In any word association game, uttering ‘blockchain’ will surely prompt thoughts of Bitcoin. But the technology driving digital gold is much more versatile than many people think.

Essentially, the type of blockchain powering Bitcoin is a public ledger shared by every party that is updated in real time whenever a transaction is made. These transactions are checked against each other before they are validated, meaning it is impossible to make fake entries.

This could even use data for transactions yet to be completed

There are other types of blockchain too. Corda uses ‘nodes’ to connect to a shared ledger. These nodes need permission to do so, making the blockchain private. When data needs to be shared between users, only the relevant nodes are updated.

Coadjute uses this technology to link sectors of the property transaction market. Each firm, be it an estate agent, conveyancer or otherwise, uses its own node (which can be put behind a firewall) to connect to the main Coadjute network. That way, every time data of any type involved in a transaction is updated, each participant is informed immediately. A property transaction can be tracked in real time.

Because any data can be transferred in this way, elements such as property titles will one day be able to move across the network, as well as funds. These funds could take the form of a ‘stablecoin’ — virtual money that can be programmed to ensure it is used for one specific purpose, and only with verified parties.

Saying I have a pilot’s licence — albeit for a drone — is a weird experience

The potential doesn’t end there. All data can be given permissions to an extremely granular level. Coadjute chief executive Dan Salmons gives an example of how this can be used.

“While Coadjute can’t look at your house price data, if you set a permission for the network itself to see this, we could factor it into the creation of a house price index. This could even use data for transactions yet to be completed.”

Broker AVM

For a broker there must be few things worse than letting down a client with the news that their dream property is just out of reach. Late last year, Hometrack released its broker automated valuation model (AVM), which makes managing client expectations easier. Built using the same architecture as the AVM that Hometrack provides to lenders, the broker version delivers two types of data through various mortgage platforms.

The first is a guideline to the price range at which a property should be placed.

The second gives details of the property — whether it’s a semi-detached or detached, for example, along with the building materials used, and other data points. It will also throw up incongruities. A potential borrower may say the house has four bedrooms, but it is in fact a three-bedroom house with an extension. This, Hometrack vice-president of product and technology Spencer Wyer says, “flags these issues so brokers can have conversations with their clients as soon as possible”.

We soon realised we could use the drone to take aerial photographs and videos of inner-city properties

For buy-to-let properties, the model provides information such as rental valuations. If the model can’t find an address — maybe a house has been converted into flats — it scans hundreds of similar property types and returns data with a ‘low confidence’ indication attached.

Wyer says, now the model is built and integrated, the next job is to educate brokers on what the AVM can do and how it will help them. To this end, the firm is organising events and webinars.

Plans for the technology itself will see the integration of any other data that brokers want — perhaps climate data, which Hometrack currently provides to lenders. It could also be used to help brokers process other types of data, such as income expenditure through data gleaned from Open Banking.

Aerial views

Technology isn’t all about databases and platforms. Sometimes it can be more tactile. For example, the team at law firm Aberdein Considine has been flying drones. Social media and content market executive Grant Martin explains that, initially, the firm used the technology to present large land properties to clients, “but we soon realised we could use it to take aerial photographs and videos of inner-city properties too”.

The AVM flags issues so brokers can have conversations with their clients as soon as possible

In one example, a drone flies to a property at street level and then up to a glass penthouse. In another, it sweeps up through the grounds of a castle that has been converted into flats.

Aberdein Considine has realised multiple benefits from publishing this dramatic footage. It is used for social media and marketing, and for cataloguing properties. And the value goes beyond property transactions. For example, people who blog about Scottish architecture and history have found the content and engaged with it, widening the firm’s digital footprint.

To do this within the bounds of regulation, Martin had to earn his drone pilot licence.

“It was very interesting to sit down and think about things like wind speed,” he says.

“Saying I have a pilot’s licence — albeit for a drone — is a weird experience.”