RE Tech. Zillow & Move Get Hot, Everything Glows.
Crunchbase posted an article today covering the hot investing activity surrounding RE tech. One of the quotes in the post could probably be found in just about every story that has been written on the subject since 1998 or so.
“Real estate is a super attractive industry to be building tech in,” says RRE Ventures‘ Steve Schlafman, “it drives a huge part of the economy, and it’s generally antiquated.”
It would be good for a chuckle, but it’s “generally” true. To be fair, there have been some technology initiatives that have moved the technology needle. IDX comes to mind. Implemented correctly, it’s been a game changer for brokers and agents that have invested in platforms that take advantage of broker reciprocity. It’s pretty evident that the recent activity is due to the large exits taking place at the top of the food chain (Move & Trulia acquisitions specifically). That’s good for the guys down at the bottom eating Ramen & trying to scare up a million or two.
I often find myself scratching my head when the word innovation is used in the RE Tech space. That said, there’s a great deal of opportunity to be had for the smart money out there. If you know about somebody doing something truly innovative in the way of RE Technology, do tell. Maybe we can write a post that will help them land the $$ they need to get it launched.
Update 11/20 WSJ writes on what Spencer Rascoff is calling the “Zillow Effect”
Drew Meyers
Posted at 17:29h, 28 OctoberWe’ve probably got another 10 years of RE being antiquated.
Seriously though. Is any industry NOT broken and antiquated? http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2013/05/25/is-any-industry-not-broken/
Bryn Kaufman
Posted at 20:02h, 29 OctoberI don’t understand the antiquated remark. Maybe because my setup does not seem antiquated to me.
We are a virtual office, so no office overhead, we are 100% paperless, even our commission checks are wired, we sign everything online and print nothing, we have 3 virtual assistants working from the Philippines helping with transactions, we have a good website, we use numerous software packages to run the company, and our agents all have smart phones and tablets.
What is antiquated?
Sam DeBord
Posted at 11:10h, 30 OctoberYou’re nowhere near representative of the industry, Bryn. 😉
Ani Rangarajan
Posted at 18:50h, 03 NovemberCouldn’t agree more, Michael. Would love to tell you more about ReaLync if you’re interested. ReaLync is an innovative web/mobile platform that enables live, interactive virtual property tours between agents and clients. Could be a real game changer for touring real estate.