Briefings 07 November 2022

The future of real estate

Thomas Ferguson

3 min Read

Your guide to the future of real estate

Welcome to the future of real estate hub. The real estate market in the UK is always evolving but the incredible increase in investment into the UK proptech sector has done more than increase the pace of evolution.

Investment into the UK proptech sector continues to grow

Continued investment into the UK’s proptech sector has surpassed expectations. It has financed a revolution. In 2021, a record £1.6 billion was invested in the UK proptech sector. This is a 360% increase on 2020 and more than 15 times greater than investments made in 2016.

Lawyers are an essential cog in the real estate wheel, but they are often viewed as slowing down the overall process and being wedded to the traditional methods of the past. It is vital, as this revolution unfolds, that lawyers do not let themselves be left behind and embrace these new technological advancements to create a faster, more secure and more efficient real estate industry.

What does the future hold?

In this series of articles, we will discuss some of the technological advances that have recently been adopted or are likely to be adopted by the legal real estate market in the future. We will explore if and how they may revolutionise the way real estate lawyers work in the future.

All of the articles in this series are written by senior associate Thomas Ferguson. They will be posted below, so do come back as these will be updated regularly over the upcoming months:

Electronic signatures in real estate: an introduction: The idea of electronic signatures is not new. However, the Covid-19 pandemic hastened their adoption. This article sets out the legal framework for the use of electronic signatures in real estate.

Electronic signatures in real estate: the future: During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Government convened a Working Group to consider the technological and practical issues relating to electronic signatures. This article details how the Working Group's recommendations are likely to affect the use of electronic signatures going forward.
The use of blockchain technology in the legal real estate market: Blockchain appears set to play a key role in simplifying real estate transactions. This article explores the various ways in which blockchain can be used within the legal real estate market.
Smart contracts for conveyancing: Smart Legal Contracts (SLC) is a process of digitalising an enforceable legal contract to incorporate computer code to automate some or all of the obligations or functions of the contract. In this article, Thomas examines what SLCs can provide for conveyancing.
Tokenisation, or the use of NFTs in real estate: Real estate tokens are an alternative investment vehicle which could allow investors to purchase virtual real estate in the metaverse. In this article, Thomas examines the possible uses of NFTs in real estate.