MIAMI, FL / ACCESSWIRE / February 15, 2022 / The commercial real estate industry is due for a technological revival. At present, CRE relies on lenders and brokers making dozens of phone calls, sorting through lengthy documents to find essential information, and wasting time pursuing dead-end deals. Many insiders attribute this inefficiency to the industry's outmoded infrastructure.
Investment in CRE technology innovations, a record-shattering $32B in capital investment in 2021, has the potential to revolutionize the industry. However, the field of commercial real estate traditionally has been slow to adopt these innovative technologies when compared to the streamlined process in other industries. For example, businesses like Carvana that sell cars using modern technology have not yet been seen in the CRE industry. This began to change when the pandemic forced CRE organizations to adopt technologies that could help them meet changing work requirements.
The Rapid Growth of CRETech and B2B Marketplaces
According to a recent survey conducted by EY and CRETech, there is a growing appetite for CRE technologies. The survey found that only 4% of CRE companies are not thinking about technology adoption. According to Deloitte's 2021 Outlook study, analytics, automation, AI and cloud technologies will be the priorities for this adoption in the coming year. These technologies form the foundation of solutions like B2B marketplaces that are used across organizations.
Experts believe that B2B marketplaces just might be the future of business commerce. According to a McKinsey study, more than 75% of buyers and sellers now prefer to use digital self-serve and remote human engagement instead of face-to-face interactions as it is easier for buyers to get information, place orders, and arrange service. Customers also say they like the speed and convenience of these methods. In fact, only 20% of business buyers say they hope to return to in-person operations.
The Future of Commercial Real Estate Tech
The National Association of Realtors reports that by 2021, commercial real estate investment acquisitions will reach nearly $645 billion. It is expected that this growth trend will continue into 2022. Keeping pace with this growth, new awareness of the value of technology in business operations, and the fear of being disrupted will likely cause the market for CREtech to continue its growth path.Finance Lobby predicts that the industry can head in a few different directions:
- It is likely that some current industry players will get better at their tech game by taking learnings from the industries ahead of CRE on the adoption curve.
- CRE will continue to see the introduction of next-generation technologies, like Finance Lobby, which will enter the market and cause disruption. This has been seen in nearly every other industry; it's only logical that this will happen with CRE as well.
- Due to the efficiency offered to buyers and sellers, business-to-business marketplaces will be the most common way for businesses to buy and sell products and services. We will see widespread marketplace adoption by 2022, thanks to the current factors that make them viable for both general use and for commercial real estate:
- Economics - By connecting fragmented supply and demand marketplaces provide efficiency and competitive pricing.
- People's behavior - Everyone is a consumer and has used some type of marketplace making the technology a familiar, comfortable form of self-service.
- Modern technologies - Cloud technology, analytics, automation, and artificial intelligence make B2B marketplaces work effectively now.
Staying Informed
It's important for brokers and lenders to stay informed about any new developments that could affect the commercial real estate field. Finance Lobby is doing its part to educate the industry about new technology and a variety of other topics. The website features extensive FAQs for both brokers and lenders to address several common points of confusion in the industry. Finance Lobby's CRE Insights blog, which covers topics such as technology, industry insights, analyses of current events' effects on the CRE industry, and informative articles for both brokers and lenders.
Exploring the Potential of New Technology
Finance Lobby is a commercial real estate financing marketplace. Founded in November 2020, the marketplace was created in the hopes of addressing the inefficiency of CRE financing. The business's goal was to streamline and simplify the process for commercial lenders and brokers to find and close on suitable deals.
With modern technologies, Finance Lobby has created a more efficient way to find commercial real estate loans. Brokers input their deal information and also provide preferences up front so they can get competitive quotes from different sources automatically. The lender will automatically be matched with all the properties that match their criteria and will not be matched with any properties that don't meet their criteria. This could potentially cut down on the amount of time that borrowers, brokers, and lenders spend negotiating deals.
Lenders are currently enrolling in the Finance Lobby marketplace with over 3,000 lenders already onboard. The full marketplace will open to the wide public in March 2022.
Commercial real estate companies can overcome their obstacles and join the digital future by adopting new technology. Finance Lobby plans to continue its efforts to spread modern technology and efficiency to the commercial real estate industry.
Read more about Finance Lobby on their website or reach out at [email protected].
Follow Finance Lobby on Facebook, Instagram (@myfinancelobby), Twitter (@Finance_Lobby), LinkedIn, and YouTube.
SOURCE: Finance Lobby