Property management group Charter Hall has revealed plans to invest in, or partner with, four Australian proptech startups that made it through the company’s recent accelerator program.
Fairfax reports the four companies picked by Charter Hall will now enter a 13-week long incubation period to optimise their businesses, culminating in a final pitch session where, if possible, Charter Hall will “potentially invest or become a strategic customer” to all of them.
The four businesses are InSpaceXR, BricksandAgent.com, Snaploader and Estate Baron, providing proptech offerings in the virtual reality, cloud, 3D modelling, and blockchain sectors respectively.
“Some amazing ideas have come from these entrepreneurs trying to solve problems they have encountered or observed themselves,” Charter Hall chief technology officer Aidan Coleman told Fairfax.
Proptech and real estate startups have taken off in Australia over the past 12 months, with numerous startups finding funding or partnerships. This includes :Different, founded by ex-Google and Uber alumni, which raised $1.3 million in seed funding, and Airtasker co-founder Jonathan Lui’s venture Soho, which raised $1.65 million.
Real estate-finder startup LocalAgentFinder also recently raised $5.5 million in a News Corp-backed round, while Sydney-based startup Sellable, which aims to buy properties before they even go on the market, have also attracted interest.
“Australia’s real estate market is quite a local market in terms of legislation, but it’s a big enough market with over 550,000 houses sold last year. You can build a big business in it,” Sellable co-founder Justus Hammer told StartupSmart.
“Younger homeowners are looking for that convenient ‘Uber experience’, looking at what better experience there is out there to sell, rent, or manage properties,” he said.
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