REAL ESTATE TECHNOLOGY PERSPECTIVES THAT COUNT

Last month, RET Ventures hosted its annual Multifamily Kickoff Summit at Blueprint in Las Vegas. The event brought together leading multifamily owners and operators, technology investors, and startup executives for an afternoon of timely discussions exploring shifting industry priorities, innovations shaping the future of the space, and market dynamics influencing technology creation, demand, and adoption.

To start the Summit, RET Vice President Jameson Hartman led a conversation titled “Doing More with Less: The ROI Imperative in Multifamily Technology,” alongside expert panelists Christi Weinstein, COO at BH Properties, Elik Jaeger, CEO & Founder at SuiteSpot, Cameron Skaff, Director of Client Strategy at Funnel, and David Walther, CRO at Asset Living.

The panel explored how multifamily owners approach technology decisions in an environment where efficiency, cost savings, and ROI are front and center. Panelists discussed the growing push toward centralization, highlighting how the most successful organizations are finding ways to achieve more with leaner teams by strategically deploying tech like automation and AI. A key takeaway from the conversation was that the true ROI of a solution depends not only on financial savings but on how well solutions align with existing workflows and empower teams to operate more effectively.

Next, RET Vice President Jaymie Fung Bingham moderated “From Data to Action: Bridging the Gap for True AI Integration,” wit insights from David Stifter, CEO & Co-Founder at PredictAP, Scott Pechersky, CTO at RPM Living, and Ian Andrews, SVP at Avanti Residential.

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The discussion centered on how the industry can move beyond surface-level AI adoption to achieve real operational impact. Panelists agreed that while AI has made significant progress in real estate, true success requires connecting insights to execution. They explored how better data integration, workflow automation, and inter-system communication are essential for making AI actionable and turning analysis into tangible results.

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Rounding out the event, RET Managing Partner Christopher Yip led “Investing in the Future of Multifamily Technology,” alongside panelists Kyle Johnson, VP at Volition Capital, Steve Biringer, VP of Strategy at AppFolio, Roman Pedan, CEO & Founder at Kasa, and Brandon Tobman, CEO at GetCovered.

This conversation offered a candid look at how investors and founders are navigating a maturing proptech market. The panel examined the nuances of investing in multifamily technology, where long sales cycles, integration requirements, and operator-driven feedback loops shape valuation and product development. Panelists agreed that the most promising startups are those solving real operational pain points, building measurable value for owners, and demonstrating the discipline to scale sustainably in a tighter capital environment.

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In addition to the discussions at the Multifamily Summit, RET Principal Aaron Ru joined Blueprint’s SFR & BTR Summit to moderate “Scaling Smarter: Unlocking Operational Efficiency in SFR” with experts Bo Lais, CEO & Co-Founder at Lula, Jackie Lee, CEO at Brandywine Homes USA, Alex Fahsel, CEO & Co-Founder at Property Shield, and Ed Wagner, Sr. Director of Engineering at Invitation Homes.

The session explored how technology is helping SFR operators scale portfolios efficiently while improving the resident experience. Panelists shared how innovations in maintenance, leasing, and acquisition are driving performance gains across geographically dispersed assets, underscoring how tech-enabled operations are essential for the sector’s continued growth.

The Bottom Line: As the multifamily and SFR sectors continue to evolve, one theme was clear throughout the conference: technology adoption is entering a more focused, results-driven phase. Operators and investors are looking beyond hype to find tools that deliver measurable ROI, streamline operations, and enhance the resident experience. RET Ventures remains committed to driving that progress by bridging the gap between innovation and real-world application, helping shape the technologies that are defining the future of the real estate industry.

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Today’s real estate technology market is highly saturated, and many startups must compete for attention. Through our deep industry experience and strong relationships with leading owners and operators, we cut through the noise to back solutions that address real operational pain points and deliver immediate, measurable impact.

Here are a few of our recent investments that are transforming the real estate industry:

• Billee: An AI-driven utility management platform purpose-built for multifamily operators and property managers, overhauling outdated manual processes, improving billing accuracy, and unlocking significant cost savings.
  
  • Why RET Invested: RET Ventures backed Billee because we believe the utility billing sector is ripe for disruption and Billee’s agile, AI-first solution is perfectly positioned to succeed. Their experienced management team, with a strong track record of building and scaling successful tech solutions, is focused on top-tier customer service and building a product that solves property managers' problems through automation, transparency, and accuracy.
  • Billee in Action: Early adopters of the platform have experienced up to 52% in cost savings and avoidance. In one early deployment, Billee proactively identified a critical billing error that resulted in over $200,000 of incremental recovery.
• Crew: A home services platform designed to simplify property management by providing trash-can-to-curb services and on-demand trash removal for short-term rental owners and operators. The company, born out of founder Cameron Lam’s personal frustrations as a short-term rental owner, combines professional services with the flexibility of gig work.
  
