In the early months of the global COVID-19 pandemic the real estate industry was one of many sectors that were negatively impacted, with restrictions on movement in many areas of the world resulted in fewer people buying and selling homes and commercial properties.
Proptech was one area of the real estate industry that suffered, particularly in the commercial sector. Commercial real estate proptech venture capital investment dropped by 80% in 2020 compared to the previous year, while residential real estate proptech investment fell by less than 10%. However, throughout 2021 both sectors have seen an uplift as markets being to reopen and the global property market recovers.
Ryan Mahoney of Dubai, UAE is a property professional who monitors the markets for proptech and other relevant developments. You can learn more about the benefits of buying a property in Dubai in 2021 by watching the embedded short video.
Venture Capital Investment Increases
As property markets around the world are not only returning to pre-pandemic levels but also exceeding them, venture capital investment in commercial real estate is following suit.
In the first half of 2021, there was approximately $2.6 billion in funding activity across the international CRE market. This places the sector on track to see 2021 as the second-most valuable year ever for VC investment in commercial real estate, according to data shared by PitchBook.
The residential sector, which historically has followed far behind its commercial cousin, has seen even more investment. By halfway through 2021, a record-breaking $6.2 billion in VC finding for residential real estate proptech investment had been recorded.
A definition of proptech for the commercial real estate sector can be seen in the PDF attachment to this post.
Real Estate Tech in Emerging Markets
Some of the typically most buoyant housing markets in the world have seen a strong recovery in terms of investment post-pandemic. However, emerging markets are also seeing a significant uptick in valuations. Quinto Andar and Loft, two property search platform and marketplace search providers based in Brazil, each achieved multibillion valuations in mega-rounds in 2021.
Post-pandemic proptech has opened up new opportunities for real estate agents and financers around the world, delivering solutions to meet changing consumer demand. Technology is being used to ensure compliance with new regulations and legislation as well as serve the end consumer.
The infographic attachment takes a look at the proptech industry in numbers.