Half of estate agents never use proptech, claims new research
There is a significant and growing divide in how property professionals value and use proptech, survey by Inventory Base reveals.
Proptech has seen rapid growth and innovation in recent years, but the market is ‘deeply fragmented’, with equal levels of enthusiasm and scepticism among estate agents.
According to the survey by Inventory Base more than half of respondents (55%) report they never use proptech, while 29% say they use it daily. And the Inventory Base believes the stark contrast points to an industry that is split between those who rely on technology as a core part of their operations and those who have opted out entirely.
And when Inventory Base asked how important proptech is to respondents’ day-to-day success, 48% of professionals say it isn’t important at all, while only 25% consider it essential and a further 15% describe it as ‘somewhat important’.
This polarisation is also evident in opinions on return on investment. Over half (52%) feel proptech tools deliver little or no value, while a fifth (19%) believe the solutions they use offer strong returns.
Proptech usage
The survey found that the most common uses for proptech include compliance tasks (16%), marketing (14%), admin functions like scheduling and invoicing (13%), and communication with colleagues or clients (13%). Despite this, half of the respondents say these tools fail to meaningfully address the real challenges they face in their daily workflows.
Only 13% say proptech is highly effective at solving common problems, while 30% view its impact as moderately successful. Almost half (48%) believe tech products could and should do a better job at solving genuine pain points.
Room for improvement
The biggest reported barrier to the success of proptech is poor integration. Nearly a quarter (23%) of professionals say new tools don’t work seamlessly with their existing CRMs. Integration may dominate marketing claims, but in practice respondents say it is often little more than a surface-level connection.
Costs and return on investment are also serious concerns. About 22% of say proptech should be priced more competitively and/or deliver clearer financial value. Others highlight the need for better training and onboarding support (15%) and more evidence-based results and case studies (10%) to build trust and encourage adoption.
Is this really true. I believe it could hang on the definition of Proptech. Are there still 55% of agents not using a CRM or a portal. EPC’s and money laundering all use a form of proptech.
If it was true then it would mean there was an easy win for the industry and it would be a more efficient place quite quickly.
Yes the technology is still evolving but it always will. It evolves quicker when it is used and tested. Try it.
I think training of proptech and integration are 2 key elements. We have built a training platform that enables agents to build training pathways using a mix of content – Able Agents, theirs and suppliers – but what we have found is a lack of effective supplier training resources. I’ll revisit it again as it will have a huge impact of training staff as part of their induction and ongoing development.