  • Why RET Invested: RET Ventures recognized the immense operational value Crew was already delivering to short-term rental owners. The startup’s early traction is remarkable, and the platform has the potential to become a foundational service across a range of property types, including multifamily.
  • Crew in Action: Crew, which served just 100 properties at this time last year, now services thousands of short-term rental units nationwide. The platform currently has a strong presence in 240 cities across 30 key metro areas.
• Property Shield: An AI-enabled platform that empowers multifamily and SFR owners and operators to prevent fraud and protect their assets. Helping detect fraudulent activity from fake listings to incidents like squatting or vandalism, Property Shield provides portfolio-wide risk scoring to help owners prioritize resources, reduce losses, and build brand trust.
  
  • Why RET Invested: Cybercrime in real estate is on the rise and poses a significant threat to owners and operators. RET Ventures backed Property Shield because of its ability to turn data into actionable, portfolio-wide insights and the measurable impact it delivers in preventing fraud and reducing risks for owners.
  • Property Shield in Action: Property Shield has helped clients save over $1 billion for U.S. renters and homebuyers.

RET Ventures recently welcomed its extensive network of multifamily, single-family rental (SFR), and real estate tech professionals to Park City for the seventh annual RET Summit. With 100+ strategic investors and 25+ portfolio companies in attendance, the three-day event underscored how quickly innovation is accelerating across the industry and highlighted the biggest challenges owners and operators are most focused on addressing today.

Key insights from the event include:

AI Continues to Reshape the Space: The real estate industry is adopting AI quickly, and innovations are moving from experimentation to real, practical use cases. For owners and operators, the focus is on AI-driven tools that support centralization and help teams do more with less through automation. What felt like “frontier days” a year ago is now embedding itself into daily workflows.
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• Where it’s working: Operators are seeing measurable gains from tools like leasing assistants that field prospect questions, conversational bots that handle resident correspondence, and “copilots” that can take on 80–90% of analyst workloads. These tools are acting less as human replacements and more like “super-analysts,” augmenting staff capacity and improving outcomes.
• Why it matters: Nearly every new proptech solution now has an AI component. Lower startup costs and faster iteration cycles mean more companies are hitting the market, but differentiation will come from trust, accuracy, and the ability to plug into existing workflows.
• RET’s take: RET is leaning into AI as a core driver of change, but with discipline. We look for solutions built on strong data foundations, with a clear ROI for owners and operators, and the ability to scale beyond pilots.

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‍Streamlining the Tech Stack is a Top Priority: After years of rapid adoption post-pandemic, many owners are left with a patchwork of point solutions, each with its own separate pricing and platform. The result is redundancy, rising costs, and “app fatigue” across teams.

• Where it’s working: The focus is shifting from experimenting with dozens of pilots to consolidating around solutions that integrate seamlessly and provide immediate value. The days of layering tool after tool are giving way to smarter, bundled approaches.
  
• Why it matters: Owners are now laser-focused on efficiency and cost reduction. The companies that succeed won’t be shiny point solutions, but those that are embedded into workflows, boost efficiency, and deliver consistent ROI. As consolidation in the market picks up, operators are narrowing their tech stacks and doubling down on trusted partners.
• RET’s take: RET is focused on backing companies that “own the workflow” and minimize change management — platforms that easily weave into the fabric of operations. These solutions are up and running with limited costs or delays and become indispensable, streamlining tasks across portfolios and reducing costs while improving the user experience for teams and residents alike.

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Resident Experience Cannot be an Afterthought: From apartment search to lease renewal, renters encounter too many steps and disconnected systems. Owners see this friction as a key barrier to retention and a critical area for improvement.

• Where it’s working: Operators are streamlining day-to-day interactions with residents through tools that centralize maintenance requests, amenity scheduling, billing, and other communications. Automated systems can now handle routine inquiries, while dashboards give staff a single view of resident activity, enabling faster issue resolution and more consistent service.
• Why it matters: With rent growth slower than in past years, renewal and retention are top priorities. Operators want technologies that make the renter journey seamless — fewer roadblocks when finding an apartment, smoother onboarding, and easier renewals. A positive resident experience is now viewed as a direct driver of financial performance.
• RET’s take: RET is backing companies that streamline touchpoints across the renter lifecycle, making interactions more efficient without disrupting residents’ lives. This means eliminating redundant steps – for example, using back-end insights so a resident who has already been screened for leasing does not need to be screened again for renters insurance. In today’s environment, the winners will be solutions that deliver convenience, build trust, and strengthen the long-term resident–operator relationship.

