I had the opportunity to spend some time with one of Britain’s richest and most successful men last week.

It was, as is often the case with such obsessives, both enlightening and disquieting.

Someone had been talking about electric cars and more importantly autonomous ones.

My limited view of them has gone so far as to say I’ll consider them when they have a range of 500 miles and an infrastructure to suit, and no thanks, I love driving myself.

Chancellor Philip Hammond seems keen on them, if yesterday’s Budget is anything to go by.

I struggle to think about the unintended consequences of technology. Many, particularly on this site as it’s the prime forum for discussing agent-related matters, rail against its march but also struggle to look beyond without resorting to hyperbole.

Back to electric cars then… and what Mr Big thought about the effect they’d have. (Perhaps Mr Hammond should also meet Mr Big!)

He reckoned they’d herald a serious decline in the prime central London property market.

Mr Big has a house in Chester Square, which is about as central as you could be in London.

But why would anyone want to live in the centre when you could pop into your autonomous, anonymous car, relax and do some work on your much shorter and relaxing commute?

Even suburban areas would look and feel much better as cars would ‘disappear’ to large storage areas waiting to be called up.

He envisioned huge reductions in road casualties and pollution, and an exponential increase in safe cycling lanes with cars dragooned safely in their own lanes/roads.

Average speeds in London are now below 4mph, but armies of autonomous cars would run at a constant speed and make journey times MUCH faster.

Town centre shopping would be in vogue again: you wouldn’t need to park and so ghastly out-of-town shopping malls would lose their sheen.

Oh yes, traffic wardens would not have to exist either.

Uber and many taxi companies would simply not be necessary.

These were just a few of his thoughts and they did make me wonder what might be beyond the first wave of proptech because the existing wave will break at some point and we can’t see what’s coming in behind it.

* This afternoon at 3pm, Ed Mead will be personally answering agents questions about how Viewber works:

https://viewber.co.uk/q-and-a-with-ed-mead-global-webinar