Breaking Property News 17/03/25
Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.
Things you need to know about the expanding proptech marketplace
Over the last few years, the proptech market map has turned into a whole universe with a huge number of proptech companies that reportedly equals 10,000. To navigate this complex field with different domains and technological trends of different strategic orientations, now one certainly needs a map.
In this article, we would like to measure the pulse of the current state of the real estate tech market map and define the most successful proptech companies and areas that attract the heaviest investment. Moreover, we will answer the most frequent questions regarding the highest value proptech unicorns and the state of the European proptech market.
What’s in the Proptech Market Map?
The real estate tech market consists of different market players, each focusing on different aspects of proptech. Maybe that’s the reason why at the moment, there is no single view on what the real estate tech market map should look like. However, the first beginnings are starting to crystallize with the help of innovative proptech companies and communities all over the world.
This year, we’ve presented our very own overview of the proptech market in the form of a full-fledged map of the proptech network. Check our proptech market map introducing companies from both commercial and residential real estate markets below.
Proptech companies on the map are classified according to their type of operations: listing, broker tools, financial/capital market, underwriting, leasing and lease management, property management, building automation, and tenant experience. Each category represents the top real estate proptech companies, their solutions, and how they improve real estate operations at each point of the real estate customer journey. Among these names are the most acknowledged and well-funded solutions according to Crunchbase like Airbnb ($6.4B), Zumper ($180.2M.) – one of the largest marketplaces in real estate, Buildout ($8.4M), VTS ($462.4M), Appfolio ($30M), etc.
The rapid expansion of the proptech market was surged by COVID that broke through the industry’s centuries-long reluctance to adopt tech and finally put the RE market in the innovation train. According to industry forecasts, the market size in terms of investment is expected to reach around $68 billion by the end of 2024.
How large is the Proptech market?
At the moment, proptech market size is approximately USD 34.3 billion and is poised to reach an estimated valuation of around $40.5 billion by the year 2024. The exciting news is that by 2032, we anticipate the global proptech market size to soar even higher, reaching its peak at $133.05 billion.
It’s worth mentioning that Proptech’s submarkets and adjacent markets such as construction technology (ConTech), smart building solutions, IoT for real estate, and real estate fintech solutions will add another $7T to its market size.
How Many Proptech Companies Are There Globally?
According to Expert Market Research, by the end of 2024, there will be over 10,000 PropTech companies globally with half of them being proptech startups, and 70% of these startups are VC-funded.
Globally, the United States holds the largest number of PropTech companies, with 59.7% of the world’s total, followed by Europe (27.2%) and Asia (3.5%). (source)
In the United States, about 60.04% of PropTech software companies focus on the residential sector, while 49.84% cater to the commercial real estate market, and 11.50% are involved in retail. Regarding customer segments, 69.37% of these firms primarily serve business-to-business (B2B) clients, 26.85% focus on business-to-consumer (B2C) interactions, and 3.78% operate across both domains. (source)
Regardless of how many proptech companies are there, the key focus remains on fostering innovation and resilience within the rapidly evolving industry. That’s why investors are heavily focused on AI proptech funding. According to JLL, 500 companies worldwide are currently engaged in the development of AI-powered services for real estate.
Speaking of numbers, 70% of all deals were AI-related, and the global funding for AI-powered proptech surged to $4 billion in 2022. Projections indicate an even higher figure in 2024, with 64% of investors planning to invest in AI.
What are the Biggest Proptech Companies in the USA?
As of 2024, some of the biggest Proptech companies in the USA include:
- Opendoor: Specializing in the buying and selling of homes, Opendoor offers a streamlined digital platform for real estate transactions. With over 1,900 employees, it aims to simplify and expedite the home buying and selling process. In 2023 raised $300 million.
- Hover: This company provides 3D modeling solutions to help homeowners and construction professionals visualize remodeling projects. By creating interactive 3D models from smartphone photos, Hover facilitates better planning and collaboration in home renovations. In 2023 raised $60 million.
- Briq: An AI-powered platform for the construction industry, Briq focuses on managing project finances. It offers features like workflow automation, data collection, and financial tracking, making it easier for construction professionals to manage their projects. In 2023 it raised $40 million.
- VergeSense: This company provides spatial intelligence software to optimize office space utilization. It analyzes how office spaces are used and offers recommendations to improve efficiency and reduce costs. In 2023 it raised $60 million.
- HomeLight: Connecting real estate agents and lenders with home buyers and sellers, HomeLight uses technology to provide personalized recommendations and manage transactions more effectively. It handles over $1 billion in transactions annually and raised $115 million in 2023.
What are the Top Proptech Countries in Europe?
The UK is among the leading proptech markets in Europe with the largest number of companies and $2,300 million investments. In 2021, only the UK’s LendInvest got $700 million in investment funds, according to the Annual Barometer. The PropTech market in the UK is expected to have a CAGR of 17.1% through 2032.
Germany takes second place with investments of around $1.5 billion in 2023 and projections of US$ 444.39 million by 2028. The proptech market in Germany is also estimated to grow at a CAGR of 10.4% from 2021 to 2028.
France closes top three leading Proptech companies in Europe with around $1 billion of estimated investments in 2023 and an upward trend in 2024 as proptech solutions gain more traction.
Why is Proptech in Europe so Dynamic?
The introduction of brand-new practices in sustainable asset development and climate control makes the EU proptech market more compliant, predictable, and risk protected.
Europe is becoming the capital of proptech events in the world – standardizing the defragmented EU market together. Also, compared to other markets on the global real estate tech market map, the European market is still largely undigitalized. Meanwhile, industry challenges, from climate change regulation to urban development and population growth, require new technological solutions to ease the pressure on profits and efficiency.
