Proptech
News focusing on new technological solutions which create efficiencies and cost-savings for estate and letting agents and the wider residential property industry.
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Rent recognition tech firms to pitch today for rest of HM Treasury’s £2m fund
Six proptech companies are due to pitch today for a further £1.4 million in front of a panel of senior industry and government experts.
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Should there be a free ‘open’ platform for smaller agents to access proptech?
Property software pioneer Charlie Wright is launching a bid to connect proptech services through one free, 'open' platform for smaller agents.
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UK proptech “isn’t that innovative” says leading consultant
Leading proptech consultant Eddie Holmes (pictured, below) has told The Negotiator he believes the UK’s proptech sector “isn’t really innovative”, despite the mini-industry often touting itself as a world-beating centre of new ideas and pioneering tech, and containing 10% of the worlds’ proptech firms. “There’s no question that it is a hotbed of activity but whether that activity is innovative or not is a different question,” he said. “Our UK resi market isn’t really innovative, nothing truly game changing by and large.” His comments came as he and his colleague James Dearsley from leading industry consultancy Proptech Consult rubbed shoulders at a global gathering of tech firms from the residential and commercial sectors in Paris organised by MIPIM. Finishing yesterday after an exhausting three days of partying and networking events organised by MIPIM, it transpires only a handful of UK proptech and property figures were at the event including Sammy Pahal (pictured main pic, presenting), MD of the UK PropTech Association, Chris Grigg, CEO of British Land and Michael Ewert from JLL, all of whom also spoke at the jamboree. Dearsley and Holmes also spoke at the conference after revealing their research into the European property industry, which revealed that…
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Letting agent revealed as brains behind latest Easy launch by Stelios
When Easyjet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou announced two months ago that his orange brand had launched into the UK conveyancing market, there was much fanfare that the company could disrupt existing arrangements with “the latest technology and innovation”. The 51-year-old businessman at the time said it was “time for the home buying process to be brought into the 21st century” and that current way buyers and sellers instruct solicitors was “clumsy”. The freshly-minted company also freely quoted NAEA figures that 79% of agents think the home-buying process is outdated in the UK. This is despite EasyConveyance’s business model being a relatively traditional one; it currently has 200 solicitors who have joined its panel who then bid for consumer requests for quotes based on location, price and consumer ratings. But the business – which has no affiliation with EasyProperty.com – has not been set up directly by Stelios and instead – it has been revealed – is the brainchild of a Northern Ireland letting agent. Connor McCann, who as well as running EasyConveyance.com operates Omagh-based Omarentals, for the first time appeared publicly this week as the founder of the latest Easy enterprise, saying that: “The home buying process in the UK…
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US National Association of Realtors backs ActivePipe
A proptech firm with offices in Australia and the UK is set to go global after it was announced that US trade body the National Association of Realtors has taken a stake in the firm.
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Online service launches ‘goodbye to letting agents’ poster campaign
An online service for landlords has launched a London Underground advertising campaign that urges landlords to say 'goodbye to lettings agents'.
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New unofficial Rightmove tool enables users to see property price reductions
A Google Chrome extension has been launched that enables house hunters to see price reductions on individual properties on the Rightmove website.
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Conveyancing revolution begins as Warwick is first LA to go digital with Local Land Charges search service
Warwick District Council will be the first in the UK to offer home buyers an online Local Land Charges services in the UK.
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Over 60% of tenants offered insurance-based rental deposits take it up
Over sixty percent of tenants offered an insurance rather than cash-based rental deposit scheme at one of London’s largest new-build rental apartment developments have chosen to do so, it has been claimed. Criterion Capital, one of the UK’s largest Built-to-Rent operators and a major client of letting agent the Acorn Group, has made the claim for the first phase of its Delta Point scheme in Croydon, which eventually will bring 404 rental units to the market. The service is being provided by Zero Deposit, the Stevenage-based proptech firm co-founded by Jon Notley. “There is no question that Zero Deposit is helping to make our properties more attractive to potential tenants, speeding up the process and resulting in happier tenants when they move in,” says Karl Elliott, Head of Portfolio at Criterion Capital. Rental deposit Acorn Group, which includes four agent brands – Langford Russell, John Payne, Unique and Acorn – is one of South East London’s larger agency groups and has a total of 31 offices. All of these have now rolled out the Zero Deposit product. The agency was one of the four industry big hitters to give Zero Deposit its backing in February alongside Connells, LSL and Knight Frank.…
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Tenant creditworthiness platform CreditLadder passes 1,000-branch mark
Rental payment recognition platform CreditLadder says it now has over 1,000 letting agent branches who have tenants on the service, making it the most widely available in the UK’s rapidly growing market for creditworthiness improvement, it claims. Started up in 2016 and based in London, until recently CreditLadder was alone in the private rented sector but it’s been joined by several competitors since after, in December 2017, HM Treasury announced a £2 million Rent Recognition Challenge to help kickstart innovation within the creditworthiness sector. These include Bud, Canopy, MoveMe and RentalStep, all of which are now involved in a feisty battle for market share, and a slice of the £2 million government funding. As The Negotiator reported last month, Canopy recently signed a deal with the John Lewis Partnership to help its employees improve their credit scores. Rent default Many of these services, including CreditLadder, claim their service helps letting agents differentiate themselves in crowded rental markets, enables agents to offer landlords a ‘value add’ to their service, and that tenants using them are less likely to default on their rent. This helps agents and landlords attract more reliable renters, it is claimed. “We’ve always believed good behaviour should…
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