LOS ANGELES—It may have come late, but the commercial real estate market is finally getting an infusion of technology. At RealShare Los Angeles last week, professionals in commercial real estate's top tech companies—David Hay, CEO and Founder of Spacegrab; Jim Palmer, SVP of Commercial Brokerage Channel at Ten-X; Darren Powderly, Co-Founder of CrowdStreet; Richard Sarkis, CEO of Reonomy; Bryan Bernhard, director of development at WeWork; and moderator Lewis Feldman, Founder/ CEO, Heritage Capital Ventures—spoke on the Disruptors and Transformers: What's Coming Next Panel.
While all of these businesses are using technology to create a sense of community and culture, WeWork has become the most prolific disruptor in the industry by completely redefining the concept of office space and the way that people work. “Our founders wanted to create a community,” said Bernhard. “They are offering not only space but the opportunity to be part of something bigger.” It was a sentiment echoed by each of the panelist, all looking to offer something through technology that is different from the typical real estate experience. We are giving businesses the opportunity to take over a turnkey space. We are allowing businesses to take over a space and usually at a discount to market,” said Hay, whose company SpaceGrab launches soon and will provide a platform for tenants to sublease a portion or all of their commercial space. “We are offering a transparent way to transact and create a level playing field, so the dentist with $10 million has the same opportunity as Blackstone,” sais Palmer.
While this is an area of the market and is rife with innovation, it is a very competitive marketplace. Bernhard said that WeWork doesn't pay attention to competition. “We look within,” he said, explaining that the people that use their spaces love what they do and love coming to work. As long as they continue to provide that service, they aren't concerned about similar concepts.
For Powderly, the Jobs Act opened up the opportunity for him to launch his firm, which provides investment companies software that allows them to crowdfund their own deals, rather than use a crowdfunding site. “Consumers want to be closer to real estate and want more transparency. Transparency is hot button. We are similar concept to REITs. We want all of us to participate in income producing real estate,” he said. On his site, whole properties tend to do better than portfolios. “We see the most activity in individual properties.
LOS ANGELES—It may have come late, but the commercial real estate market is finally getting an infusion of technology. At RealShare Los Angeles last week, professionals in commercial real estate's top tech companies—David Hay, CEO and Founder of Spacegrab; Jim Palmer, SVP of Commercial Brokerage Channel at Ten-X; Darren Powderly, Co-Founder of CrowdStreet; Richard Sarkis, CEO of Reonomy; Bryan Bernhard, director of development at WeWork; and moderator
While all of these businesses are using technology to create a sense of community and culture, WeWork has become the most prolific disruptor in the industry by completely redefining the concept of office space and the way that people work. “Our founders wanted to create a community,” said Bernhard. “They are offering not only space but the opportunity to be part of something bigger.” It was a sentiment echoed by each of the panelist, all looking to offer something through technology that is different from the typical real estate experience. We are giving businesses the opportunity to take over a turnkey space. We are allowing businesses to take over a space and usually at a discount to market,” said Hay, whose company SpaceGrab launches soon and will provide a platform for tenants to sublease a portion or all of their commercial space. “We are offering a transparent way to transact and create a level playing field, so the dentist with $10 million has the same opportunity as Blackstone,” sais Palmer.
While this is an area of the market and is rife with innovation, it is a very competitive marketplace. Bernhard said that WeWork doesn't pay attention to competition. “We look within,” he said, explaining that the people that use their spaces love what they do and love coming to work. As long as they continue to provide that service, they aren't concerned about similar concepts.
For Powderly, the Jobs Act opened up the opportunity for him to launch his firm, which provides investment companies software that allows them to crowdfund their own deals, rather than use a crowdfunding site. “Consumers want to be closer to real estate and want more transparency. Transparency is hot button. We are similar concept to REITs. We want all of us to participate in income producing real estate,” he said. On his site, whole properties tend to do better than portfolios. “We see the most activity in individual properties.
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