The Innovation Ultimatum

15Removing Chaos from Construction and Intermediaries from Transactions

What Every Business Can Learn from Real Estate Tech

Construction is amazing. High-tech structures reach through the clouds and defy earthquakes. Beautiful architecture improves the livability of our cities. Millions of homes provide shelter to billions of people, giving them a place to raise families and live out their lives. Global real estate is valued at around $300 trillion (Source: Savills).

The Challenge: Mistakes, Margins, and Glacial Transactions

Construction is dangerous, difficult work that is plagued by human error and still runs off 2-D plans. Skilled labor is in short supply, project schedules are tight, and complexity is high. Real estate transactions are glacially slow and result in ridiculous piles of paperwork. The sector is ripe for change.

Costly Mistakes, Skills Shortages, and Safety Issues Constrain Construction

If you've overseen a construction project, or a home remodel, you know that mistakes and rework are all too common. Plans are imprecise, poorly specified, or impractical to build and creative workarounds are required on the job site. Construction is dirty, demanding, and sometimes inexact work that's prone to error. As testament, note how baseboards, light-switch covers, and door jambs all hide imperfections. Common estimates are that rework accounts for about 10% of the cost of most construction projects. With industry profit margins at 4–5%, that's significant. The number ...