The Rise of Proptech

Real estate is one of the largest asset classes in the world, comprising over $225 trillion; ~$50 trillion in the United States alone. Historically, the industry has been a slow adopter of technology due to its capital intensity and illiquidity, the longevity of assets, many different stakeholders, and disjointed workflows. However, over the last 10 years we have seen that begin to change with the emergence of ‘PropTech’, or property technology. PropTech can be thought of as any technology that impacts the built world.

A wave of venture-backed companies has emerged to help solve pain points across the real estate lifecycle and to bring traditional real estate processes and offerings into the 21st century. Some major trends and themes that have become popular for investors include fintech and insure-tech solutions, workflow management software, data and analytics software (often utilizing AI and machine learning), “smart buildings” via IoT devices, co-working and flexible space offerings, residential real estate platforms, use of robotics in construction, and modular or prefabricated homes.

Over the last 5 years, over $95B in funding has been invested into PropTech startups and PropTech-specific venture capital firms such as Nine Four Ventures, Fifth Wall, MetaProp and Zigg Capital. New players continue to emerge in the space as technology evolves, so it’s no surprise that with the recent rise of NFTs the real estate industry has reacted in unprecedented ways. Click to read more at www.forbes.com.