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CRE Corner Ep#3 | PropTech trends with Sammy Pahal, MD of the UK PropTech Association (UKPA)

David Fuller-Watts, CEO, Kinexio | Sammy Pahal, Managing Director

20 March,2025

1 min read

CRE Podcast Ep3 – The future of PropTech

David Fuller-Watts, CEO, Kinexio | Sammy Pahal, MD of the UK PropTech Association

What’s next for PropTech in 2025? Insights from Sammy Pahal, MD at UKPA

The PropTech sector continues to evolve rapidly-and 2025 promises to be a pivotal year.

The global PropTech market was valued at approximately $33.57 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow to $89.93 billion by 2032, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.9% during the forecast period, Fortune Business Insights reports.

To explore what lies ahead, we invited Sammy Pahal, Managing Director of the UK PropTech Association (UKPA), onto the latest episode of the CRE Corner podcast. Sammy shared her insider insights on PropTech trends, scaling challenges, ROI expectations, and the ever-deepening link between technology and real estate.

The big picture: Where PropTech is headed in 2025

In 2024, the focus for many PropTech businesses was survival, consolidation, and creating value. In 2025, it’s about scale, integration, and data-driven transformation.

“We’re seeing more and more tech-enabled property businesses that are disrupting the industry,” Sammy said. “You have to be thinking about how tech can futureproof your organisation.”

Among the trends set to shape the year ahead:

AI adoption beyond hype-particularly in property management and predictive maintenance.

A growing focus on waste optimisation-an under-discussed topic with major ESG implications.

A push toward solving the data quality issue, enabling better decision-making and smarter buildings.

Stronger emphasis on tangible and intangible ROI as property companies scrutinise investment in innovation.

Breaking down barriers to scale

Scaling remains one of the biggest hurdles for PropTech startups-especially navigating long sales cycles and procurement hurdles.

“It can take 18 months to sign a new client,” Sammy explained. “That has a huge impact on early-stage PropTechs. You’ve hired the team, built the product, but the revenue just isn’t there yet.”

To overcome this, PropTech companies are:

Forming strategic partnerships with other PropTechs to offer holistic solutions.

Focusing on client relationships, not just product performance.

Proactively aligning with property companies’ digital transformation priorities.

UKPA has responded to this by launching new programs like the Innovation Leaders Forum-bringing together 25+ directors and CIOs from major real estate organisations to better understand barriers and drive smarter procurement.

ROI: Redefining value in real estate tech

ROI remains king-but it’s not always easy to quantify in the world of PropTech. The fragmented nature of the property industry (53%) and challenges in achieving sufficient sales to grow businesses (38%) are notable hurdles for technology providers.

“Property companies are now thinking in terms of tangible and intangible ROI,” Sammy said. “Yes, they want to see reduced costs or increased asset value. But they’re also considering the impact on tenant satisfaction, decision-making, and long-term resilience.”

The message? PropTechs must speak the language of business outcomes, not just features. And property firms must get comfortable with longer-term, strategic gains-even if they’re harder to measure today.

Collaboration, community, and culture: The PropTech power trio

One of the strongest PropTech trends highlighted throughout our conversation with Sammy was the undeniable role of collaboration, community, and culture in driving progress for users. While technology is the enabler, people and relationships remain the catalysts.

“There’s value in learning from each other,” Sammy shared. “And there’s also value in learning from external experts who bring fresh thinking from other industries.”

At the UK PropTech Association, fostering meaningful connection is a core pillar of their work-whether it’s helping founders navigate the scale-up journey, connecting PropTechs with the right investors, or ensuring that property professionals understand the real-world impact of emerging technologies.

From tech competitors to collaborators

Rather than seeing one another as rivals, tech firms are increasingly partnering up to offer bundled or integrated solutions that deliver greater value to property clients.

“We’ve seen PropTech companies come together to integrate their solutions to meet a client’s needs more holistically,” Sammy explained. “It’s not just about getting in the door-it’s about solving bigger, more complex challenges together.”

This spirit of collaboration isn’t just efficient-it’s essential. As property firms look for platformised approaches to digital transformation, they’ll gravitate toward solutions that work well together rather than trying to manage a fragmented tech stack.

Supporting the humans behind the tech

As many founders learned post-2021, growing headcount without a strong culture leads to burnout, misalignment, and ultimately, churn.

“People are the biggest factor in the success of a business,” Sammy noted. “Startups need to nurture talent, not just hire quickly and hope for the best.”

To support this, UKPA actively connects founders and operators with experienced service providers-whether that’s legal partners who can advise on equity structure, or recruiters like LMRE who can help match talent to the right stage of business growth.

Networks that move the tech industry forward

Through initiatives like the Innovation Leaders Forum, the Tech Tales: Stories of Collaboration series, and partnerships with the British Property Federation, UKPA is building bridges between people and ideas across the ecosystem.

The BPF Futures Network-open to professionals with less than 10 years’ experience is a key part of cultivating the next wave of leaders in PropTech and real estate. And UKPA’s dual role across PropTech and traditional property gives it a unique position to drive mutual understanding.

“UKPA members can join BPF Futures, and that’s a great way to not just build relationships, but deepen your industry knowledge too,” Sammy added.

The future of property tech?

As we look ahead, Sammy offered clear advice for both sides of the PropTech-real estate partnership:

For PropTechs: “Network. Build relationships. Understand your client’s digital maturity and align with their business goals.”

For Property Companies: “Don’t focus solely on ROI. Think about where your business needs to be in 10 years-and what tech will help you get there.”

See also

CRE Corner Ep#2 | Mark Bruce – The role of retail data
CRE Corner Ep#1 | Retail trends and transformations

CRE Corner: The PropTech podcast for Commercial Real Estate professionals

If you’re a PropTech user, real estate exec, or simply passionate about where the built environment is heading—this episode is for you.

Listen now to the full conversation with Sammy Pahal on CRE Corner

And if you’re not already a member of UKPA (or BPF Futures), now might be the time to join the conversation shaping the future of real estate.

Bonus resource: UKPA’s Opportunity for PropTech report

UKPA recently released a government-commissioned report exploring how to unlock PropTech’s full potential. It outlines key challenges to scale, barriers to adoption, and how private and public sectors can work together more effectively.

“It’s a brilliant starting point for understanding where the industry is today-and what we can do to unlock future growth,” Sammy said.

🡒 Download the Opportunity for PropTech Report from the UKPA website here

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