quality supply for this new-age asset class. As manufacturing and warehousing spread out across the country to deliver and service demand from the non-metro market, data centers in the future are more likely to make their way to such locations.

Our survey of IT-ITeS professionals across the country reveals that improvement in operational efficiency is the topmost priority. The specialized operators in this domain are likely to rule the market as most companies are comfortable paying a premium for the efficiency in services and eased operations.

Our latest publication on the preparedness for the future of data centers reveals many more interesting and lesser-known details on this sunshine sector.

This report was originally published in https://www.anarock.com/research-insights

With a significant growth forecast for the global tech sector in the next 10 years, the evolution of tech cities around the world as hubs of tech talent and suitable commercial real estate will continue. In this report we assess how tech cities are competing for business across key talent, real estate, and business environment metrics.

Key Takeaways

• 46 top tech markets were identified based on 14 criteria, across Talent, Real Estate, and Business Environment metrics.
• Talent is a critical factor for tech companies when determining location, with the tight labor market increasing competition for the right talent.
• Hybrid work and historical inflation are major considerations when making Real Estate decisions.
• National and local business environments will continue to play a strong role in tech companies’ location selection.

This report was originally published in https://www.cushmanwakefield.com/en/insights/tech-cities-the-global-intersection-of-talent-and-real-estate

The commercial real estate industry is navigating changing dynamics with the rise of flexible office spaces and hybrid working environments. Landlords and operators looking to capitalise on these changes, must invest in technology that enables them to optimise the user experience and reduce time to value.

The eBook will cover the decision flow of commercial landlords and multi-site flexible office providers when investing in a new technology solution for their business portfolio with common use cases:

• CONSIDERATIONS For Investing Into Software & Technology For Offices
• DETERMINE The Need For An Integrated Digital Infrastructure Platform
• EVALUATE The Strengths Of The Digital Infrastructure Provider & Ensure A Successful Partnership
• ADAPT Common Features & Use Cases Of Integrated Digital Infrastructure Platform

Download the eBook

Bernie Devine, Senior Regional Director, Yardi

“If I can track my pizza on my phone, why can’t I expect a fast and frictionless rental experience?”

This question – or various iterations of it –is being asked by an entirely new generation of renters who have very different expectations of customer service than their parents once did.

In an era of instant information, where ecommerce allows us to shop from anywhere and anytime, renters no longer want to spend their Saturdays pounding the pavement or filling in dozens of rental application forms. They don’t expect to deal with real estate agents and property managers that operate in an analog world. And they don’t understand why paying their biggest monthly expense – their rent – is not a positive and personalised interaction.

Whether virtual tours or AI-enabled customer service bots, technology can make the process of renting better. Despite rapid advances in real estate technology, many property companies operate in an analog world; and that means from the start the discovery process to the day they move out, the renter is beset by pain points.

But as ‘Generation Rent’ demand a better rental experience, leaders in the build-to-rent sector are answering the call. The savviest operators are delivering better customer service – and better rental – with the help of a platform powered by the smartest of smart technology.

Yardi’s latest whitepaper, Better Rental, explores the opportunities in the build-to-rent, or BtR, sector and outlines three customer pain points that are easiest to address. Australian build-to-rent specialist Arklife, showcased in the report, reveals some of the processes it is automating to make life easier for customers.

Because BtR is designed for tenants, each development is crafted and curated for a better rental experience. Think concierge services and high-quality communal facilities, the choice to paint the walls or own a pet, flexible leases and security of tenure, as well as professional management and property maintenance.

BtR is well-established in the United States, Europe and the United Kingdom, where it is known as multi-family housing. In the UK, BtR covers 2% of existing housing stock, while in the US it accounts for 12%. Other markets, like Australia, are in their infancy. But industry analysts predict up to 175,000 BtR apartments could be available in Australia within a decade.

Arklife’s managing director Scott Ponton has a clear message to every build-to-rent operator looking to improve the customer experience: “There is no one technology solution that fits all issues. Proptech won’t stop evolving because the customer pain points move. As you solve one pain point another pops up. Our focus is on listening to our customers and using technology to address that.”

Most importantly, operators need to start seeing their building as a device much like the mobile phone. When we start to look at buildings through this lens, we gain a laser focus on the user experience. How good is the user interface and functionality? What hardware and software will power our device? And what platform will help us create the best user experience?

