Proptech
WeWork without the swagger
Last updated: 30 Sep 2021
Market 101
Despite being the world’s largest asset class, real estate has been a stubborn sector to disrupt. Proptech is a good example: it wasn’t really on anyone’s radar until WeWork burst onto the scene last decade — and we all know how that ended. Or do we? Fast forward to pandemic-induced hybrid work and it turns out WeWork was onto something when it came to flexible spaces centered around bespoke experiences. Now, real estate companies are the ones looking to play catch-up, rather than basking in schadenfreude.
That’s good news for proptech startups, who are sensing that their time has come to prove their worth to incumbents by focusing on the fundamentals rather than on the swagger. From home buying to identity verification, ‘property passports’ to smart buildings, they’re removing friction for incumbents, and by default the end customers. It’s not quite ‘elevating the world’s consciousness’, as WeWork wrote in its 2019 IPO filing, but slowly and surely these companies appear to be leading a stubborn real estate sector into a brave new world.
Early stage market map
Key facts
€228tn
Market size of the global real estate market1
45%
CAGR in annual proptech funding in Europe from 2014-20192
59%
Percentage of commercial real estate companies who expect an increase in vacancy rates over the next 12 months3
Trends to watch
1. Improving liquidity
→ The real estate market is huge, but notoriously illiquid. Transactions in the sector are plagued by a lack of transparency and information asymmetry.
→ Startups are trying to democratise home buying in particular through schemes like shared ownership or gradual homeownership.
2. Elevating experiences
→ Customers are increasingly focused on the experiential value of spaces, compared to traditional metrics like cost per square metre.
→ To meet these expectations, startups are doubling down on facilitating spaces’ communal aspects and integrating smart building characteristics.
3. Looking inwards
→ Proptech solutions aren’t just for pleasing customers. A number of startups are focused on simplifying internal processes at real estate companies.
→ From streamlining property management to sales processes, these solutions may be low-hanging fruit in the adoption of proptech.
4. The next frontier: property passports
→ The idea behind property passports is to provide a unique digital file with all relevant information for a property, which can then be continuously updated and transferred.
→ In the absence of common data standards, startups are now working on the building blocks that could form the basis of future property passports.
Startups tracked by Sifted
Sifted take
For too long, proptechs saw their services as a way to delight customers, while real estate companies were mostly interested in reducing inefficiencies. Covid-19 may have brought these interests closer together, as changes in the way customers use and value space are pressuring incumbents to adapt.
Rising stars
Supports companies in their transition to hybrid work by offering their staff access to a global network of workspaces, and offering data insights to inform their strategies for utilising office space.
Round
Seed
Valuation
€15m
Date
2021
Size
€3.3m
Provides an application that collects and analyses building data to simplify building management and save time on technical audits.
Round
Seed
Valuation
Undisclosed
Date
2020
Size
€1.3m
A Barclays Techstars company, Homeppl verifies potential tenants’ ability to pay rent using a combination of open banking data, proprietary behavioural analysis and fraud detection tests. In contrast to traditional credit checks, Homeppl’s tools can be applied to a broader range of consumers like the self-employed and expats.
Round
Seed
Valuation
€12m (estimated)
Date
2021
Size
€1.1m
Early stage startups to watch
Ahauz
Fintech x proptech
Equity financing
€3.5m
€3m
-
Beeldi
Smart buildings
Building controls
€1.3m
€1.3m
-
DeltaQ
Smart buildings
Building controls
€1.5m
€1.5m
€7.5m
Desana.io
Flexible space
Hybrid office spaces
€3.9m
€3.3m
-
Designable
Property management
€958k
€488k
€8.4m
Enso Coliving
Flexible space
Coliving
€280k
€280k
-
Frementa
Rental platform
€200k
€200k
-
Halo.rent
Property management
€3.4m
€1.5m
-
Homepilot
Property management
€3.2m
€2.6m
€13m
Homeppl
Documents automation/verification
Tenant checks
€4m
€1.1m
-
houzen
Fintech x proptech
Property trading platform
€2m
€1.4m
-
Howsy
Property management
€9.2m
€960k
-
LEDCity AG
Other (specify under 'additional information')
€2m
€2m
-
Linear
Project management
€1.6m
€1.1m
-
Lofti
Property management
€1.3m
€1.3m
-
Mateo
Property management
€260k
€260k
-
Milluu
Rental platform
€884k
€884k
-
Orbital Witness
Legal research & due diligence
€4.7m
€4m
€15m
PerchPeek
Rental platform
€3.2m
€2.2m
-
Proper
Property management
€4.4m
€3.8m
€8.5m
Prosperty
Rental platform
€1m
€1m
-
Reatia
Rental platform
€1m
€1m
-
SearchSmartly
Rental platform
€2m
€1.5m
-
StrideUp
Fintech x proptech
Shared ownership scheme
€1.9m
€1.9m
-
Wayhome
Fintech x proptech
Equity financing
€12m
€10m
-
Wowflow
Property management
€1.4m
€1.1m
€5.4m
Ziggu
Project management
€1m
€1m
-
Sources
News articles
1 This is a good time to start a proptech company | December 2020 | TechCrunch
Research reports
2 European PropTech Trends 2020 | February 2020 | Proptech1
3 Global PropTech Survey 2019 | October 2019 | KPMG
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