Real estate is a sector that deeply shapes our society. In Switzerland, it represents about 16% of GDP, making it a cornerstone of the economy. This vast and complex sector includes areas as varied as construction, prospecting and brokerage, asset management, as well as recent innovations like the Internet of Things (IoT) and data collection/processing. These innovations open new opportunities to better understand our impact, whether environmental, societal, or even financial.
However, today, at the heart of this dynamic sector, it is technology that is changing the game. Proptech plays a key role in this transformation, not seeking to revolutionize real estate overnight, but rather to resolve inefficiencies and increase added value for all players in this ecosystem.
The needs of the Real Estate market
The challenges and expectations of real estate players are numerous:
- Owners seek more transparency and performance in managing their assets.
- Real estate managers aim to free themselves from heavy administrative tasks to focus on more value-added missions.
- Tenants expect a smoother, more responsive, and digitalized service.
- Investors only want three things: data, data, and data, to optimize their decisions and investments.
Proptech startups, like those present this year at RENT, are a perfect example of the evolution toward more efficient and connected real estate. These companies directly address these needs by providing technological solutions tailored to the challenges of the sector.
Today’s digital Real Estate
It is important to emphasize that we are no longer talking about the real estate of the future, but rather about the real estate of today. Eight years ago, when Tayo was founded, we were far from being the first PropTechs. We were just a handful of players exploring this market, often perceived as outsiders.
Today, this landscape has radically changed. The proptech market has exploded, with hundreds of players in Switzerland, funds that have been structured, and mindsets that have evolved. The real estate sector can no longer ignore this transformation, as evidenced by the success of RENT and other REM events. However, this growth also raises a crucial question: Is the Swiss market large enough to accommodate so many proptech startups?
Towards a market consolidation
The massive arrival of technological solutions in real estate has raised a challenge: the growing number of tools and interfaces While this diversification is beneficial, it ultimately makes tool management complex and costly for clients. Indeed, the Swiss market is not unlimited, and clients do not want to multiply solutions excessively. The question of balancing innovation with simplification is therefore at stake.
Real estate companies will therefore seek to consolidate their tools under a more limited number of platforms to simplify management and reduce costs.
In the coming years, several dynamics will unfold:
- Some startups will disappear, as their niche market simply won’t have taken off.
- Some startups will merge or be acquired to create more integrated and unified solutions, better suited to market needs.
- Some will choose to unite to form smart partnerships that offer clients more value and economic advantage.
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Finally, other players will seek to expand horizontally, moving out of their core business to address new markets, at the risk of losing agility.
Tayo’s vision for a strong Swiss Proptech
At Tayo, we have a clear philosophy regarding this evolution. We are not seeking to spread ourselves thin by covering all areas of real estate. Our goal is to remain the best in our core business, and for that, we prioritize collaboration with other solutions.
We have designed an interoperable platform capable of integrating with complementary tools to offer more value to our clients. We believe in a model where the union of forces can create much greater functional value, while reducing costs for the client.
This collaborative model not only allows us to better meet clients' needs but also to build a strong, sustainable Swiss proptech that is truly useful for real estate. By uniting our forces and creating intelligent synergies, we can face the current challenges of the market and contribute to an efficient and consistent digital transformation of the Swiss real estate sector.
What do you think?