While some build-to-rent operators cobble together a range of solutions, the smartest BtR specialists are embracing a single end-to-end platform. In the United States, for example, eight million people pay their rent each month through Yardi, and everything from leasing to repairs supports a seamless customer experience.

Our buildings are far more than bricks-and-mortar. They are devices that can boost productivity, performance and the human experience. This shift in thinking will change the way buildings are designed, how services are provisioned, how assets are valued and, most of all, what customers expect of space.

Download Yardi’s latest whitepaper, Better Rental.

Discover the Disconnect Between Landlords & Tenant Expectations
Did you know that only 13% of tenants believe landlords are strongly positioned to serve their flexibility requirements? 

The research addresses the following questions:

• What are enterprises looking for in their commercial property? 
• How does flex space and tech feature in landlord and occupier real estate strategies?
• What are the financial benefits on offer for landlords that effectively provide flex space?

Download the Research Here

In this report, we examine:

• The top 10 established and upcoming technology submarkets within major APAC cities, including key and upcoming key tech subsectors, and workplace and real estate considerations in each submarket
• The rapid growth of Chinese tech firms as a major new class of owner-occupier
• Opportunities and strategy recommendations for technology occupiers planning for expansion
• Opportunities for property owners and investors beyond rental growth

• The top five technology centres in APAC are Beijing, Shanghai, Bengaluru, Shenzhen and Singapore. Other cities are developing strengths in specific areas of technology, e.g., Seoul and Hong Kong in fintech, while in Hyderabad and Sydney are emerging
• Among upcoming Indian submarkets, Colliers highlights Whitefield and North Bengaluru in Bengaluru, Peripheral Business District in Hyderabad, and Noida Expressway and Golf Course Extension Road (Gurguram) in Delhi NCR, among others.
• In APAC, technology occupiers should account for 20%-25% of office leasing demand in the next five years. Our research identifies the most attractive technology submarkets across APAC to help occupiers plan their expansion
• The emergence of technology groups as large owner-occupiers creates a new source of capital for investors planning asset disposals, as well as new opportunities for joint ventures and partnerships for developers.

Customer expectations, advancing technology and a burgeoning build-to-rent sector are encouraging the best residential landlords to boost their “digital kerb appeal”, says Yardi’s Paul Yount.

Yount, Yardi’s industry principal and product manager for RENTCafé, says renters no longer expect to spend their Saturdays pounding the pavement or filling in dozens of rental application forms.

“We know many apartment hunters prefer online interactions, and 14 per cent of today’s apartment renters are willing to sign a lease without even seeing the property in person,” he says.

The explosion of ecommerce in recent years has driven an evolution in customer expectations. If a customer can expect a fast and frictionless experience when they make a purchase online, why wouldn’t they expect the same experience when choosing their next apartment?

“Physical kerb appeal has always been important in real estate. But now digital kerb appeal is more important,” Yount explains.

Virtual tours, a phenomenon already gathering speed before COVID-19, are now the preferred way for renters to select their next apartment, Yount adds. He points to a Yardi survey of RENTCafé users which found nearly a third (31%) preferred self-guided tours or had no preference, pre-COVID.

“Now, most renters would prefer a self-scheduled tour in their next apartment search – in fact 83 per cent of apartment shoppers tell us they’d prefer to take a self-guided tour if one was available.”

Yardi’s research is backed up by the largest survey of apartment residents, undertaken by the National Multifamily Housing Council in the United States. This survey, which got inside the minds of 372,000 apartment residents in 2020, found:

• 100% would prefer to engage with a mobile app rather than a website
• 90% want to make an individual apartment selection online and
• 81% want videos of apartment models and amenities.

The appeal of self-guided tours, powered by Yardi’s technology, is not just about social distancing. Two thirds of renters want to tour a property at their own pace, and just under half want to check out a property after hours.

Does that mean today’s renter prefers a high-tech experience over a high-touch, personalised approach? Yount compares the expectations of today’s renter with that of a grocery shopper.

“Some people like old-school checkouts, others prefer self-checkout, some like kerbside pickups while others opt for delivery services. Today’s consumer wants to do business in a lot of different ways.”

So, what are Yardi’s top three high-tech, high-touch plays to build loyalty and create long-term connections with renters?

Download Yardi’s latest paper to find out.