Why the proptech sector is ripe for disruption

Why did you set up Track My Move?

A property transaction is said to be significantly more stressful than having a baby, getting married or even arranging care for an elderly relative. Much of this is down to how antiquated the home buying process is, and the inefficiencies that naturally occur when so many parties are reliant on numerous manual forms of communication.

I saw it myself when I bought my first house; it took months, an absurd amount of time considering there was no chain. The ‘hold-ups’ were simply down to paperwork and a broken chain of communication between everyone involved. It made me think (perhaps a little naively) that there must be a better way. That was the moment Track My Move was born.

Do you think the property market is falling behind the times when it comes to tech?

The property market as a whole has been particularly slow at recognising how technology can help improve the process. The way we arrange mortgage finance and move home is utterly outdated, relying on old-fashioned processes simply because that’s the way it has always been done. That would be somewhat excusable if it was delivering a satisfying experience for the people involved, but it isn’t.

Saying that, there are indications that things are changing, and this is to be welcomed, but it’s important that the incumbents and existing stakeholders acknowledge the rise of Proptech as an opportunity, and not a threat.

This shift to digital represents a step change in the way property is transacted in the UK, but it’s important that agents and property professionals realise this is not a scary proposition and work together to embrace this opportunity, or risk further alienating the very people that they exist to serve.

Why does buying a home take as long as it does?

There is no reason why buying a home should take as long as it does and we think that you could feasibly reduce the bulk of the administration and paper-pushing into a two-day process, rather than the arduous 3-month affair currently facing home movers.

What is at the root of the problem you’re trying to solve with Track My Move?

Transparency. The lack of transparency involved in a home purchase only serves to make the home buying process more stressful for all parties. Too often homebuyers have no idea how their transaction is progressing, nor what the next stage will be.

In fact, last year 25% of all the sales that fell through did so because buyer or sellers didn’t believe the sales process was progressing at a fast-enough pace. This alone, costs estate agencies £472m per annum in lost fees. We’re looking to fix that.

How can property technology resolve this?

There are a number of ways start-ups can work together to improve the process for all involved.

Track My Move is a one-stop-portal which enables estate agents, conveyancers and home buyers to track the progress of the property purchase all in one place, dramatically speeding up the time to complete, reducing fall-through rates, and improving communication across all parties.

Gone are the days of the closed shop, intermittent phone calls and opaque transactions. Consumers today expect transparency, on-demand customer service, efficiency and grown-up digital provision, but the property world has so far been slow to adapt to new technologies.

The reality is that the residential property purchasing is laborious and inefficient, and consumers aren’t standing for it anymore. But with meagre resources and ever-tightening profit margins, the challenge becomes how do estate agents raise efficiencies, save on resource and offer a premium service without the outrageous bill that usually comes with it? Emerging digital platforms can deliver on all of these things.

Will all parties involved benefit from this?

Yes, as a platform business, it’s important that we can add value to all parties. The challenge there is that each party interacting with the system expects subtly different functionality.

The one consistent theme is that of efficiency. A smarter, more streamlined process will dramatically improve an estate agent’s business. A portal with a clever workflow that groups tasks and prioritises key transactions, allows agents to be proactive, rather than reactive and genuinely disrupts the industry. What’s more, making better use of the cloud will also mean important documents are signed and sent within minutes, rather than relying on the post, causing further delays.

Does this mean estate agents will have less work to do?

On average, agents spend 7 minutes per property, per day, proactively progressing a sale. Effectively, that means an average agency spends 40 hours per month chasing people for updates.

By keeping homebuyers informed and in the loop, they will no longer feel the need to constantly call the estate agent offices, allowing agents to get on with the business of selling homes. This ensures that transactions go through much quicker; after all, agents do not get paid until a case completes, so by speeding up the process they are less likely to suffer from cashflow issues.

Agencies using TrackMyMove experience reduced transaction times, reduced fall through rates, and greatly improved communication across all parties.

Do you think Track My Move will revolutionise the property market?

In so many areas of our life, the integrated use of technology is a given. From changing electricity supplier to booking a holiday or ordering your groceries. The property market has been slow to accept how technology can improve the homebuying process. With the emergence of online mortgage brokers and estate agents, this is slowly starting to change.

However, to really move the home buying process forward, we need to embrace technology and the role it can play in making buying a home a much smoother and faster process for all involved. There’s no reason buying a home should be as stressful as tying the knot.

The beauty of SaaS (Software as a Service) business models is that the cost to consumer (in this case, estate agents) is significantly lower than it’s been in the past, and that with a well-designed product, the need for staff training is minimal. A good software product should be intuitive, and capable of pre-empting user behaviours, rather than forcing users to do to the heavy lifting.

Our main challenges have revolved around educating those currently working in the sector, and promoting the benefits of new ways of working which can and do improve the process for all involved.

It’s natural for incumbents to be risk-averse, and sceptical of change, but It’s important that those working in the sector acknowledge this for what it is - an opportunity, not a threat. Adapting to change can be intimidating, but it needn’t be difficult.

If agents fear wholesale Uber-like disruption, it will only happen if they choose not to embrace the technologies at their fingertips and start adapting today. Business models like ours are an

inevitability, and agents and partners can lead the movement, but they need to get on board early. Hesitation means you run the risk of being outflanked in the medium-term by young pretenders. To quote a recent Mark Zuckerberg interview: "In a world that’s changing so quickly, the biggest risk you can take is not taking any risk."

Why did you choose to set up your business in Wales?

As a Welsh speaker, and a proud Welsh man, I wouldn’t have considered setting up anywhere else. I also want to prove a point that you can build a successful international business on this side of the M4, and it’s good to see some of Wales’ brightest businesses now celebrating international success.

Having spent a number of years in and around Welsh start-ups, I’m a passionate advocate of the growing Welsh technology scene, and think it’s incumbent on us all to celebrate Wales as a brilliant place to do business.

The low cost of living, coupled with easy access talent and a supportive government mean that it’s the perfect place to establish a growing tech business, and I for one, will not be looking to move any time soon.

Track My Move is a one-stop-portal which enables estate agents, conveyancers and home buyers to track the progress of the property purchase all in one place, on all devices, dramatically speeding up the time to complete.