Real Estate Technology Bubble?
As many of us have read in the headlines recently, there have been multiple multi-billion real estate technology companies funded by SoftBank's Vision Fund. Recent funding rounds include WeWork, OYO Rooms, Katerra, Opendoor, Compass, and several others. I personally have a difficult time grappling with WeWork's astronomical valuation, let alone it's long-term viability, especially during a recession. What is everyone's thoughts here? I do think real estate tech or proptech is here to stay, which will have positive long-term affects on real estate. Additionally, several major firms are either forming their own in-house venture capital arm (Blackstone, Brookfield, Starwood, RXR Realty, Simon Property Group, JLL, etc) while Fifth Wall Ventures and MetaProp are garnering capital to act as an external corporate venture arm.
Depends what kind of returns the investors are looking for. Some of this “technology” is only applicable to a small niche and will never be the next Facebook some of the accelerators think they’re creating. Piecing together what I know from the news, my industry contacts, and my friends at these startups, the bubble is more of an arms race to reinvent the wheel just so everyone can say they reinvented it first…and by the way you should license the reinvented wheel from me.
There isn’t any ground-breaking tech or innovation happening, it’s a lot of marketing and repositioning. To throw billions at that is a bit much. The institutions you named also seem a little out of touch with what they can gain from it, and are acting more like dumb money afraid of being left on the sidelines.
AFAIK none are profitable, and at these valuations they’re too big to be acquired. Will the public markets punish them?
Officiis rerum autem non eaque qui qui sunt. Consequatur corrupti alias ut dolorum tempore.
Sed culpa et voluptates in quo iste ut. Autem laudantium possimus aspernatur facere. Corrupti nesciunt voluptas deleniti distinctio. Exercitationem qui quo cumque voluptatibus et quo.
Omnis aut voluptatem nulla sunt illo. Cum blanditiis id et blanditiis eum. Hic rerum distinctio quasi cumque maxime accusamus vel. Dolorum qui magnam veritatis et. Magnam ut earum rerum corrupti.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...