Driverless cars, home sharing platforms, Blockchain based peer to peer financing, big data based programmatic marketing, smart cities with smart connected buildings, Internet of things powered smart homes. All changes that could drastically change the way we do business, where we live, and how we move.

But what could affect property affordability, and how?  And how should we adjust our laws and tax policies to allow innovation in our largest asset class and make housing more accessible?

With 27 million bedrooms for our 24 million people, any technology that can help share those extra 3 million bedrooms would have an immediate effect on affordability. For example, property ownership could be extended through fractional titling systems that allow alternatives to rezoning and rebuilding. Yet in our current legal framework our binary approach to property does not serve us: classifying a property as either a unit or a house owned by a single entity stifles innovation.  

Companies such as BrickX get around this through complicated legal structures to allow fractions of a property to be sold to investors. But why can’t owners share a property without requiring complicated legal trust structures?  

If I am a young entrant to the property market why can’t I buy a third of a 3 bedroom unit and be able to sell it later independent of the other owners? The technology in the form of electronic title systems, and blockchain based asset management, exists.

Mechanisms to resolve disputes between owners can be setup. Technically and legally we can support home ownership sharing in ways that allow owners to unlock equity and buyers to obtain some ownership.

This can be extended to investors and downsizers, allowing asset rich home owners to sell a portion of their properties and pay rent on this portion. As an owner I could sell 25% of my property to an investor and pay them 25% of the market rent while I remain an occupant. This is different to a reverse mortgage as there is no lending involved. It would require innovation in the legal mechanisms for handling non-payment of rent, in how the market based rent is determined, and in how we treat the tax and pension implications of selling a portion of a primary place of residence. Yet it opens up the ability to unlock equity, to widen options for new entrants to the property market, and to keep owners in their own houses longer without a reliance on our pension system.

Once a robust fractional ownership model is in place as a nation we can take advantage of the impact of driverless cars. With over 7 million garages in Australia, what will we do when we no longer need to park our cars? Driverless cars are likely to be shared, like an Uber without any drivers. Why would I park my car in a garage when it can be out earning me money during the night or while I am at work? Without cars needing to park, garages at homes and in offices become available for other uses.  These could include conversion to apartments and then being rented or sold.

If we are the innovation nation, and if we do have a housing affordability issue, the solution should lie in both technical and legislative innovation to unlock solutions that allow for affordable housing without compromising our current wealth or slamming the door on the next generation’s access to our national treasure.  

Read more about technology in real estate:

How to remain relevant in the age of digital disruption

Driverless cars essential feature of future cities

Five trends that will shape property in 2017