Even with all of the advances in the world of commercial real estate technology, it can be hard to see how many of these advances will impact your tenancy. Some make brokers lives easier, while others are internally valuable to property managers. But three technologies will have wide ranging impacts on tenants. Here they are -- and here's why they matter.
Blockchain
The blockchain is a technology that creates a completely reliable, secure and transparent record of ownership. It enables parties to share information freely and safely and can eliminate many of the challenges that come into play when transferring real estate ownership.
This might sound like it doesn't have a lot to do with your tenancy, but technology that impacts your landlord will probably trickle down to you. First, making the process of transferring title easier could result in greater turnover of real estate. This means more new landlords, which could mean more opportunities for rent increases, more capital investment to improve the buildings you occupy, or neither.
The other likely impact of the blockchain is that more data will be available about buildings. This could give you better intelligence to use when negotiating leases if you are able to access the building's records in the blockchain. It could also help you better understand how a building operates -- both physically and financially -- and make better plans for your tenancy.
Chatbots
The same chatbots that you interact with when contacting customer service departments or that you might use in your own customer service department are now coming to the commercial real estate world. Property managers are beginning to deploy this technology to allow them to better handle incoming service requests. While these chatbots could result in less personal service, they could also enable your manager to take better care of you and give you a better tenant experience.
AI
Owners of large portfolios of properties are already using artificial intelligence technology like IBM's Watson to pore through all their information on their commercial real estate holdings and to find trends and insights in the data. While this could mean that your below market cost leases will get discovered and adjusted when they come up for renewal, you can also use AI technology to your benefit. If you have a large portfolio of spaces, you can also use AI to analyze your leases and find ways to optimize your tenancies, letting you focus on the locations that work best for you.
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