Another point is the investment influx in the EU proptech which according to PWC is expected to reach $69 trillion by 2033, showing a strong indicator for the future.
How Many New Proptech Startups are Founded In Europe and USA?
As of early 2024, there are approximately 5,200 PropTech companies in Europe. However, considering the growth trend and existing numbers, a reasonable estimate for new European PropTech startups in 2024 could be in the range of 5-10% of the existing total. If we consider the annual formation of 250 – 400 new proptech startups: from 2020 to 2024 (a span of 5 years), this would result in approximately 1,250 – 2,000 new proptech startups being founded in Europe.
Here’s the estimated range:
- Low-End Estimate: 5% of 5,200 companies = 260 new PropTech startups in Europe (2024)
- High-End Estimate: 10% of 5,200 companies = 520 new PropTech startups in Europe (2024)
The situation in the USA has been the following for the last five years (2020 – 2024): approximately 300 – 500 new proptech startups are founded each year, for an approximate total of 1,500 to 2,500 new proptech startups in the USA.
Is Proptech a Lucrative Place for Investment?
According to Statista, 31% of commercial real estate investors are planning to invest in proptech companies. This in turn creates a lot of competition among venture investors. On the graph below, Statista demonstrates investment volume in proptech companies worldwide from 2010 to the 1st quarter of 2022, by subsector. Having a glimpse, one can understand they need to be inventive today to thrive in the proptech market tomorrow.
Index of PropTech Venture Capital Equity Investment
The United States also leads in terms of investments with $1,079B in total. Besides being the global leader in raising investment funds, the USA is also the top destination country on the proptech market map for attracting foreign investment in the PropTech sector.
However, Europe is quickly catching up with the US with businesses scaling just as fast. Europe is also seeing significantly larger funding rounds and increased interest in the market from investors and international venture capitalists. According to Crunchbase, European investors led 77% of seed fundings in Europe, 68% of early-stage fundings, and 49% of late-stage fundings.
According to Statista, the leading proptech country in Europe in 2022 is Spain with $2,500 million investments. Among the leading Spanish companies is Idealista which successfully attracted $649 million and $304 million of investment funds in 2021 (source). The major focus of Spanish companies is on the housing sector and the technologies that can be used there.
Despite the period of uncertainty caused by Brexit, the UK is still among the leading proptech markets in Europe with the largest number of companies (709) and $2,300 million investments. In 2021, only the UK’s LendInvest got $700 million in investment funds, according to the Annual Barometer. The PropTech market in the UK is expected to have a CAGR of 17.1% through 2032. (source) Germany closes the top three with $ 2,100 millions of investments and the expected size of US$ 444.39 million by 2028. The proptech market in Germany is also estimated to grow at a CAGR of 10.4% from 2021 to 2028. (source)
In 2023, investors adopted a cautious stance, as observed by CRETI. There was a significant shift in proptech venture capital investment, totalling $11.38 billion, marking a return to pre-pandemic levels. This amount reflects a 42.42% decrease from the $19.75 billion invested in 2022 and a substantial 64.44% drop from the peak of $32.0 billion in 2021.
In 2021, the European PropTech market registered a record year in 2021, reaching approximately 20% of global investment, including over 200 venture capital investments totalling €3.8 billion (representing a growth of 350% compared to 2020).
The top EU destinations for investments raised between 2020-2021 are Spain ($974B), UK ($909B), Germany ($245B).
That’s impressive, considering that for a long time the European proptech giants were ‘locked’ in their national market. Due to different industry standards, legislation, and processes. As a result, the very prospective proptech markets in Europe couldn’t cross the borders of their own country. Unlike the American or Asian market, the European proptech market is not standardized. Instead, it is extremely defragmented, consisting of separate ecosystems in different countries. Despite that, according to PitchBook, now the EU real estate tech market is growing even faster compared to the proptech market in North America.
In between 2022 and 2021, the most valuable proptech companies were The We Company ($1,100B), Better.com ($700B), Lendinvest ($682B), Glovo($649B), Loft ($525), etc.
Is Airbnb a Proptech Company?
Airbnb is a vivid example of a proptech online real estate marketplace. Today, the market valuation of this shared economy platform is $30 billion (source). The success of the Airbnb model has inspired many other platforms. As a result, there are now many new real estate marketplace platforms on the global proptech market map, which have their own niche, but essentially work in the same way. Good examples are Spotahome, 9flats and Homaway (now Vrbo) – European rental platforms.
The platform provides users with access to various apartments, rooms, or even houses in 191 countries around the world in a flexible home-sharing format. On Airbnb, people can easily list, search and book accommodation online with the help of their mobile phones.
Looking for a Proptech Software Development Company?
Implementing innovation shoulder-to-shoulder with major industry players, like JLL, Hanna Commercial Real Estate, Cresa, and others for 26 years, Ascendix invested its best practices and industry expertise in the development of innovative proptech solutions for the real estate market.
Regardless of the niche you want to take on the real estate proptech market map, Ascendix may contribute to your growth by:
- providing access to the latest real estate technology innovations: custom-made & feature-rich software tailored to real estate
- make use of authoring solutions that have been tailored specifically for real estate professionals
- speeding up back-office processes and offloading your real estate workflow
- access to seasoned real estate consultants: understand how current and upcoming IT trends can impact your business
- straightening your existing technology team with real estate technology experts
- reduce costs and equip your team with up-to-date tools to make more deals with less stress and manual input
Ascendix builds effective digital real estate for different niches, domains, and various real estate players.
Andrew Stanton Executive Editor – moving property and proptech forward. PropTech-X
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