Located in Perth’s CBD, Proptech Hub WA played host to major leaders in the WA property and construction industry.
Named the Enconyx Christmas In July Industry Summit 2022, it provided a platform for the largest property and construction associations in WA to present on a variety of relevant topics to a selected group of 60 innovators and industry members.
The summit was officially opened by the Hon David Scaife MP for Cockburn and City of Perth Councillor Rebecca Gordon cutting the red ribbon, a custom at PropTech Hub WA events.
Some of the presenters included the Property Council WA’s Sandra Brewer speaking on industrial property, the Urban Development Institute of Australia’s (WA) Tanya Steinbeck on land supply and environmental priorities, The Property Tribune’s Henry Thai (also a contributor to Startup News) covering national trends, the New Industry Fund’s Charlie Gunningham (also the former managing editor of Startup News) on innovation in WA, and the Australia Property Institute’s Amelia Hodge on national statistics and stakeholders.
PropTech Hub WA was originally established by Chairman of JJ Leach Group Jeff Leach and General Manager of Builderz WA Cullum Ashton with the purpose of connecting property innovators and industry.
Establishment of the hub has provided a boost of awareness for the ‘PropTech’ or Property Technology industry, which has been around since the early 2000s with the advent of online listing platforms.
In other words, proptechs are basically startups that focus on the property industry in one way or another.
One notable proptech (which has been covered on Startup News multiple times) is UDrew, founded by former engineer Tom Young. His company developed a technology to simplify the process of designing, planning and building housing projects.
PropTech Hub WA has had a busy year, building up a full event calendar, membership options, it’s own Radio Show broadcasted on DRN1 Radio and soon releasing PropTech TV Show Perth.
The summit provided a variety of high level conversations about the challenges the sector is currently facing, including labour shortages, increases in supply costs, supply disruptions and knock on effects from COVID-19 outbreaks.
What was clear, is an emphasis on technology and for innovators to continue finding solutions to challenges.
“Industry are coming to us for two reasons, to solve problems that they are facing and to pull in innovation that increases competitive advantages,” said Mr Ashton.
“We have world-wide acknowledgement that PropTech Hub WA offerings is unique, and nothing compares in any other country.”
Mr Schaife MP spoke on government policy, saying that “innovation in this industry is paramount and the McGowan Government is doing everything it can to deliver on its social housing target.”
City of Perth Smart Cities Manager John Hawke identified Perth as being in a unique situation for proptech adoption.
“We have operating technology in Perth that no other capital city in Australia is using, and it makes a huge difference in our smart city PropTech capability.”
