Earlier this week, I was pleasantly surprised to come across an article on Propmodo by Brad Hargreaves, CEO of Common Co-Living who happened to be one of our panelists at the Harvard Real Estate Weekend two years ago (2019). He argues that the arms race for amenities and technology in high-end multifamily residential development has led to a saturation in the market segment in its use of technology. While not all of these technologies may be applicable or feasible with the more cost-conscious workforce housing, the boom and saturation of PropTech in luxury residential will mean that companies have to look to expand outside of this segment. As Brad noted, luxury only accounts for 20% of the entire multifamily market.
PropTech has saw tremendous growth and gained increasing mainstream recognition over the past few years, and the most notable headline from this past month perhaps goes to the latest news from Latch, a smart lock maker who will go public through a merger with TS Innovation Acquisitions Corp. (NYSE: TSIA), a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) backed by Tishman Speyer.
While some of these technologies (smart home, for example) may seem like bells and whistles that are nice-to-haves to apartments, other technologies, such as _________ will actually further the affordability factor that benefit workforce housing.
In some mays, it may parallel the ongoing trend where Class A office buildings will tend to trickle down into the market. Filtering
Cover Image: Via Verde, an iconic mixed-income residential project in Bronx, New York developed by Jonathan Rose Companies and designed by Dattner + Grimshaw Architects.
George H. Zhang 