Interviews with real estate experts: David Piggins
David has recently joined Floorfy UK as Business Development Director. David has had a wide-ranging career in property during which he has been a residential agent, a commercial investment surveyor, developer and investor. He has a strong flair for innovation and has been responsible for a number of groundbreaking leisure developments. He also has a passion for education and has developed an audio education service called Audiopi which is designed to democratise access to outstanding teaching.
David, tell us a little bit about yourself. How do you integrate your real estate experience into the Floorfy UK team?
My career in property spanned the UK residential, commercial and leisure markets. As a result, I have contacts all across these sectors enabling me to introduce Floorfy at the highest levels.
What do you make of the 7.5% increase in pricing within the London residential market in 2021?
It’s the lowest growth market in the UK but this follows years during which the capital has out stripped the rest of the country. It could therefore be a reflection of this, or a sign that the international market for London is less buoyant at the moment. Time will tell.
How do you think the UK real estate market has evolved in the past year?
COVID-19 has had a significant impact on both the residential and commercial sectors. Working from home has resulted in new ways of doing things and led to the realisation that a lot of work can continue in this way. It’s early days but the trends that appeared in 2020 may prove to be the catalyst for a seismic shift in work and living patterns which will impact the demand for offices, the number of people commuting and the demand for rural residential property.
With your experience podcasting, how can it be used as a successful business tool in the real estate sector?
Podcasting is a growing medium, both in scale and demographically. There is a huge appetite in the UK for property based reality TV shows and it makes sense that we will see this extend into podcasting as the medium continues to grow.
How important do you think the use of new technologies (proptech) is in the sector?
The sector is not always the quickest to embrace new technologies! However this is changing as the tech savvy generation becomes more and more influential. Technology is having a game changing impact in so many areas of our lives and it is going to be true of the property sector too.
How did you hear about Floorfy? What benefits do you think our technology will bring to the UK market?
I was introduced to Floorfy by my good friend, Chris Meadows. I think our technology offers something very different to services which bear some similarity to what we do. I think this can be best summed up by the mission statement of our parent company, Telefonica - ‘At a time when technology is more present than ever in our lives it is important to remember that the most important connections are human connections’. I am delighted to join forces once again with my old friend and to be a part of such an outstanding venture. Floorfy's market-leading digitalisation software is to revolutionise the property market here in the UK, as it’s already doing in Spain and beyond.
How do you view the future of Floorfy UK? Are there any objectives for the next year?
The future is very exciting. Our objectives for next year are to deliver Floorfy’s service to large organisations across key stakeholders in the property market and to deliver to them the kind of material benefits that Blackstone in Spain have witnessed.
Links of interest:
Instagram: @floorfy_uk
LinkedIn: Floorfy UK Virtual Visits
Check out our blog about Marketing via Podcasting here :)
