Expert Predictions for PropTech In 2026

PropTech has become a big deal in the real estate game over the past few years. Dina Petrosky, Smart Connections PR partner and co-founder, said PropTech now faces strong PR pressure because of fast news cycles and a crowded market fighting for attention.

She said understanding PropTech trends is important for any brand or PR agency launching a campaign in this space. The pace of news and competition means visibility is harder to win than before.

PropTech refers to the use of technology in property buying, selling, letting and management. This would be everything from digital contracts to smart building systems and AI powered property tools.

Other market reports forecast the global PropTech market at $40.5 billion in 2024, with projections of $133.05 billion by 2032. We will have a clearer picture of the 2025 year as more reports are released this year.

How Are Digital Deals Changing Property Sales?

Digital deals became more common in 2025. eSigning, virtual notarisation and blockchain are now used for many property transactions.

eSigning allows buyers and sellers to sign contracts from anywhere. Tools such as DocuSign remove the need for in person meetings and speed up deal completion.

Virtual notarisation means documents can be verified online. This removes delays linked to travel and scheduling and helps cross border buyers close deals faster.

Platforms such as Propy use blockchain to log transactions in tamper proof records. Every entry stays visible and verifiable.

This technology also cuts down paperwork and lowers fraud risk. Once records go onto the blockchain, they cannot be changed.

The more buyers look abroad for property, the more people these tools are helpful for with deals to close from across the world.
 

What Is Next For PropTech After 2025?

 
AI use will continue to grow. Search tools now understand natural language such as two bedroom flat near the city in a quiet area.

Price valuation tools assess homes in seconds using market data. Buyers and sellers gain faster access to fair pricing.

Preference tracking remembers user needs such as pet friendly homes or large gardens and prioritises these in future searches.

Demand forecasting predicts interest in areas and developments, helping investors plan where to buy.

Automated translation opens global markets by translating listings and legal documents instantly.

Advanced analytics guide investment choices, schedule repairs, track rent and flag risks early.

Blockchain will keep gaining ground through secure ownership records, faster deals and lower fraud risk.

2026 could be different. Here’s what experts predict:

Jim Groves, Founder and CEO, Rubberdesk

Proptech innovation will accelerate the flexible workspace industry

“Flexible workspace is expected to account for 30% of all commercial real estate by 2030, and brokers are critical to the industry’s growth. However, many of them struggle due to a traditional mindset, limited exposure to the variety of flexible space offerings, and the difficulty in tracking availability and accurate rates. This is where good proptech will be key in 2026. As flexible space is a segment of the commercial real estate market that operates at a much higher velocity than traditional space, good tech is needed to help occupiers and brokers to navigate the market where there is still considerable friction.

“In 2026, the technology and AI arms race will deliver tools that increase transparency, speed to market and reduce friction in the discovery phase of the sales process. Specialised proptech platforms can provide real-time transparency around availability, pricing, inclusions, and amenities and will offer these services to traditional brokers whether large agencies or independent consultants.”
 

Neil Williams, CTO, Credas Technologies

Prediction 1
“By 2026, verification will be significantly more portable. Individuals will be able to carry verified credentials with them and selectively share the elements required for a specific transaction, such as proof of ID, age verification, address validation, and proof of funds without re-verifying each time as well as allowing PEP/sanctions to be run instantly in real-time.
For estate agents and property lawyers, this means:
Faster onboarding
Lower risk of fraud
Greater confidence in the provenance of the verification
More consistent compliance

“Reusable compliance wallets will allow consumers to verify their identity once, as opposed to the current 5.4 times in the home buying journey, and then share it multiple times throughout different steps. This will fundamentally change the speed of transactions and reduce duplicated effort across the sector.”

Prediction 2
“Reusable digital identities will become the default expectation for property transactions by the end of 2026.Not mandated, but preferred by consumers, by agents, by lenders, and by conveyancers.

“People will expect to verify themselves once and carry that trusted identity with them throughout the transaction, much like a digital passport for homebuyers. And the organisations that embrace this model early will see faster completions, lower fraud exposure, and significantly reduced compliance overhead. We see 2026 as the Wallet Era.”

