As Australians and Kiwis, our innate attraction to real estate is deeply etched into our cultural DNA. And why not? It's tangible, seemingly immune to seismic economic shifts and promises returns as lush as our landscapes. Yet, while our love affair with property continues unabated, we're glossing over an irrefutable fact - we are slipping in the global race of innovation and productivity.
A Ticking Time Bomb
Our real estate obsession has inflated the cost of land to dizzying heights. The knock-on effect? Our talent, time, and treasure - resources that could fuel innovation and productivity - are ensnared in property endeavours. We're feeding a monster that's starving our economy.
We have previously written about how our complacency during the third industrial revolution has left Australia and New Zealand trailing behind the OECD average in productivity. We're in a critical catch-up phase. Our misplaced focus, fuelled by various policy, social, and economic reasons, is costing us dearly. We're caught in the real estate whirlwind while the opportunities in software and AI technology pass us by.
The Innovation Imperative
Falling behind isn't an option. We need to reorient our focus from property to productivity. It's high time we channelled our time, talent, and resources into productive investments such as business growth, process improvement, sales channel development, and new product creation.
The call for us to pay heed to software and AI technology is not a siren song of the distant future. It's a loud alarm bell for the present. Software and AI are the torchbearers of the fourth industrial revolution. Ignoring them doesn't just put us on the back foot; it threatens to keep us out of the game entirely.
Investing in software and AI is a non-negotiable if we want to make our mark on the world stage. They're not just about digitising processes or building futuristic robots. They're about revolutionising the way we live, work, and do business. It's time we recognised the potential these sectors hold for creating jobs, driving economic growth, and enhancing our international competitiveness.
The Road to Recovery
Transitioning from a property-centred economy to an innovation-driven one won't happen overnight. It requires a concerted effort, underpinned by strategic policy measures and societal shifts. Tax incentives for businesses venturing into software and AI, funding for research and development, and an education system that encourages tech savviness are just a few places to start.
Tech advancements in software and AI aren't merely a distant future - they are the very fabric of the present. Tapping into these sectors can yield economic rewards that dwarf any real estate investment. By nurturing our booming tech industries, we would be cultivating an ecosystem of innovation, fuelling job growth, and securing our foothold in the international landscape.
Investing in business development, tech, and AI, isn't just about diversifying our economies - it's about enhancing our international competitiveness. We would not merely be selling houses to one another anymore; we would be selling our innovation, our creativity, our know-how, dilligence, professionalism and our technological prowess to the world.
Our obsession with property is deeply rooted, but our potential for innovation is far greater. By redirecting our resources towards software and AI technology, we can rebuild an economy that isn't tethered to the whims of the real estate market. An economy that's dynamic, resilient, and built to last.
Australia and New Zealand are at a crossroads. We can continue down the beaten path of real estate or forge a new trail in the promising landscapes of software and AI technology. The choice isn't easy, but the stakes couldn't be higher. If we want to thrive in the fourth industrial revolution, we must bid farewell to our property obsession and embrace the innovation imperative.
The property market will continue to play a pivotal role in New Zealand's economy, but it needn't be the sole player. The time has come for us to widen our horizons, to concentrate on business growth, research, and breakthroughs in IT and AI. By doing so, we're not merely amassing wealth - we're constructing a future that's as resilient, innovative, and competitive as we are. Let's cease trading houses and start trading in innovation.
