Tools for automating property lease management workflow processes. Some startups handle the entire leasing process while others only handle part of the process (e.g., rent collection). Leasing tools for agents are included here.

These tools essentially help agents in buying and selling activities, such as generating and managing leads, getting referrals, and searching for suitable homes for clients.

Tools for title and escrow, as well as transaction management;
1) Title and Escrow: These platforms provide settlement and closing services. They cover a variety of tools, such as, title search and examination, automated generation of closing disclosure, online notarization, automated fund disbursements using electronic cheques, etc. 
2) Transaction Management: These platforms generally enable various users (agents, buyers, sellers) to manage real estate transactions more efficiently. They bring all users and tools together onto a single platform to complete tasks like electronic signatures, seller disclosure forms, etc.

These platforms handle activities related to home maintenance and improvements. They either provide the services themselves or simply connect clients to vendors.

These tools automate the property appraisal process. Appraisals are generally required by lenders before originating mortgages to buyers.

Companies that offer an online platform to match buyers and sellers of residential real estate properties.

Companies that offer tools that allow renters or buyers to view homes without visiting the sites.

Property owners and real estate companies are able to handle larger portfolios while offering faster and cheaper services.

Residential PropTech

Overview

<div>
 <h3>
 Tools to streamline management and transaction workflow of residential properties
 </h3>
 
 Powered by technology such as cloud computing, machine learning, and big data, property management and transaction tools enable property owners and real estate companies to handle larger portfolios of homes and improve user experience during transactions or while managing residential properties.
 
 
 
 Despite the sheer size of the US residential property market, it has been one of the last sectors to implement technology. 
 
 
 
 While many of the top-funded property startups have focused on connecting buyers and tenants with sellers and landlords, tremendous opportunities still exist for innovation in other areas, given that renting and buying/selling properties involves a series of manual tasks. Moreover, the current Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in the widespread use of technology across different segments in the property sector. 
 
</div>

The US residential proptech market for home improvement, rental management, and agent tools could reach USD 15.9–29.9 billion by 2026

Market Sizing

<div>
 
 Virtual viewing becomes the norm:
 
 <ul>
 <li>
 
 Matterport 
 saw 3D camera sales grow by 600% in April 2020.
 
 </li>
 </ul>
 
 
 
 Virtual appraisals gain traction:
 
 <ul>
 <li>
 
 In March 2020,
 Clear Capital
 launched its OwnerInsight online appraisal tool for homeowners to securely send information and images of properties. 
 
 </li>
 <li>
 
 In April 2020,
 Reggora
 released a similar tool called Virtual Inspection. 
 
 </li>
 </ul>
 
 
 
 Online notarization is picking up:
  
 
 <ul>
 <li>
 
 A remote online notarization (RON) platform, 
 Notarize
 , claims its business grew by more than 500% between March 2020 and September 2020.
 
 </li>
 </ul>
 
 
</div>

COVID19-IMPACT

Market Mapping

The majority of startups have focused on developing rental management solutions and agent tools (buying/selling and renting). Many of the rental management tools are built for individual landlords due to the incumbents’ strong foothold in the enterprise segment. Meanwhile, the agent tools help real estate agents obtain referrals, respond to leads, generate leads, and search for properties collaboratively with clients.Most startups on the list were founded between 2011 and 2018, with around half of them established over the past five years (2015-2018). Many of these newer startups are categorized under rental management and title and escrow.All startups on the list are divided almost equally between the early stage and growth stage. Each category has its own leaders. Notably, all startups in the title and escrow category are growth companies.

The Disruptors

<h3>Home improvement startups lead funding, followed by transaction closing tools</h3>Among our disruptors, the residential proptech segment comprises a few public players such as Zillow Group, Appfolio, and Compass, while also featuring a number of smaller, privately funded companies. In terms of private funding, the top two categories are home improvement and transaction closing tools. Each segment is characterized by the existence of a few players with substantial funding as of August 2021, such as Thumbtack (USD 698.2 million), Houzz (USD 613.6 million) and Notarize (USD 213.3 million).Although the rental management segment features the most number of startups, these companies have raised relatively less funding, with Mynd being the highest-funded company at USD 117.6 million as of August 2021. This is possibly due to the existence of large property management software incumbents in the space. Many rental management startups have focused on providing their services to individual landlords that manage smaller residential property portfolios. An increasing number of newer startups have also focused on offering full-service property management rather than providing only a part of the service (e.g., rent collection only).Aside from rental management, many startups have also emerged to equip the property sector with tools for agents that enable them to market homes (lead generation, agent matching, etc.). Public companies Zillow Group and Compass are the dominant players in this segment, while HomeLight and Side are the top private players in the space with more than USD 260 million in funding each as of August 2021.

Disruptor Funding History

The Incumbents

<div>
 <h3>
 Collaborations and acquisitions, two of the most popular methods to enter the space
 </h3>
 
 Incumbents in the property management space (rental management and home improvement tools) comprise real estate investment companies, property management companies, digital home improvement companies (Amazon Home Services, IKEA Systems, and ANGI Homeservices), and high-end property management software companies such as Yardi Systems and RealPage. Many property management companies, especially industry leaders, tend to use these two software solutions.
 
 
 Meanwhile, in the real estate transaction space, the incumbents are real estate brokerages, title and escrow companies, and home appraisal providers. Brokerages appear to focus more on equipping their agents with marketing tools and streamlining business operations with transaction management tools. The top title and escrow companies, Fidelity National Financial and First American Financial, seem to focus mostly on expanding their digital closing capabilities. Data and analytics provider CoreLogic has been a leading player in the property valuation field for around two decades.
 
 
 Many incumbents have collaborated (i.e., integration with third-party systems) with startups to provide digital offerings, as it allows them to adjust to changing market demand quickly. One of the top five real estate brokerage companies, RE/MAX, has integrated its system with a digital signature management tool, DocuSign; and real estate investment trust (REIT) AvalonBay has collaborated with the artificial intelligence (AI)-powered leasing assistant MeetElise.
 
 
 Acquisitions are another popular method for entering the space as they allow incumbents to capture market share quickly. For example, RealPage has made mergers and acquisitions (M&A) part of its growth strategy, with recent activities including the acquisitions of Buildium, SimpleBills, and Modern Message.
 
 
 Some real estate brokerage companies have developed their own proprietary technologies to gain a competitive edge and prevent data sharing with third parties. For instance, Keller Williams has launched an agent-to-agent referral tool, Referral, while Coldwell Banker has developed a similar tool, Exclusive Look.
 
 
 
</div>

Residential PropTech

Residential PropTech

About EDGE

Contact Us

Resources

Area of Focus

Technology Research Made Effortless