Weekly Roundup 10/27/21
“A pessimist may sound right, but an optimist usually is right.”
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Many retail operators (think shopping malls, grocery stores, restaurants, etc) utilize spacial recognition technology to track and predict human behavior to optimize floor plans. These lessons don’t just apply to retail - CRE office operators can take advantage of these technologies to make better use of space.
https://www.globest.com/2021/10/26/applying-spatial-intelligence-to-cre-operations/
The benefits of measuring peoples’ movement in this setting aren’t quite as drastic, but can still be used to improve efficiency and decision making. “For example, by watching where people go in an office building and when, there might be patterns of times where more people congregate. That would offer insight into how to distribute HVAC services, increasing heat or air conditioning in more crowded areas and reducing it where lower amounts of power can handle the number of people there.”
There are plenty of options for people more risk averse that still want real estate exposure , but don’t actually want to own/manage a property. REIT’s, acting as an LP, and other companies that have their hand in the industry one way or the other.
https://www.etfstrategy.com/etfmg-launches-worlds-first-real-estate-tech-etf-hhh-nyse-arca-39494/
As of late October, you can now buy an ETF that tracks real estate technology companies. ETFMG Real Estate Tech ETF (HHH US). To be eligible for consideration, a company must derive at least 50% of its revenue from real estate activities. This concept has been proven in many other industries, but I’ll be staying away as I don’t see it outperforming alternative real estate investments.
Compass, the digital real estate brokerage firm, has released another innovative product aimed to help home sellers. Compass Concierge is designed to help people sell quicker and for the best possible price.
Essentially a lending service, this program provides capital upfront to finance activity such as staging, upgrades, and any other related costs that go into selling a home. There’s never been a better time to sell, so be sure to check this out if you’re in the market.
Commercial brokerage firm JLL continues to make headlines with a $300M acquisition of proptech company, Building Engines. Among other things, the software company brings a variety of unique data points for all things property management.
https://therealdeal.com/2021/10/22/jll-buys-building-engines-for-300m/
Now JLL is no mom and pop shop by any means. In fact, they’re a top five real estate company in the world. So what they’re able to see and execute on is different than what you or I am capable of *for now*. That said, take note when the big players make moves like this. I suspect we’ll see a surge of similar software based property tech companies arise over the next decade to meet the evolving needs.
As the Metaverse continues to take form, people stay spending money in this digital world. On the popular platform, Decentraland, over $50M worth of transaction have taken place. Digital real estate parcels being a solid chunk of that.
So what just is the application of this new world? Frankly, I’m trying to figure that out myself. A large part is socialization, as many people turned to the internet during COVID to interact with others. Owning a unique parcel here could be the new hang out spot for all your avatar friends - a place to conduct business and demonstrate your product offerings in the form of NFT’s.
If this becomes the norm, which there’s a chance of that happening, then buying up land to rent out to others in a decentralized world could be the play. Almost like buying prime Manhattan real estate back in the 1800’s.
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Cheers. Let’s make some money friend.
Twitter @WhyNotWealth