Article by Michael Day published in Property Industry Eye 26.2.26
In a sector as competitive and customer driven as property, the timing of technology adoption can be as important as the technology itself.
Whether a business chooses to be first to market, an early adopter, a fast follower, or a laggard, each position carries strategic benefits and risks. The key is understanding how these choices shape competitive advantage, operational resilience and long-term value.
First to market: High reward, high risk
Being first to market means introducing a technology or model before anyone else. It’s bold, often headline grabbing, and can create a powerful — but fragile — advantage.
In property, Rightmove is a classic example. As the first major UK property portal, it captured consumer attention early, built scale quickly, and established a network effect that competitors still struggle to match. Its early dominance created a near unassailable market position.
But first mover status can also be a trap. Zillow’s iBuyer programme in the US illustrated this. As one of the first to attempt algorithm driven home buying at scale, it gained attention but ultimately withdrew after the model proved too volatile. Being first meant absorbing the full cost of experimentation.
Advantages of first to market
• Ability to set industry standards
• Strong brand association with innovation
• Early customer acquisition before competition intensifies
Disadvantages
• High development and operational costs
• No roadmap to follow — mistakes are expensive
• Market may not be ready
Early adopters: The pioneers who shape the market
Early adopters aren’t necessarily first, but they embrace new technology before it becomes mainstream. They help refine the model and often gain meaningful differentiation.
Purplebricks exemplified this. It wasn’t the first online agent, but it was the first to scale the hybrid model nationally. Its early adoption of digital customer journeys and fixed fee pricing reshaped consumer expectations and forced traditional agents to modernise.
Early adopters benefit from:
• Differentiation and brand leadership
• A head start on learning and capability building
• The chance to influence customer expectations
But they also face:
• Higher costs than later adopters
• Technology that may still be immature
• Operational strain if scaling too quickly
Fast Followers: Often the most efficient winners
Fast followers wait just long enough to see which innovations succeed, then move decisively. They avoid the pitfalls of pioneers while still gaining competitive advantage.
Many UK estate agencies have taken this approach with virtual viewings, AI driven valuations, and digital onboarding. They watched early adopters experiment, then implemented more polished, affordable versions.
In 2000, as a director at Connells we not only invested in the aforementioned Rightmove but also set up our home conveyancing operation.
We had seen our biggest competitor at the time – Countrywide – go into conveyancing and realised that there was a great business opportunity, as catalysts for the home buying and selling process, to capture customers, improve performance and increase profits.
Crucially we had seen Countrywide invest heavily in buying, owning and managing the conveyancing operation. We saw this as a huge risk, carrying high fixed costs and vulnerable to changes in market conditions and volumes.
We largely replicated what Countrywide had set up except for one key aspect. We didn’t invest in buying conveyancers and didn’t therefore carry the costs of the people, premises, technology etc. We simply set up and managed a panel of conveyancers and took a slice of the action without the huge fixed costs and risk associated with the Countrywide approach.
It was successful immediately and the combination of referral fees, faster transactions and reduced abortive work, it added millions of pounds to our bottom line.
Fast followers enjoy:
• Lower risk and lower cost
• Ability to leapfrog early adopters with improved tools
• Faster ROI
Laggards: Slow movers, but not always losers
Laggards adopt technology only when it becomes unavoidable. While this sounds negative, it can be a rational strategy in relationship driven markets like property.
Many small high street agencies delay adopting tools such as automated AML checks or digital signatures until regulation or customer expectation forces the change. Their strengths lie elsewhere:
• Deep local knowledge
• Personal service
• Low overheads and minimal wasted investment
The risk, of course, is falling behind competitors who offer faster, more transparent digital experiences.
Choosing the right strategy
There is no universal winner. First movers shape the market, early adopters refine it, fast followers optimise it, and laggards often survive by focusing on what technology cannot replace.
With Ai now dominating thinking, the pace of change is speeding up and the time frames between those who are first to market and the laggards is shortening.
The smartest businesses understand their identity, their customers, and their appetite for risk — and choose their timing accordingly.
