PropTech (property technology also known as real estate technology) startups are targeting every part of the real estate market chain, and changing how the industry works. Various sources of investments have supported PropTech companies, including seed funding and venture capital funds.
Advanced technologies in the residential real estate industry aim to reduce friction in buying and selling a home. Some of these solutions include mortgage loans and title insurance, and many of them have seen a spike in demand due to the pandemic. Though Leptonic, Inc is a PropTech startup that is formalizing the micro real estate space (vending machines, EV chargers, and other machines on CRE that generate revenue) this post is about the well established players in the PropTech space.
| Company | Founders | Location |
| Zillow | Rich Barton and Lloyd Frink | Seattle, WA |
| OpenDoor | Eric Wu | San Francisco, CA |
| Zumper | Anthemos Georgiades | San Francisco, CA |
| Pacaso | Austin Allison | San Francisco, CA |
| Reonomy | Rich Sarkis and Bill Okun | New York, NY |
| Divvy | Adena Hefets | San Francisco, CA |
| Ascendix Technologies | Wes Snow and Todd Terry | Dallas, Texas |
| Kin | Sean Harper | Chicago, IL |
| HomeViews | Rory Cramer | London, UK |
| HomeLight | Drew Uher | San Francisco, CA |
Zillow
Zillow is a leading global real estate startup founded in 2004. It is the most visited real estate website in the US.
The company’s mission is to simplify the buying and selling of real estate. With more than 120 million active listings, it is the leading platform for renting and buying properties.
With various features, including 3D map view, on-zoom listings, and interactive graphical listings, Zillow is a must-have for real estate investors.
With over 120 million active listings and various tools, it is the most visited real estate website in the US. Additionally, it offers a seamless end-to-end service.
Customers can quickly obtain pre-approved loans for their next home purchase through its affiliate lender, Zillow Home Loans.
OpenDoor
OpenDoor is one of many San Francisco-based proptech startups founded in 2014. It connects buyers and sellers of residential real estate through a platform that simplifies buying and selling.
The Open Door model is a well-designed and straightforward way to sell a property. It allows sellers to get a better price without spending a lot of time and money on marketing their properties.
After preparing the property for sale, a leading PropTech company prepares it for listing. It then becomes an iBuyer and offers various options for buyers.
Zumper
Founded in 2012, Zumper is a leading real estate technology company that helps users find available apartments and houses in the United States.
The core features that Zumper offers include real estate rental, online booking, electronic payments, availability management, and search result map view.
According to a report by GrandView Research, the global vacation rental platforms market was valued at $87.61 billion in 2022. This growing market is driven by the increasing number of people using rental software while traveling or relocating.
Despite established players such as Airbnb and Booking.com, starting a new rental software company shouldn’t be a daunting task.
The goal of Zumper is to transform the vacation rental industry by developing innovative features and improving the customer experience.
Pacaso
Pacaso is one of many recent PropTech startups focused on subdividing vacation homes, and it has raised over $90 million in funding. It allows owners to get a better price without spending a dime on marketing their properties.
It currently operates in 12 markets and plans to expand in the next eight months. It charges a 12% fee for each purchase and a $100 monthly fee to the owner.
Pacaso offers an ownership platform that enables people to buy and sell second homes. It connects them with potential buyers through an online marketplace.
Reonomy
Reonomy is the leading provider of commercial real estate data and solutions. Its solutions enable financial institutions and real estate investors to identify and manage their assets.
The software used by PropTech companies is composed of two main components: the Big Data Network and the Artificial Intelligence algorithm.
The latter uses AI technology to identify commercial real estate properties. Real estate investors and managers use its unique identifier, the Reonomy ID, to determine their assets.
Armed with Reonomy’s robust products, commercial real estate professionals can quickly discover new opportunities and improve their research processes.
Divvy
Divvy is a tech-based real estate platform that enables people to buy homes for rent-to-own. It selects the best properties and provides users with a jump start on owning a house, one of many great ideas for proptech startups.
With Divvy, people can build equity credits in their homes by choosing their property. After they become mortgage-eligible, they can buy the house or sell it.
Because Divvy will own the home, they ensure that it’s in good physical shape for the long term. Divvy also take care of the inspection and closing costs.
Ascendix Technologies
Ascendrix is a Dallas-based company specializing in the custom development of CRM software. Their team of developers and consultants have extensive experience in implementing and maintaining CRM solutions.
Since 1996, the company has become a global provider of technology solutions for the real estate industry.
Aside from providing software solutions for managing and selling commercial real estate, they also offer a variety of products for this industry.
With over 25 years of combined experience in the real estate industry, the team at Ascendix Technologies has the expertise to develop and implement commercial real estate software.
Kin Insurance
Kin offers a variety of home insurance plans designed to protect properties in areas prone to natural disasters. These plans can help minimize the impact of these types of disasters.
Kin’s goal is to provide the best possible insurance for every new normal. As an insurance company, Kin is built to meet the challenges of the future while helping its customers keep up with the changes in the world.
Because of their direct-to-consumer model provides affordable insurance without sacrificing coverage in areas most affected by climate change.
Kin is fully licensed and can provide its customers with the financial strength to handle the unforeseen losses caused by natural disasters.
HomeViews
HomeViews strive to provide helpful and trustworthy reviews to help make that decision easier. They are a website that offers reviews for residential properties. These reviews are usually focused on the quality of the apartment or the location of the building.
Through their platform, they can help the developers and the management of the properties improve their brand reputation.
Working with HomeViews, companies can gather and analyze the feedback of residents to identify areas where they can improve and compete better.
The ability to display reviews on a company’s website can boost its conversion rates by up to 270%.
HomeLight
Homelight connects buyers and sellers through its platform. It also offers home loans with no up-front fees. HomeLight aims to provide a better home buying experience by removing the stress and uncertainty involved in the process.
The company has been on the Fast 50 list for the third year. Its annual revenue was expected to triple to over $300 million in 2021. As of November 2021, the company has reached over $1.6 billion in valuations.
HomeLight’s goal is to create a new way to transact by offering financial products designed to meet the needs of top agents, homebuyers, and sellers.
Wrapping Up PropTech Startups
These are certainly the big players in the PropTech space as there are many much smaller companies that have been around for a few years or have just recently started up. At the very least it’s good to know the big players in PropTech, and we’ll dive deeper into newcomers in future posts.
