OUTLOOK
Source: realtynxt.com
HAS ASIA PACIFIC REACHED ‘PEAK PROPTECH’?
A
fter reaching a high of more than US$1 billion in disclosed funding in 2018, property technology – or proptech – start-ups in Asia Pacific saw their funding decline by 38.4% in 2019. Last year, proptech start-ups in the region raised US$625.9 million, according to research by leading professional services firm JLL and tech media firm Tech in Asia. Deal counts also fell across the board to 38 deals in 2019 compared to 50 in 2018. “We wanted to get a sense of the Asia Pacific proptech funding scene now compared to two years ago when we first commissioned Tech In Asia to produce Clicks and Mortar: The Growing Influence of Proptech. Fresh data from their sources shows that there’s been a significant decline in funding in the region,” says Jordan Kostelac, director of proptech, JLL Asia Pacific. “These figures are only indicative of VC interest and they’re less reflective of what’s truly happening in our industry. In our work with clients and fellow corporates, we are seeing that interest in proptech in Asia Pacific continues to grow, with traditional players taking a strategic, integrated approach with start-ups instead of the VC investment route,” says Mr Kostelac. “The real estate industry has been relatively late to the tech revolution, which has given major corporates and other real estate firms a greater runway to innovate and invest internally in technology. And in Asia Pacific, where corporate tech adoption is very quick due to the dynamic nature of the markets, many companies are entering partnerships while increasing trials and deployments of new 24 Building & Investment | www.b-i.biz
