It’s been a remarkable four months since joining the Building Engines team as we work to bring innovative property operations management technology to all corners of the Commercial Real Estate market. Driven by thousands of incredibly amazing customers and an industry-leading solution, it’s been an exciting journey thus far to say the least.
In fact, our organization is growing in leaps and bounds (we are hiring) and I want to dig into some of the reasons why all eyes are on the real estate technology market.
Hint: It’s gonna be big.
Here’s the perspective from where I sit:
1. Real Estate is a $217 Trillion (yes, Trillion with a “T”) Market worldwide
Real Estate is the largest asset class in the world bar none. At $217 Trillion, it’s value is nearly 3x world GDP. We interact with the Real Estate market continually throughout our day starting from when we first wake up in the morning in our homes, to the offices where we work at during the day, to the stores where we shop, to the restaurants where we eat. The real estate market is everywhere, including where you are right now!
2. The industry is coming out of the Dark Ages
According to a 2015 report by Altus Group, one-third of the Commercial Real Estate industry is using spreadsheets as its primary tool for asset and portfolio management. If you think an industry that’s been operating with spreadsheets for years must be ripe with opportunities to improve, you’d be right. Industry tech adoption is low, which makes the upside enormous.
3. Investment in Real Estate tech companies grew by 85% last year
According to Real Estate industry giant CBRE, more than $1.8B was invested in 100+ tech companies in the first half of 2016, a staggering 85% increase from the same period a year before. New Real Estate tech funds are announcing new capital raises and investments every day, including Fifth Wall Ventures, MetaProp, Thrive Capital and Camber Creek (disclosure: Camber Creek is an investor in my company). The new funding coming into the Real Estate tech industry is creating a bloom of innovative new products and services for buyers and creating thousands of new jobs.
4. Investment in Real Estate tech is paying off
Four notable real estate tech unicorns were minted in 2016 (Compass, OpenDoor, SMSAssist and Homelink). With so much upside and strong investment tailwinds, 2017 and beyond will continue to see additional real estate tech companies achieve unicorn status. Success will lead to more success as investors take their payouts and redeploy their capital into new, exciting Real Estate tech startups.
At Building Engines, we’re a group of 100 smart, innovative and client driven people who are looking to change the industry. If you or someone you know in the Boston area is looking for their next great opportunity, we’re hiring in Sales, Marketing, Engineering, Product Management and Client Success.