Ben Rigway, Co-founder, iamproperty

“PropTech will keep accelerating, but its impact will be defined by people, not just platforms. Our data shows buyers and sellers value trust, commitment and clear communication, with 92% saying genuine commitment matters most and 92% wanting transparency throughout the process. Technology supports progress, but human connection is what ultimately gives people confidence to move forward.

“That is why the role of the Estate Agent is becoming more important, not less. As innovation accelerates, agents remain trusted advisers, helping clients navigate complexity, understand their options and feel supported through one of life’s biggest decisions. In a market that can feel uncertain, that reassurance matters more than ever. As expectations rise, the need for trusted human guidance will too.

“That belief is why 2026 will see the launch of the UK’s first National Estate Agent Day on 26th February 2026, originated by iamproperty, celebrating the people at the heart of every successful transaction.”

*iamproperty consumer research conducted with 354 UK respondents, October–November 2025.

Kamil Kluza, COO and Co-Founder, Climate X

1. Credit stress will surface first in ‘moderate-risk’ postcodes, the areas traditionally viewed as safe.
“Insurers are rapidly repricing locations previously considered low-risk, and households in these mid-risk postcodes are facing the sharpest premium rises. Climate X modeling shows that areas with medium probability flooding (1-in-30 to 1-in-100 year events) are now experiencing extreme weather events regularly enough to translate into increased insurance costs.

“These postcodes sit in a critical zone: high enough risk for insurers to reprice, but not so obviously vulnerable that homeowners have already factored climate costs into their decisions. Rising premiums, coverage gaps and higher deductibles create early indicators of credit stress, as lenders begin flagging borrowers whose insurance gaps weaken loan resilience. We expect this pattern to accelerate in 2026 as insurers expand their return period analysis to include 1-in-200 and 1-in-500 year events.

2. Persistent exposure will become a more reliable predictor of borrower distress than single catastrophic events.
“Research shows that repeated moderate climate events now erode household finances more severely than one-off disasters. Analysis from flood-affected regions demonstrates that properties experiencing multiple smaller incidents face compounding costs through insurance gaps, property value decline and ongoing repair expenses.

“Climate X’s probability modeling identifies postcodes where the likelihood of moderate events (1-in-30 to 1-in-100 year return periods) is rising, creating persistent rather than peak exposure. Traditional credit risk models struggle with this pattern because they’re calibrated for dramatic loss events rather than gradual financial erosion. As lenders recognise that borrower distress correlates more closely with sustained climate pressure than catastrophe severity, we expect 2026 to mark a shift towards frequency-aware credit assessment.

3. Heat will quietly overtake flooding as a major cost driver in cities, especially for ageing building stock.
“Not from dramatic destruction, but from buildings becoming uninhabitable, cooling failures, productivity drops and tenant churn. Our heat-stress assessments suggest cooling infrastructure requirements in major cities will directly affect asset values and commercial loan performance. In London alone, our modeling indicates that adapting buildings to manage rising temperatures will require approximately £440 million in cooling infrastructure investment. This directly affects asset values and commercial loan performance, particularly for older buildings not designed for sustained high temperatures. Unlike flooding, heat damage is cumulative and operational rather than catastrophic and structural, which makes it harder for traditional risk models to price accurately.

4. Asset pricing will diverge by postcode as lenders and investors internalise physical risk.
“It won’t be labelled ‘climate-based pricing,’ but rising insurance costs and coverage gaps will push banks to introduce de facto postcode tiering. The first signs will be subtle: shorter fixed terms, tighter affordability checks, small rate spreads. As insurers expand their risk assessment to include longer return periods (1-in-200, 1-in-500, 1-in-1000 year events), the gap between low-risk and medium-risk postcodes widens significantly.

“Lenders and investors with granular climate analytics will be quickest to identify which postcodes remain reliably mortgageable as insurance markets recalibrate. Climate X data shows that probability thresholds matter: a postcode with 1-in-100 year flood risk receives fundamentally different treatment from one with 1-in-30 year risk, and banks are beginning to reflect this distinction in their lending criteria.

5. ‘Resilience premiums’ will emerge, but the rules for them aren’t written yet.
“Homes and assets with verified adaptation measures will see better insurance terms and potentially preferential lending rates. The challenge remains that financial institutions still lack a standard for what counts as adequate resilience. We expect early movers in 2026 to influence how resilience is valued, measured and priced.”