Pulse of Fintech H1’19 – Proptech

Property technology has enjoyed a boom as of late, and thus it is to little surprise that the specifically fintech segment of proptech also saw a high in terms of capital invested and volume. This year so far is ringing in figures that are somewhat lower, but still quite robust.

The real estate industry is massive and thus will likely attract plenty of potential disruptors looking to carve out particular pieces of the value chain, while incumbents either buy out competitors or invest in technical solutions such as smart contracts to automate significant transactional flow.

Proptech is a portmanteau of property and technology. It comes in many and varied forms, but all boils down to using technology to improve the ways we rent or lease, buy or sell, and design, build and manage commercial and residential property.

Commercial real estate prices have peaked in many markets. Proptech products and services offer property owners and managers many ingenious ways to push revenue up and expenses down: hardware, software and apps that save energy by improving building performance, for example, or boost revenue by making properties more attractive to tenants and allowing office space to be used more flexibly.

Start-ups focus on three key areas:

• Technology for making buildings smart and more responsive through control mechanisms and data collection and analysis
• Online markets for buying and selling or leasing properties and buildings, and
• Technology platforms that facilitate the flexible use of real estate assets in the sharing economy.

An array of technologies is helping building owners and managers buy, sell and manage their properties. Like the buildings themselves, the sky just might be the limit on this burgeoning sector.