The state of US Real Estate Tech — Ray’s Proptech Weekly #36
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Friends, Feudal Landlords and Commoners,
It’s ‘Real Tech’ innovation season in the US.
Realogy FWD showcased the best in new ‘agent tech’ with some really simple tech that makes you think “why hasn’t anybody done that before”.
My favourite is Toor. It’s a digital lockbox for keys, so other agents can access a home you have for sale.
Here are all 15 start-ups that presented: Link
Then there’s 1000Watt, an innovation agency which focuses on real estate agents, holding their first ‘Turn On’ conference which had a ‘big ideas for real estate’ theme.
That’s in addition to 1000Watt maintaining a web-friendly list of real estate tech in the US:Link
Inman has simultaneously launched its ‘Innovators 2016’ competition and in partnership with Amitree’s Jonathan Aizen updated a map of the 318-strong US Real Estate Tech-scape: Link
I am very bullish on some US companies and very bearish on some that are gettingmassive funding.
The one I think is more hype than innovative above all others (even though they have customers and are growing) is Compass.
Their success, like that of Zoopla’s here in the UK, is because of the people: Robert Reffkin is an incredible entrepreneur.
He’s hired well, raised even better and pivoted smartly when realising the tech just doesn’t scale and you need the best people to make it as a real estate brokerage.
Great founders is what Compass has in common with Opendoor. But that’s where the comparison ends.
Opendoor scales because it is essentially an algorithm to price property.
The rest is brand positioning and marketing.
It’s fascinating to see the flows of capital in the US, because unlike the UK there is major capital flowing into tech targeting real estate.
And while all those in the UK lose their heads over Brexit, the US continues to innovate and fund innovation. It’s certainly the direction I look in for inspiration.
My current pick of the newest crop is Landed. You should check them out.
Please feel free to relay news, tips and comments @RayhanRESI
Rayhan’s PropTech Weekly XXXVI
Upcoming Events
Proptech Investor Evening — 29 Jun — Link
SPD Insights — Internet of Things — 13 Jul — Link
Inman Connect SF — 2–5 Aug — Link
Common raises $16m to expand from NYC to SF and Washington DC
Common is essentially ‘WeWork for shared housing’. And I hate it. I get why it exists: finding a (nice) place to live is pot luck. Finding decent housemates is even further down to luck of the draw. Common does solve this problem. But it doesn’t scale very well, the business has all sorts of operational risks/challenges and I fundamentally don’t believe in ‘dorm rooms for adults’. I think it’s wrong, people don’t aspire to live like that long term and therefore this in my mind is a fad confined to the unique situation in New York City. And if you think about it, even with leverage, $16m doesn’t buy you very much real estate: Link
AlphaFlow launches second fund
Now this is fascinating. As someone who is bearish on property crowdfunding because most people don’t have the tolerance for ‘stock picking’, a fund of funds approach makes all the sense in the world. You want exposure to real estate, and so AlphaFlow does the picking for you. Makes sense, easy decision for retail and institutional investors to make and gives real liquidity to the better crowd funding propositions. Win-win-win: Link
A profile of Ryan Williams’s CADRE
It’s like the UK’s Property Partner — wants to be the stock market for real estate — but unlike Property Partner, and partly because of US investment rules, is very closed and exclusive (currently). Like Property Partner they have mindshare and used it to raise a lot of capital — $68m from investors including Peter Thiel and the Kushners (who are apparently co-founders in the business). If you read one article from this email, make sure this one is it:Link
Realla raises further £1.5m
The domain experts continue to march on. Andy Miles (ex British Land) and Ian Parry (founder of Globrix, which was sold to Zoopla) have built some impressive tech that commercial real estate agents are finding a compelling proposition: Link
Area opens up beta trial of it’s ‘Buying Agent in an App’
I like it. I want it. I’m curious to see more: Link
MetaProp’s top women in real estate tech
Would be interesting to see a similar list in the UK. Here’s the US one: Link
Inman’s Real Estate Tech Review
Needs a subscription to access. I’m sure it’s interesting: Link
An interview with Reposit’s Curran McKay
Having recently secured a seed round of funding, it’ll be interesting to see what Curran and Co produce in their mission to replace tenant deposits: Link
The Future of Property: An Insider’s View
A collection of essays on the future of property collated by LandInsight’s Jonny Britton.. The last one by me: Link
