Aaron Block of MetaProp NYC Block: “We talked to a number of organizations over the past two years, and RICS was the perfect fit for us.”

NEW YORK CITY—Following up on a RICS report that identified data and technology as a key area for action, the global professional organization is partnering with tech accelerator MetaProp NYC to identify and address the growing global opportunities and challenges posed by real estate technology and property technology. The partnership, announced earlier this month, seeks to provide greater cross-border access for both RICS and MetaProp and, for the first time, to unite RETech and PropTech in support of professionals, the market and the public.

The time is now right to launch such a project, MetaProp co-founder and managing director Aaron Block tells GlobeSt.com. For the first time in the spheres of RETech and PropTech, “activities in the US and North America and in the UK, Western Europe and Asia are starting to look more like each other.”

Partnering with RICS was a natural, he says. “There were very few organizations from our perspective that number one, had the broad constituencies that RICS has, with 120,000 members all over the world, and number two, had the reputation for thought leadership and being at the forefront,” says Block. “And not just from a property perspective, but also from a data perspective. That was very important to us.”

Moreover, RICS stood out for “actually wanting to do this, to make technology a key element of their going-forward strategy,” says Block.

Dan Hughes of RICS In technology and other areas, “we’re seeing more globalization going on,” says RICS’ Hughes.

From RICS’ point of view, “we’re seeing more globalization going on,” says Dan Hughes, the organization’s director, data and information product management. He also cites the increasing influence of technology. “No longer is it just a tool, but it’s actually starting to drive what’s happening.”

He describes MetaProp as “one of the leading organizations in one of the leading cities, driving and working with innovation and smaller organizations and investment into them. It’s a great opportunity for us to engage with those organizations and provide insight about what’s going on to some of our more traditional members around the world. Smaller companies that 10 years ago couldn’t enter the market are now having a dramatic impact on the whole industry.”

As part of its 2015 report titled “Our Changing World,” coincidentally released not long after MetaProp opened its doors, RICS made it a priority to “develop strategic alliances with companies and organizations at the forefront of technological innovation, and advise professionals on how to integrate into and benefit from these new ways of working.”

Prepared by Daniel Cook, director of strategy and planning at RICS, the report observes, “A technological revolution is driving demand for key data analytics and related skills for existing professionals. The way of conducting business is changing. Many of the roles that will exist in 2030 will combine skills in ways not imagined today.”

To help advance RICS membership along these lines, the partnership with MetaProp will seek to further develop professionalism around RETech and PropTech. “We’re also working together on education initiatives for the MetaProp NYC real estate technology accelerator, new international property technology events and on a variety of tech-related research publications,” says Block.