The agent is dead. Long live the agent. New technologies are hitting the market that will fundamentally change the face of commercial property. This may spell death for traditional ways of doing business, so agents need to harness what they do best if they are to keep adding value for their customers. All business sectors have been disrupted by technology. The digital tech economy is growing 2.8 times faster than the rest of the economy and 41% of jobs in that economy exist within traditionally non-digital industries. Commercial real estate has been one of the last to feel the impact. We've seen technology transform the residential market with innovations such as easyProperty, the 'online estate agent', and Purplebricks, the 24/7 estate agent', but this is the low-hanging fruit. Commercial property, with its big-ticket deals, is the real prize. Now technologies are hitting our market. For example, CompStak uses crowdsourcing to create its online database of transactions with deal-level information, VTS and HighTower provide platforms for leasing and asset management and LiquidSpace and Hubble allow users to find and share office space. These are just a few of the innovations and services set to disrupt every element of how a commercial property agent offers his or her services.
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