Proptech, an industry that grows and purges


For specialists from companies real estate based on technology, proptechthis segment will continue to grow, but only companies with a business model that is sustainable over time and based on “human beings” will be the ones that last.

Karim Goudiaby, founder and director of the digital real estate company Neximo, explained that currently proptech they are coming out of a “boom” stage, where many companies emerged, but the cycle is about to start in which some are consolidated and others disappear.

“There will be winners and losers. There will be people who are going to adapt and people who are going to leave the market, others are going to take advantage of the technological wave and are going to develop very interesting careers”, commented the Neximo director.

Although startups in the real estate sector have grown exponentially in some cases, where they have achieved capital raising and associations with important players in the “traditional” sector, the formula of addressing problems through technology will no longer be enough, but it is Changing.

“You have to find a real problem and try to solve it with technology, and that’s what we did,” explained Mauricio Peñaranda, co-founder and CEO of Acasa.

money does matter

Goudiaby believed that for this technological segment to continue growing, it is necessary to be accompanied by real estate agents, but also to do a business in which profits are obtained and not only high valuations.

“For me it is important to have a strategic ally, who has really found the recipe to make his business profitable”, said the executive in the framework of the proptech Summit Latam.

However, he anticipated that conditions will be even more complicated due to the global economic context with a rate hike, high inflation and other elements that will reduce market liquidity.

“We are going to see a wave of concentration, we are going to see companies that are going to have to really attack the problems of the market,” commented the Neximo executive.

“We are already in transition, there is a certain drought in the market, the excess capital that allows anyone to raise capital is over (…) There are always companies in a market that burn money just to show billing, not profitability, and at some point it goes out and those companies have nothing to do”.

Thus, he recalled that in the sector of proptech Growing fast is not the same as creating a long-term profitable business.

On the other hand, Romain Benenati, director of operations at Clikalia, considered that it is important for startups to generate profitability from their first day of operations, in addition to adding value, because only in this way will they be able to consolidate themselves in the universe proptech.

“We have seen players who came out very aggressively and have faded away, and I think it is a great opportunity for everyone who has that business approach,” Benenati said.

A traditional industry that adapted

For the director of Neximo, the needs of clients go ahead of the attention of real estate agents, so traditional companies had to adapt their operations digitally.

“Today I believe that suppliers are living up to consumer expectations,” said Karim Goudiaby.

“What technology cannot replace is this ability to create trust (among people), the machine is better at evaluating prices, managing administrative processes, finding the best property, but at some point when you have to sign the paper , pressing the button to commit to 20 years, is like marrying a person.


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