Another month, another show. This month we were lucky enough to be part of Future Property Technology 2015 in Westminster. Gary Chimwa, the organiser, asked us to build the website and create the branding for the event and knowing what he was looking to achieve we were only too happy to oblige. Gary went on to put together an outstanding event with some high-profile names coming down to present drawing a great crowd from across the whole property sector. The view wasn’t too bad either!

There was so much on offer that the venue had to be split in two. Stage one focused on residential, online agencies and service providers, while stage two took a look into commercial, retail and smart cities. Being service providers ourselves, we spent much of the day around stage one, seeing other businesses insights into the industry and getting ready for our presentation.

The range of speakers on offer really was spectacular, with a huge diversity in topics covered. We saw everything from leaders of innovation in property (including Fixflo and iGeolise along with many others) the Ombudsman services and even Google providing guidance and advice for property professionals in our increasingly digital market.

We even had a crack at presenting ourselves, giving a talk about how video can be of benefit to your online presence. As a sponsor for the event, we couldn’t wait to get up and talk about something

Being one of the sponsors for the event, we had the opportunity to present ourselves. We gave a talk on the benefits of video for you online presence, something we feel is really important for any growing business today! If you couldn’t make it, be sure to look out for an upcoming article that breaks it all down.

We weren’t the only company to sponsor the event, Future Property Technology also grabbed the attention of INEA and SPD. Two companies you should certainly check out as they can really help your agency grow.

One of the biggest draws for the day was the “Online Vs Traditional Agents: The Big Debate”. You won’t need me to tell you that it’s quite a hot topic these days with strong opinions on both sides. While the topic itself is the fuel for some rather explosive comments online, the debate we witnessed was incredibly civilised (much the disappointment of some of the attendees). On the panel we had Russell Quirk (founder of eMoov), Michael Bruce (founder of Purple Bricks), Alex Bailes (formally Chief Digital Officer of Countrywide PLC) and Chris Wood (MD of PDQ Estates) being mediated by Paula Higgins (founder of the Home Owners Alliance). The hour long debate had some great points made by all participants but the resounding conclusion seemed to be that the “hybrid” model will be the future of the industry, providing the consumer with more choice. Our Director, Alex Evans, caught some of the action on twitter:

Our final talk of the day came from our headline speaker, Brandon Lewis MP. Being only a stone’s throw away from parliament, The Minister of State for Housing and Planning came by to talk to us about the developments in the industry and how things are changing. One of the huge concerns overshadowing the industry right now is the lack of stock and that not enough is being done to help. Brandon told us of the new ways that homes are being built faster and more efficiently than ever before, reducing build times on new houses from about 20 weeks down to roughly 4 weeks and to buyers specification! Hopefully these advancements and changes in legislation will help solve the housing problems we are currently going through.

All in all, we couldn’t have asked to be part of a better event. As our relationship with the Future Property Technology brand continues to grow, we look forward to see where things go next. There’s already plans for another event before the end of the year so be sure to check the site and social media for future updates. We look forward to seeing you at future events!