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Proptech

This Month

The two-bedroom, ground-floor  apartment with no car parking at 2/1 Brookfield Court in Melbourne’s Hawthorn East sold by private treaty for $523,000.

TikTok video sells $523,000 unit, avoiding fees for official listing

A social media walk-through gave potential buyers a real feel for this apartment, without the gloss – or cost to vendor – of advertising on a property portal.

  • Michael Bleby

October

A real estate agent adjusting a sign in London. Rightmove is the biggest property listing platform in the United Kingdom.

News Corp chief says higher Rightmove bid would have been ‘foolhardy’

The Murdoch family-controlled giant owns 61 per cent of REA, which had lobbed a $12 billion takeover bid for its British rival. But the offer was rebuffed.

  • Hans van Leeuwen

September

Rightmove has received an offer from REA Group.

Will the Rightmove ‘fortress’ fall to REA’s siege?

Rightmove so dominates the UK market that its own CEO calls it ‘unassailable’. REA is hoping to seize the keys to the castle, but without tarnishing the prize.

  • Hans van Leeuwen
Real Flow’s bread and butter is loans for real estate agents secured against future receivable commissions.

This Trade Me-backed non-bank lender wants to consolidate the market

Real Flow Finance has tapped boutique advisory firm Ad Astra to help it find a capital partner.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport

August

Mastering the builders’ payments: Former Bendigo Bank CEO Mike Hirst is backing Paid, a start-up founded by Clint Bartram that protects payments for subcontractors.

The banker and the builders want subcontractors to get Paid

Former Bendigo Bank boss Mike Hirst has invested in an app that could protect subcontractors – and shake up the lucrative market for building contracts.

  • Michael Bleby
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June

Archistar founder Dr Benjamin Coorey is helping commercial and residential property developers make better decisions using AI.

Proptech Archistar rules off raise; NAB, Skip, PEXA top up

Archistar has now raised $40 million since it was founded in 2018.  

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
CBA has remained disciplined and kept its margins despite increasing competition.

CBA unveils aggressive business banking strategy to take on Macquarie

Among measures outlined by the bank is a plan to target $20 billion in deposits real estate agents hold for renters, a niche dominated by Macquarie.

  • Michael Bleby, James Eyers and Lucas Baird

April

Glenn King CEO

The one tip PEXA’s boss got about property investing

The former Geelong schoolboy says flexibility is crucial as he insulates the monopoly digital property exchange from the threat of greater competition.

  • Michael Bleby

January

Nicholas Moore-chaired start-up Willow back in front of investors

The company did not respond to our query about whether the raise was undertaken at a lower valuation.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport

November 2023

Stepping out: CBA is about to roll out a new rental payments platform.

CBA takes on Macquarie in $49b rental payments market

Falling home ownership is boosting the demand for rental properties – and that’s creating opportunity for services to support the rental sector.

  • Michael Bleby
Corrs Chambers Westgarth’s head of corporate Sandy Mak says closing deals remains challenging for many players.

REITs M&A set to pop off in 2024: Corrs predictions

The firm also has its viewfinder pointed at the resource and energy sectors – the most active for M&A over the past 12 months.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport

October 2023

Patrick Grove heads up one of South-East Asia’s leading internet groups, Catcha.

Patrick Grove-backed proptech seeks equity injection

Street Talk understands commercial property marketplace Sidespace is seeking a $2.5 million cash boost from new and existing investors. 

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport

September 2023

Better leasing: Charter Hall’s Ben Ellis and Rachael Cowper in the Charter Hall owned Pacific Square Shopping Centre in Maroubra.

Charter Hall halves the retail leasing pain

The ASX-listed landlord and developer identified 93 steps across 11 different systems to manage a retail lease. AI and automation changed that.

  • Michael Bleby
Rob Pradolin.

The new way to unlock ‘hundreds of millions’ for affordable housing

The first national platform for affordable housing would also show for the first time where around the country all the homes were located.

  • Michael Bleby

July 2023

Inspace chief executive Justin Liang.

Why Facebook’s co-founder has put $6m into this Aussie start-up

Australian proptech Inspace has banked $6 million from Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital Group and Australian VC firm Our Innovation Fund.

  • Campbell Kwan
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June 2023

Lendlease Australia head of sustainability Ann Austin.

Plan A not an option? Lendlease tackles Plan B with renewable diesel

Innovation doesn’t necessarily mean doing something no one has ever done before. It’s about doing something new in your local context.

  • Michael Bleby

May 2023

The 49-level, 65,000-square-metre Spire Warsaw tower, owned by investor Immofinanz, is one of the buildings in which Equiem operates as a result of its SpaceOS acquisition.

Equiem acquires SpaceOS platform for flexible working

As use of office space changes since the pandemic, the Australian software company has acquired a business with strength in a growing area.

  • Michael Bleby

February 2023

Cloudy, but diversifying: PEXA’s reliance on the domestic residential market is putting it under pressure to widen its sources of revenue.

PEXA seeks to diversify revenue amid ‘challenging’ housing market

The platform dominates the Australian residential market, but the current downturn shows that concentration needs to be balanced out by other activities.

  • Michael Bleby

January 2023

Bricks + Agent co-founder Jon Stul

Funding for profitless proptechs has ‘dried up’: entrepreneur

Fresh from securing a merger with a major property maintenance rival. Bricks + Agent co-founder Jon Stul says funding for proptech start-ups has dried up.

  • Larry Schlesinger

December 2022

Willow CEO Joshua Ridley has moved to Dallas to be closer to the group’s biggest customers.

Nicholas Moore-chaired proptech Willow fires 99 workers to curb costs

Property and infrastructure software start-up Willow, which is backed by ex Macquarie Group boss Nicholas Moore, has laid off 22 per cent of it full-time staff and contractors amid the technology sector’s valuation woes.

  • Kanika Sood

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/proptech-1n71