REAL ESTATE TECHNOLOGY PERSPECTIVES THAT COUNT

An Industry Partner

RET Ventures was created in 2017 in close collaboration with some of the most prominent REITs and private owner-operators of multifamily and single family properties in the United States. Along with our strategic partnerships, we had a unique mandate: identifying and nurturing companies that did not just have growth potential, but would tangibly address the very real technology and operational challenges that managers of rental real estate face.

Five years and 25 portfolio companies later, our approach has not changed. While we are opportunistic in assessing compelling solutions across the real estate spectrum, the vast majority of our efforts are focused on technologies that solve issues for rental operators — smart home technology, building-wide wifi, modular construction, fintech/insurtech solutions, and much more.

Growing Focus on ESG

Over the years, however, we’ve been spending more and more time on technologies that impact explicit “ESG” (environmental, social and governance)-related goals — and for good reason. The housing sector has a significant impact on society in terms of both its critical role in the lives of residents and its resource footprint. Many of our strategic investors as organizations are leaders among their peers, and set an example with respect to reducing energy and resource consumption, improving housing affordability and other environmental and social objectives. (It’s also worth noting that ESG efforts are also good business; according to a recent resident survey from RET strategic investor AMLI Residential, 59% of residents are open to paying a premium to live in a green community.)

To bring the collective insight and problem solving of the RET group to address these opportunities, we started an ESG working group made up of more than 20 leading multifamily and single-family rental executives. In this working group, which has been meeting regularly for over a year, we have focused entirely on identifying and evaluating pressing needs within the existing proptech ecosystem, and evaluating which technologies could make a real impact.

Launching a Dedicated Fund

And now, we’re excited to announce that we’re taking our ESG commitment to the next level with the official launch of a “Housing Impact Fund,” which will invest exclusively in technologies that address the pain points and opportunities identified via the group’s work. The vehicle — which is targeting an $80 million capital raise and is initially backed by two of our most prominent Strategic Investors in UDR and Essex Property Trust — will fuel the identification and growth of ESG solutions for the housing industry, including technologies that improve the environmental and social outcomes of new developments and existing properties.

Of the 25 investments we’ve made out of our core funds, many already address pressing ESG pain points, including Conservation Labs, Falkbuilt, Juno, Measurabl, PassiveLogic, and SmartRent. This new fund will allow us to delve even more deeply into this expanding space, and bring aligned capital, development partners and customers to startups that will help our many partners create more sustainable outcomes at their properties. Some of the areas within the ESG spectrum we hope to address include housing affordability, building health and safety, resident well-being, building energy reduction / reducing carbon emissions, efficient waste management, and ESG data collection and reporting.

As the real estate sector takes an increasingly visible role in shaping its impact on both the environment and society at large, we hope that the deployment of this fund will ultimately have an outsized positive impact for real estate operators, residents and other stakeholders.

Data is King

In recent years, big data has emerged as an important tool for guiding operational efficiencies and driving increased ROI across all business sectors — and real estate has been no exception. From uncovering granular geographic insights to fine-tuning risk analysis and mitigation and beyond, the application of data in the real estate industry has propelled significant, market-wide improvements.

As the single-family rental (SFR) sector continues to gain momentum ($50 billion of capital is chasing SFR, more than a tenfold increase since 2020), industry experts are increasingly interested in how the practice of leveraging data-backed insights can improve operations for institutional investors throughout SFR. Many SFR investors are new to the sector, and are grappling with the reality that the complexities of acquiring and managing SFR properties is different than those associated with the multifamily complexes that have traditionally received the bulk of institutional capital. While operating in this unfamiliar territory, investors are increasingly looking for tools that will give them access to datasets and data science that supports the intelligent deployment of their capital. Enter, Picket Homes.

Transforming the SFR Experience for Investors and Renters

RET Ventures’ recent role in leading Picket’s Series A round is the latest in the firm’s ongoing investment efforts focused on rent tech solutions for the SFR market, demonstrated by previous investments made earlier this year in platforms such as Lula and Azibo.

Built with advanced data science, institutional-quality automated modeling, machine learning, and local market data, Picket’s Decision Science platform helps investors acquire and manage SFR buildings across regions, providing a personalized experience based on each investor’s unique ’buy box’. This acquisition technology works to instantly identify listings on the multiple listing services (MLS) that fit users’ specific investment criteria, subsequently delivering custom return analyses for all of the potential assets identified. Beyond this platform, Picket offers a data-backed property management software that fuels cross-market efficiency and automation to create a better renting and living experience.

Through these integrated tech solutions, SFR owners and operators are given the necessary insights to improve quality-of-life for residents, accelerate portfolio growth, and streamline portfolio management. The company’s innovative technologies are supported by a seasoned team dedicated to upgrading the SFR rental process; together, these resources have powered the company’s explosive growth — annualized revenue has grown more than 35% month over month for each of the last 12 months and exceeded 50% month-over-month growth over the last six. The demand for tech that strengthens the investment and management of SFR assets for institutional players is clear, and Picket has emerged as the leading solution.

An Informed Future for SFR Investment

Our investment in Picket comes amidst a tangible market shift driving an influx of institutional capital into the SFR sector. The firm is uniquely and strategically positioned to support this transition and improve the SFR experience for all stakeholders by immediately identifying key opportunities and risks through a data-backed process.

We are eager to work in partnership with the Picket team to offer and expand upon this revolutionary solution for top SFR operations, and we are confident in the platform’s potential to create major efficiencies for the entire industry.

The secret sauce driving RET Ventures’ success is our collaborative, innovative ecosystem of real estate technology solutions and multifamily operators. These industry leaders have worked alongside our team to develop and deploy leading tech platforms across the residential rental market for nearly five years.

In a new video, RET’s John Helm, Christopher Yip and Fred Tuomi are joined by some of the proptech and multifamily experts from across the RET ecosystem to discuss how a unified approach to vetting, testing, and improving rental technology is driving growth and uncovering opportunities across the rental industry.

In recent years, there has been an influx of digital solutions aimed at targeting pain points and improving processes across the rental real estate industry. With the implementation of these technologies, stakeholders at all levels — including investors, owners and operators, and residents — have reaped the benefits of greater convenience, connectivity, and accessibility throughout the rental lifecycle, from prospect viewing to seamless lease re-signing.

In the above video, RET was joined by proptech leaders and multifamily experts to discuss some of the growing rent tech solutions that are working collaboratively to revolutionize processes across the sector, further exploring the trends that are driving innovation.

Accelerated by the conditions of the pandemic, the trend toward self-leasing has emerged as a major shift for the multifamily sector in recent years — and it shows no signs of slowing any time soon. Self-leasing technologies have proven to be powerful tools for improving the rental process for prospects and owner-operators alike, reducing the operational costs incurred by leasing teams, while providing prospective renters with a more flexible, seamless, and convenient rental experience.

In this new video, John Helm and Fred Tuomi were joined by proptech and multifamily experts from the RET community to discuss how this trend is expected to develop and continue transforming the sector in years to come.

As tech innovation continues expanding globally and across industries, leaders throughout multifamily and SFR are increasingly turning their attention toward innovative, efficient tech solutions that drive operational improvements. For property managers, leasing teams, residents and other stakeholders, these digital platforms — commonly referred to as “rent tech” — are supporting more connected, convenient processes throughout the rental lifecycle.

In the above video, RET’s John Helm, Christopher Yip and Fred Tuomi are joined by proptech and multifamily experts from across the RET community to discuss opportunities for collaboration and growth within the rent tech sector.