Our offices have been closed since Tuesday evening and while I have long been a vocal proponent of remote working, it is less fun with snow drifts higher than 5ft blocking the doors and windows – on the plus side, I have a new appreciation for my open fire and my Nespresso machine. I am fearful of my garden though so here is a timely article by KinsellaEstates.ie that I shared on Facebook earlier:
Rescuing your garden after #StormEmma
As the car is still under a few feet of snow and my dedication does not stretch to a snowy hike to the local garage, you only get the online news today! Of course, I had quite a bit of extra time to research so below is a catch-up on the property stories that caught my attention during the week. As always, you might let me know if I have missed out on any interesting property news by emailing carol@caroltallon.com.
(As always, apologies for any typos, it’s difficult to get good help on a Sunday!)
Sunday Read
As I have unapologetically declared a ‘Project Ireland 2040’-free zone this weekend, and with many property business owners/managers using the opportunity provided by Storm Emma to catch up on marketing, social media and other business development initiatives, your Sunday Read today is all about the technology driving innovation across the construction and property industries.
I am usually reliant on proptech news from outside of Ireland so I am delighted that our big story today is home-grown:
MyHome.ie signs partnership deal with new rental rating website DwellDown
DwellDown allows users to rate different aspects of a property they have rented as well as the area in which it is located. Users can rate a property under headings such as comfort, amenities, neighbourhood and even communication with the landlord.
Chris Lynch from DwellDown said:
“DwellDown couldn’t be happier to partner with such a forward thinking property site such as MyHome.ie. Our goal is to create the best in class tool helping people discover the perfect place to call home through sharing and transparency. It’s great to see that leaders in the industry understand what value DwellDown can offer the market.”
Full details here: http://prop-tech.ie/myhome-ie-signs-partnership-deal-new-rental-rating-website-dwelldown/
Other Proptech Stories
- We are looking forward to heading over to Future:Proptech 2018 in London this May: https://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/8/futureproptech-2018–conference-on-industry-technology-confirmed. Email news@proptech.ie for details.
- Real estate agents urged to use proptech to offer better services to clients | The Edge Markets: http://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/real-estate-agents-urged-use-proptech-offer-better-services-clients
- What will drive property tech trend in 2018?
“Race to leverage data will intensify. With the Internet of Things (IoT) and plethora of data available, the real estate industry will continue to race to leverage data.”
https://www.edgeprop.sg/property-news/what-will-drive-property-tech-trend-2018-2476946-0
- Problems virtual, augmented and mixed-reality will solve in real estate
“Looking at real estate developers’ online presence it’s not very difficult to see how limited engagement actually is. This is a paradox given that the internet is the number one source of information. What drives online traffic or engagement is content. VR|AR|MR solutions provide the most relevant content, experience. It’s social media friendly and can be easily integrated into digital marketing campaigns to create a holistic customer engagement.”
- Digital Roadmap for Ireland’s Construction Industry
“The future is already here,
it’s just not very evenly
distributed”. – William Ford Gibson
https://www.bimregions.ie/blog/2018/2/27/a-digital-roadmap-for-irelands-construction-industry
- Northern Ireland house-building firm set to accept Bitcoin: https://www-rte-ie.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.rte.ie/amp/942937/
- Pi Labs issued their first whitepaper, ‘Future of Logistics’http://pilabs.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Pi-Labs-Future-of-Logistics-1.pdf
- Also, thanks to James Dearsley for sharing the following article:
‘Proptech’ and banking: A new ecosystem for a better experience when looking for a home:
https://www.bbva.com/en/proptech-and-banking-new-ecosystem-better-experience-when-looking-home/
- Why big house-builders must think like digital pioneers:
Many proptech innovations come from start-ups. Miller Homes IT director Graeme Stirling says large firms should also harness these tools
http://www.businesscloud.co.uk/news/why-big-housebuilders-must-think-like-digital-pioneers
- To keep up-to-date on all things tech and innovation for the planning, construction and property industries, head over to http://www.prop-tech.ie, the national resource website for innovators, investors and mentors or email news@proptech.ie.
