The real estate industry suffered unprecedented losses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Office buildings emptied in a matter of weeks after the novel coronavirus hit U.S. soil, forcing employees to shelter at home and work remotely. Hi-rise renters and corporate tenants alike failed to make payments or renew leases, and many fled the deadly density of city crowds for the relative safety of suburban sprawl. Real estate operators and developers were hit hard and given little choice but to tread water, stay afloat and wait.
The images are vivid for developers and operators now poised to return to a “new normal,” one that most stakeholders cannot clearly imagine or foresee. There is universal agreement that COVID-19 has forever altered the real estate market and, moving forward, demands an almost immediate acceptance of property technologies designed to make buildings safer, cleaner, greener and more spacious.
Property technology, or proptech, refers to computer and inter
