Proptech startups to follow in 2020
Proptech startups to follow in 2020
17 January 2020
After a challenging year for proptech in Australia in 2019, with the demise of both Purplebricks and WeWork, 2020 is looking up.
According to data from Unissu, the amount of capital allocated to the Australian Proptech sector since 2011 has reached an impressive $339 million. Showcasing staggering growth, in 2018 alone there was in excess of $119 million invested across the space, equating to double the amount invested in 2017, notes Business2.
In September 2019, Business2 put together the following proptech map for Australia, showing 188 companies (see below). According to the global proptech tracker Unissu, Australia has 265 companies playing in the proptech space – a 428 per cent increase since 2013.
Recently, local success achieved by the likes of hotel booking tech company SiteMinder and Airbnb property management platform MadeComfy has lifted investor appetite for proptech, with money pouring into funding rounds for the next wave of start-ups hoping to steal a bigger share of the property pie, notes The Australian Financial Review.
“These companies are seeing value in the industry and needs that are not being met,” says EY’s managing partner for Oceania real estate, Selina Short.
“Some of Australia’s largest developers have launched proptech accelerators, incubators or innovation labs, and it’s no surprise that proptech investment in Australia is predicted to reach $20 billion in 2020.”
Both Mirvac and Stockland have bought minority stakes in the fractional ownership platform Bricklet, which targets sophisticated investors than the more established BrickX platform.
In October 2019, Managed, which styles itself as “the Airtasker of property management” secured ASX-listed REA Group as a minority investor, a significant vote of confidence in the start-up. Managed helps property managers, landlords and tenants co-ordinate repairs and maintenance.
Listing Loop — an online marketplace for off-market property offerings — will be able to call on the social media reach of Australian basketball star Andrew Bogut to promote its offering.Founded by Mornington Peninsula-based entrepreneur Rhett Dallwitz, Listing Loop works by alerting registered buyers to off-market properties on its database which match their search criteria. Sellers list their property free (through an estate agent) but are charged a commission of 0.22 per cent if a deal is done through the platform.
In March 2019, property investment firm Taronga Group, led by former Mirvac head of capital Jonathan Hannam, joined a group of angel investors to back the virtual reality start-up Inspace XR that helps architects and builders eliminate costly errors and design flaws prior to construction.
More than 150 tech investors piled into a recent seed funding round for property management platform Instarent, putting more than $313,000 into the company via equity crowdfunding platform Birchal. Instarent is an app targeting the one in three property investors who self-manage their properties.
In the wake of the failure of Purplebricks, Upside Realty has picked up the fixed-fee baton and now claims to be the country’s largest fixed-fee agency.
Plus there’s big things planned for Property HQ in 2020 (shameless plug), so stay tuned!
Any other proptech startups that deserve a mention here or in a future article? Email us at news@propertyhq.com.au.