A recent survey shows that estate agents remain split on the value and impact of property technology (PropTech) in the industry. While some see digital tools as a vital part of the sector’s future – enhancing efficiency, transparency, and customer experience – others remain skeptical, citing high costs, limited adoption by clients, and concerns over losing the human touch in property transactions.
The mixed sentiment suggests that while PropTech is gaining ground, its integration into mainstream agency practices may be slower and more uneven than previously expected.
The survey of 436 UK property professionals explores current sentiment toward the wave of technology products that have emerged over the past decade, with more than half of respondents (55%) report that they never use PropTech tools, while 29% say they use them daily.
When asked how important PropTech is to their day-to-day success, 48% of professionals said it was not important at all, while 25% consider it essential, a clear indicator of the polarised views across the sector, with a further 15% sitting somewhere in between, describing PropTech as ‘somewhat important’. The result is a polarised industry, with little middle ground.
This divergence is further reflected in opinions on return on investment. Over half (52%) feel PropTech tools deliver little or no value, while a fifth (19%) believe the solutions they use offer strong returns.
The most common use cases for PropTech include compliance tasks (16%), marketing (14%), admin functions like scheduling and invoicing (13%), and communication with colleagues or clients (13%). Despite this, half of respondents say these tools fail to meaningfully address the real challenges they face in their daily workflows.
Only 13% of professionals say PropTech is highly effective at solving common problems, while 30% view the impact as moderately successful. Almost half (48%) believe tech products could and should do a better job at solving genuine pain points.
Sián Hemming-Metcalfe, operations director at Inventory Base, commented: “These candid insights from property professionals shouldn’t be ignored. When one segment of the industry is fully bought into PropTech and another dismisses it entirely, it shows that the sector is still divisive. Yet to be a force for good, technology needs to unite, not fragment, the industry.”
“The word ‘seamless’ is everywhere in PropTech marketing, but when uptake and satisfaction are so uneven, seamlessness becomes impossible. Yes, there are some incredible, transformational tools out there. But there’s also a lot of noise, too many products solving problems that don’t exist, or demanding that professionals adopt entirely new ecosystems, rather than integrating into the systems already in use.”
“After more than a decade of innovation, PropTech remains at a crossroads. Industry professionals are bombarded with new tools and ‘next big things’, creating saturation, confusion, and fatigue. As a result, the sector is now divided between those who swear by technology and those who see it as a distraction or a drain.”
“The biggest challenge now is closing that gap. Unless PropTech solutions are designed to fit into existing workflows and deliver real, measurable value, the sector will struggle to fulfil its original promise, to make life easier, more efficient, and more profitable for the people who keep the property industry moving.”
This survey reached 1.2% of the industry. Of those, 55% said they “don’t use PropTech.”
That’s about 240 agents. But here’s the problem:
Every agent uses (should use at least one or two) EPC platforms, AML compliance systems, client accounting software, deposit schemes, portals, CRMs, e-signatures, payment platforms — the list is long. These are technology systems designed specifically for estate agency.
If 240 respondents say they “don’t use PropTech,” either the survey only reached a tiny, unrepresentative fraction of agents, or those agents don’t even recognise the technology they already rely on because it’s so embedded in everyday practice.
And if the survey mainly circulated on platforms like LinkedIn — walled gardens that only ever reach a fraction of the industry — then the results inevitably reflect a narrow audience, not the sector as a whole.
Before we draw big conclusions, we need clarity on definitions and transparency on how the survey was distributed — because right now, the numbers don’t add up.
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I concur; all those “I don’t use PropTech” respondents are probably the long -in-the-tooth senior staff who just leave all the donkey work to their administrators and other underlings, oblivious to the scale of the workload that they’re offloading.
And where *exactly* is the line drawn that distinguishes PropTech from the rest of the tech that every estate agent is inevitably using on a daily basis? Are these 55% actually suggesting that they type all their listings manually into each portal in turn, as opposed to letting their CRM system take care of it? If they are, then more fool them!
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