‘Technology can’t solve things on its own’

“The classic example is the taxi versus Uber solution. As soon as someone migrates to an Uber, how many go back to a taxi? Not many,” Mr Trowell said.

“Once you’ve made that transition, you rarely come back. [Rather than fearing it,] people need to utilise it; instead we’re still seeing some backlash.”

This is compounded by many of the more traditional agencies who appear to have a fear of digital disruption and offer not to take advantage of technology, despite some of the younger or new-to-industry agents realising its potential, according to Mr Trowell.

“You’ve got an issue of how do you push for it?” he said.

“If I’m a local agent at Century 21 and I’m sitting there, what do I do? My sphere of influence is my capital, I can’t get outside my geography, so I can’t make the change I want to make.”

Ultimately, Mr Trowell said: “Technology can’t solve things on its own”, with business models needing to adapt in order to truly feel the flow-on effects.

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