Momentum around venture investing in the real estate tech space appears to be hitting a fever pitch as Q4 2013 saw a five-year quarterly high in deal activity.
The convergence of commercial real estate and new technologies has spawned a throng of new startups tackling the real estate tech space ranging from interactive 3D models for spaces to online storefront rentals to real estate transaction management software. And 2013 saw venture investors deploy over $429M across 102 deals to private tech companies hoping to disrupt the multi-billion dollar industry as momentum around venture investing in the real estate tech space appears to be hitting a fever pitch.
Q4 2013 saw a five-year quarterly high in real estate tech deal totals, which included financings to companies including Apartment List, View This Space and a $50M round to pre-IPO online real estate brokerage Redfin. And 2014 has seen the market continue to attract venture dollars. Real estate crowdfunding startups RealtyMogul and RealCrowd both announced new fundings in the last week while online real estate marketplace Auction.com raised $50M from Google Capital at a $1.2 billion valuation.
On a year-over-year basis, funding to real estate tech companies has grown 47% while deal activity has grown nearly 40%.
Real Estate Tech Investment Trend By Stage
Over the past two years, a notable 58% of deals in the real estate tech ecosystem have come at the seed-stage. Another 34% of deals came at the Series A stage, which saw the highest amount of YoY growth across the maturity spectrum. A cross-section of the real-estate tech startups that raised early stage funding in 2013 are highlighted below.
- Urban Compass – Online real estate rental and sales platform and agent search backed by investors including Goldman Sachs, Founders Fund and Thrive Capital
- RadPad – Photo-based mobile rental marketplace backed by Deep Fork Capital and Post Investments Group
- Floored – Interactive, online 3D models for real estate backed investors including Greycroft Ventures, Two Sigma Ventures and Lerer Ventures
- Rentify – Software platform for landlords to manage property backed by Balderton Capital
- Honest Buildings – Web platform to connect professionals in the real estate construction and design space backed by Westly Group and RockPort Capital
- Storefront – Marketplace for short-term retail space rentals backed by investors including 500 Startups, Mohr Davidow Ventures and Great Oaks Venture Capital.
Real Estate Tech Investment Trend By Geography
Between 2012 and 2013, Silicon Valley and NY each notched close to 1/5 of all real estate tech deals while So Cal captured nearly 8% of deals. Startups launched in international markets including Canada, the U.K. and India have also seen a number of deals in the real estate tech market. 
All of the underlying financing data on the real estate tech market is on the CB Insights Venture Capital Database. Sign up for free below.
If you aren’t already a client, sign up for a free trial to learn more about our platform.