- How the Property Grown-Ups Use Facebook: https://propertydistrict.ie/property-grown-ups-use-facebook/
Property News
- Charlie Weston had a piece in yesterday’s Irish Independent confirming that Ireland had the third highest house price increases globally in 2017: https://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/property-mortgages/house-price-rises-here-were-third-highest-in-world-36664348.html Yet Dublin doesn’t feature on the list of the eight global cities that are overheating fastest by the World Economic Forum (link to research below).
- AIB is lining up hefty share bonuses for senior staff to stop them leaving – Fora https://fora.ie/aib-bonus-executives-3879021-Mar2018/
- Tetrarch Capital completes deal for Citywest Hotel – Property acquired out of receivership by Tetrarch and Pimco in 2014 for €30m: https://www-irishtimes-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.irishtimes.com/business/commercial-property/tetrarch-capital-completes-deal-for-citywest-hotel-1.3405878?mode=amp
- Living in harmony: student housing and mental health
- US equity firm to complete The Square shopping centre purchase – Oaktree pays €250m for 90% of shops and 100% of future development: https://www-irishtimes-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.irishtimes.com/business/commercial-property/us-equity-firm-to-complete-the-square-shopping-centre-purchase-1.3407371?mode=amp
- Major regeneration schemes at two of Coventry’s most iconic buildings have been praised by Heritage England: https://www.insidermedia.com/insider/midlands/praise-for-iconic-buildings-regeneration-schemes
- CHINA HAS JUST BUILT A 55KM BRIDGE TO HONG KONG: https://steemit.com/steemit-education/@peacezo/china-has-just-built-a-55km-bridge-to-hong-kong
- These are the cities where property prices are overheating fastest
“What happens when too many people pile into a “safe” asset?“
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/02/real-estate-bubbles-the-8-global-cities-at-risk/
Industry happenings
- The CIF Digital Construction Summit 2018 takes place in Croke Park on March 7. The theme of the day is ‘Can Ireland Lead Construction 4.0?’. There is a feature about this on page 29 of the SBP today together with an interview with Topcon boss Ray O’Connor on his future vision for the industry.
Also, I mentioned last week that CIF is launching a year-long campaign to increase the number of women working in the construction industry. The team there are asking people in the industry to be a role model and inspire women in the industry and girls considering their career options. Visit the page and share your story, https://lnkd.in/eF6dCK2
- #BuildingEquality – Sharing Your Stories: Karen Muldowney of Manley Construction, one of the industry’s leading marketing managers features here:
https://cif.ie/2018/02/27/buildingequality-sharing-stories-karen-muldowney/
Have I included details of the wonderful Lottie Dolls yet? If not, they are modern dolls to give children a different set of ideals to aspire to (move over Barbie!). Leaders from across the construction sector shared photos on social media of their hard-hat clad Lottie dolls on site, my personal favourite was:
“The Lottie crew have reached new heights today as they recreate the famous ‘Lunch atop a Skyscraper’ photo from 1932 #BuildingEquality”
- Thanks to Niall Gargan of CIS for sharing this:
“Between the years 1948 – 1962 the state outperformed private residential construction. During this time period, private developments made up 58,000 units while the state constructed 60,000. Some 67,000 houses were rebuilt or reconstructed with state funding during this time as well. Given the nature of the housing situation in Ireland at the moment, can lessons be learned from the island’s history.”
http://www.rte.ie/archives/2017/0711/889382-housing-supply-and-demand/
Property Insiders Guide
As many of you might know, my annual property book The Irish Property Buyers’ Handbook (since 2011) has undergone a rebrand for 2018 and will now appear as part of The Property Insider series, published by Oak Tree Press, the first three titles are now published and available here.