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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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We asked a few CEOs from our startups to share their outlook on the real estate technology industry in 2025. Here’s what they had to say:

2025: The Year of PropTech Maturation — Roman Pedan, Founder and CEO of Kasa 

“2024 was about “survive ‘til ‘25”— but now, PropTech startups that battle-tested through four years of volatility will emerge stronger than ever. These survivors have proven their worth, delivering tangible value despite market headwinds. In 2025, we expect many PropTech players to shift from 'startup' to 'proven', gaining trust from real estate institutions and driving real results for investors.”

Centralization Is Table Stakes — Tyler Christiansen, CEO at Funnel

“In 2025, centralization isn't just a competitive edge — it's the cost of entry. Property managers (especially third parties) are under pressure to drive efficiency and consistency across diverse portfolios — and centralization is how they're doing it. With the right tech and strategy, owners and managers are centralizing core functions, increasing margins, and providing differentiation of their services through this new operating model."

Technology Solutions for Operational Inefficiencies in High Demand — Bobbi Steward, CEO and Founder at Revyse

“Technology that unifies operational data and financial forecasting will be coveted. We see a growing appetite for platforms that integrate contracts, budgets, and spend forecasting in one place – helping operators make faster, smarter decisions amid uncertain market conditions."

Data-Driven Operational Decisions Take Center Stage — Elik Jaeger, CEO at SuiteSpot

“Data will become the multifamily industry's universal language. Winners will seamlessly integrate AI into workflows while centralizing fragmented operations – driving both cost savings and resident satisfaction.”

Placing Owners in the Driver’s Seat with Smarter Tools — Rowland Hobbs, CEO and Co-Founder at Stake

“With flat rent growth in many markets predicted in 2025 and increasing regulatory pressure, more managers will decrease reliance on large revenue management players. Advancements in AI, the cloud and a focus on resident behavioral changes are making it easier to develop in-house solutions.”

Improving Renter Ease with 'All in One' Solutions — Brandon Tobman, CEO of Get Covered

"As owners and operators are looking for a more streamlined experience for their renters, financial products are going to be a driving factor. Residents don't want five logins for five different products. The future will be a unified solution that offers all of the products in a simple workflow to drive higher adoption."

The End of an Era for Extend and Pretend — Georgianna W. Oliver, Founder and CEO of Tour24

“Pretend and extend is over. Rather than waiting for the interest rate environment to improve, company leaders are actively looking to streamline operations, boost efficiencies and eliminate activities that are distracting from their core business.”

2024 brought volatility to the property technology sector, particularly as economic uncertainty continued to weigh on the market and stall activity. Despite some areas of the industry facing the brunt of these challenges, we also saw a slight uptick in venture investment and the continued growth of several emerging technologies, all of which we suspect will drive the industry forward in the years to come.

While market uncertainty persists, RET remains optimistic on the market’s future performance and expects to see these key trends take flight in 2025: 

Venture Capital’s Poised to Bounce Back

• While venture capital investment faced extremely slow activity in 2023, the Federal Reserve’s September interest rate cuts helped improve investment activity in 2024. With interest rates having declined and now holding steady — providing access to cheaper capital — and the real estate and tech industries beginning to stabilize, we anticipate this trend will continue in 2025.

From A Tight IPO Market and Tightening Liquidity Emerges Opportunity for PE

• Private equity continues to have a record amount of dry powder (~$1 trillion). As today’s market faces a narrow IPO market and shrinking liquidity, private equity firms sitting on abundant cash will fill in the gaps — providing capital to high-quality investments.
• Specifically, early-stage investors will be better insulated from pricing pressures — as they benefit from low entry prices — while conversely, later-stage will be more exposed to down rounds and discount pricing.

AI to Continue Astronomic Rise in Real Estate Tech

• AI is ubiquitous, permeating nearly every industry, and has long been a dominant trend within the real estate technology space. Capable of performing various operational tasks from managing resident experience to anticipating maintenance needs, AI’s impact is expected to grow significantly.
• As the AI market becomes more crowded, however, low-value, shallow solutions that lack strong ROI will see pushback. AI solutions that rise above will be those that provide a clear operational return to owners.

From Point Solutions to Integrated Platforms

• In today’s market, owners are prioritizing mission-critical software infrastructure (i.e. shifting away from point solutions to focus on integrations) that provide seamless onboarding and immediate operational benefits.

Construction Tech will Pick Up Steam

• Over the last several years, the construction industry has faced significant labor inefficiencies. In the face of these challenges comes an opportunity for emerging construction technology solutions, specifically, those geared toward improving efficiency and centralizing project management.
• As the industry continues to struggle to make real estate development deals profitable, centralized solutions that can reduce waste will be high in demand among developers in the year ahead.

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