^{Investing in the next generation of} Real Estate Technology

RET Ventures recently welcomed its network of multifamily, single-family rental (SFR) and real estate technology leaders to Park City for the seventh annual RET Summit. The event once again brought together investors, operators and entrepreneurs for three days of discussion and insight into the technologies revolutionizing the real estate industry.

This year’s conversation underscored just how quickly innovation is accelerating across the sector. From the expanding role of artificial intelligence to new approaches in centralization, data integration and resident experience, the pace of change is only increasing, and the collective RET network is playing a central role in driving this transformation. The Summit offered a unique forum for operators to share operational perspectives, and for startups to showcase how they are solving the industry’s most common challenges.

As always, the Summit highlighted the power of collaboration – demonstrating how insight from leading owners and operators can translate to industry-wide progress. We look forward to continuing this momentum in the year ahead as we work with our investors and portfolio companies to shape the future of real estate technology.

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Real estate technology has faced some growing pains of late, but these challenges also highlight the sector’s potential for continued evolution and innovation. While the struggles of a few high-profile startups have sparked questions, many sub-categories of real estate tech remain strong, and are helping reshape the industry in meaningful ways. These include:

Resident Self-service

• What it is: Tech that empowers residents. Self-service technologies eliminate friction points associated with leasing, WiFi setup, utility setup, etc., by bypassing middlemen and putting residents in the driver’s seat.  
• Why it’s hot: Self-service helps both owners and residents, especially in a post-COVID world where flexibility is king.
• Case Study: Tour24 allows owners to create a curated self-guided tour experience. This lets residents conduct tours at their convenience – including after hours and on weekends and holidays.
  • It gives owners insights into how tours are performing, enhancing the leasing process while centralizing operations.
  • Tour24’s software revenue has grown 75% YoY.

Sustainability

• What it is: Technology that helps monitor and optimize building resource efficiency, which can often lower electricity, heating, water, and waste bills.
• Why it’s hot: Operators are pursuing efficiencies in every aspect of their operations. That extends to resource efficiency. Many ESG technologies present major cost-saving opportunities, yielding a strong ROI.
• Case Study: Parity is a remote HVAC optimization and service company for multifamily and hospitality. It manages the daily performance of HVAC systems by automatically optimizing control adjustments in real-time.
  • By limiting energy waste across properties, Parity improves building efficiency and guarantees savings back to owners with payback as little as 2 years.
  • Parity successfully closed a $20M Series B this past July to support market expansion efforts.

Artificial Intelligence

• What it is: Tech that utilizes generative AI and machine learning across a wide range of different applications
• Why it’s hot: The AI trend is here to stay, and these tools are poised to make a tremendous impact on operations — from resident communications to market analysis to back-office work.
• Case Study: PredictAP, a machine-learning-enabled invoice ingestion and coding solution for real estate accounts payable, leverages AI and historical invoice data to code new invoices more accurately and efficiently.
  • The platform reduces the time needed to process each invoice by 80-90%.
  • PredictAP has grown recognized revenue 250% YoY.

As venture investors, we’re obsessed with figuring out which companies will be the bright spots in the next few years. Typically, the perfect startup blends innovation and functionality, which for us means high-potential startups that meet the needs of our strategic investors. We favor companies with:

Easy Owner Implementation

• Cost savings are paramount. Owners are deterred from adopting technology with high upfront costs or lengthy onboarding that requires reconfiguration of their tech stack.
• We favor solutions that are no- or low-cost for the owner, both in terms of pricing and the load internal teams have to take on.
• In the RET Ecosystem: GetCovered, an insurtech company that streamlines the purchase and tracking of property and casualty insurance, has a free-to-owner model – and it's working.
  • Not only does the product provide a valuable service, it incurs no costs for owners — in fact, it gives them a new revenue stream. It also takes less than one day to deploy.

Seamless Integration into Existing Workflows

• Inertia is real - operators do not like to change how internal teams execute daily tasks. They want tools that fit seamlessly into existing workflows while providing superior outcomes
• Startups that minimize the disruption of existing workflows and create new efficiencies consistently outperform more disruptive solutions.
• In the RET Ecosystem:
  • Falkbuilt leverages tech to make prefab interior walls offsite. The company intentionally aligns with conventional construction methods, making installation intuitive and seamless for trade workers on site. Falkbuilt also virtually eliminates on-site waste, making it easier for boots-on-the-ground teams to complete their jobs.
  • Turno connects with short-term rental calendars to automatically schedule and delegate cleaning services. It works alongside Airbnb and other rental sites without altering the posting or booking process, saving hosts time by removing the hassle of coordinating with cleaners directly.

Clear ROI

• In theory, most people like radical new technologies with revolutionary potential.
• But in an uncertain economy, owners favor tech that provides demonstrable ROI. Products with obvious returns – cost cutting, time savings, new revenue streams – naturally experience more success at this stage in the cycle.
• In the RET Ecosystem: GiGstreem installs and operates ubiquitously available WiFi in multifamily buildings and semi-public infrastructure to allow ease of access, lower costs, and better performance. The company helps generate additional revenue for multifamily owners while streamlining WiFi set-up and service for residents.
  • Owners are realizing an uplift in NOI per unit of $20-$40 with returns on capital invested north of 20%.