Hungarian residential developer Cordia is introducing a new, secure, online service that covers the entire home buying process, including virtual viewing and remote contract signing.

Although the coronavirus pandemic has the world (and the property sector) facing an unprecedented challenge, one positive consequence seems to be certain – it is going to accelerate the adaptation of technology. Property Forum asked three people in proptech to share their thoughts on how COVID-19 is going to impact the way we work and connect to each other.

Property Forum is pleased to announce it is partnering with Unissu, the world’s PropTech marketplace, to launch Connect, the global real estate equivalent of TED Talks. Budapest will be one of the 15 cities globally where hand-picked speakers will record their speeches for a global audience.

Poland-based proptech company Velis Real Estate Tech announced that its facility management software Singu FM has been implemented across Prologis’ EU portfolio and six U.S. markets. Prologis is a global leader in logistics real estate with a focus on investing in technology that helps customers solve their pain points and run their businesses as efficiently as possible. 

Currently, less than two hundred public charging stations for nearly 4,000 registered electric and hybrid vehicles exist in the Czech Republic. Data of energy companies show that the number of public charging stations should increase to 1,300 by the end of 2020. Developers building charging stations within their new office, retail and industrial properties are also preparing for electromobility, according to Arcadis, an international company focused on consultancy in the field of construction, environment and sustainable growth.

Polish modular producer Polcom will be able to expand its operations thanks to a financial package provided by a consortium of banks to which the EBRD is contributing PLN 108.43 million (€25 million equivalent).

Globalworth has inaugurated the most advanced lobby in the region, with a number of innovations and technological premieres that include the world's largest kinetic floor in an office building, the longest screen wall in CEE, the largest natural green wall in an office building SEE, a space to relax with heated marble steps, Schindler projectors and Pepper, Globalworth's first robot employee. According to the developer, the Globalworth Tower building, which welcomes some 30,000 visitors daily, has become a benchmark for office space innovation and sustainability.

ProperGate has signed a cooperation agreement with CFE. The intelligent logistics management system, developed by ProperGate, will be pilot tested at the construction site of one of the biggest retail centres in the Mazury district.

M7 Real Estate and Conan Lauterpacht, formerly Head of Corporate Venturing at Altus Group, have established M7 Structura, a new European-focused venture capital firm dedicated to real estate technology. M7 Structura announced the launch of its first fund, which will invest in revenue generating PropTech companies at the institutional seed investment to Series A fundraising stage.

Unissu.com, the world’s only PropTech marketplace, has raised US$800,000 of investment led by M7 Real Estate alongside a number of other high profile international experts in the field of digital transformation in real estate. These include Harry Hill, Founder of Rightmove, the Central Europe-based Property Forum, Asia PropTech and Robert Gilchrist, the former CEO of Rockspring. Richard Croft, Executive Chairman of M7, has also joined Unissu’s board of directors.