What Buyers Really Want: How Real Estate Organisations Are Rethinking PropTech

What are real estate organisations actually looking for when they buy technology and how can PropTech companies give themselves the best chance of getting through the door?

In the third session of our Lunch & Learn series, we brought together Ami Kotecha, Co-Founder & Group President at AMRO Partners; Freddie Pritchard-Smith, Founder of Trustek and David Oates, Chief Alliance Officer at YAVICA, for a practical discussion on how buyer expectations are changing.

Hosted by Sammy Pahal, Director at UKPA, the session explored what makes a PropTech solution stand out, how AI and changing market conditions are influencing buying decisions, and what suppliers need to rethink when approaching real estate organisations.

Key Takeaways:

1. Buyers want outcomes, not features

Real estate organisations are becoming more focused on what technology can tangibly deliver for the business. Saving time alone isn't necessarily enough,buyers want to understand what that saved time enables their teams to do and how it ultimately contributes to a commercial or operational outcome.

As David summarised during the session, buyers are increasingly looking for “justifiable value.”

2. Start with the problem, not the product

One of the strongest messages for PropTech companies was to resist leading with a product demonstration. Instead, take the time to understand the customer's business, existing processes and the problem they are actually trying to solve.

The companies that can ask the right questions and demonstrate an understanding of the customer's challenges are better placed to show where their solution genuinely adds value.

3. Know who you are selling to

The person buying a technology solution isn't always the person who will use it. Real estate technology can involve a range of buyers, users and influencers, from asset owners and property managers to IT, procurement, cyber teams and occupiers.

Each stakeholder will have different priorities, so the same sales deck and message won't necessarily work for everyone. PropTechs need to tailor their proposition to what matters to the individual they are speaking to.

4. Point solutions are facing greater scrutiny

As technology stacks have grown, some real estate organisations are taking a closer look at the number of systems they have accumulated and whether each is genuinely adding value.

Rather than adding another standalone solution, buyers may increasingly want to understand how a product integrates with their existing systems, connects with their data and fits into the wider technology strategy. For PropTechs, being able to demonstrate this bigger-picture fit is becoming increasingly important.

5. Think about the whole workflow

Buyers aren't necessarily looking for technology that addresses one small part of a process. They increasingly want to understand how a solution can support a broader workflow and reduce friction between different systems and tasks.

This requires PropTechs to understand how their customer's organisation actually operates. Instead of asking only, “Where does our product fit?”, the better question may be “What is the customer trying to achieve from beginning to end?”

6. AI is bringing the build vs buy question back

As real estate organisations develop their own data capabilities, internal AI tools and agents, PropTech companies aren't only competing against other technology providers. In some cases, buyers are also asking whether they could build the capability themselves.

This puts greater emphasis on data, interoperability and differentiation. PropTechs need to be able to explain not only what their technology does, but why partnering with them creates greater value than building something internally.

So, what do buyers really, really want?

To close the session, Sammy asked each of the panellists to sum up what buyers really want from PropTech companies. Their answers brought many of the themes from the discussion together:

Freddie Pritchard-Smith:

"Start with their problem, not your product. Have a conversation about the challenge the customer is trying to solve, ask the right questions and understand their needs before explaining what your technology does."

David Oates:

"Justifiable value. Buyers need to be able to clearly understand and demonstrate the value a solution will deliver, whether that's commercial, operational or otherwise."

Ami Kotecha:

"Partners that enable organisations to become the companies they want to be in the future, not simply support the companies they are today. The opportunity for PropTech is to understand where a business is heading and become a partner in helping it get there."

These takeaways only scratch the surface of the conversation.

The full session explores changing SaaS and pricing models, data and AI readiness, technology rationalisation, end-to-end workflows, build vs buy, and how PropTech companies may need to rethink their sales and marketing approach as buyers become more sophisticated.

Catch the full Lunch & Learn session above.