Proptech: 2022 in review, 2023 on the horizon

2022 has been an incredible year for the global proptech ecosystem. In building Silkhaus, I have had the pleasure of working with the brightest minds across real estate and technology this year. I wanted to share my key takeaways and predictions in 2023:

Rise of property management software 💻
Software has become universally embedded into the management of all classes of real estate. From institutional asset owners to individual homeowners and from commercial offices to residential real estate, we have witnessed the rise of property management solutions to streamline all aspects of the real estate value chain. We will see significant innovation in property management softwares globally this year, particularly from emerging markets where real estate has traditionally functioned offline.

“Hotelization” of residential real estate 🏨
Earlier this month, Airbnb made a monumental announcement: the global platform has partnered with North America’s largest multifamily residential owners to turn apartment renters into hosts of short-term rentals. Long-term renters have become new-age “hoteliers” in a model that allows for subleasing of leased apartments through Airbnb for a certain number of days each year. Flexibility and the ability to monetize unutilized assets have become major value propositions to renters, especially in the face of rising rental prices. We expect to see institutional asset owners across global markets test the idea of “Airbnb-able” buildings and potentially power the rise of a new asset class.

Data for all 🔢
The ability to leverage data in decision-making has typically been afforded to the most well-funded and sophisticated proptechs, with large data teams. A layer of disruptive companies has emerged to triangulate data on various asset classes within real estate, making real-time information and proprietary market insights available to proptechs of all sizes at the click of a button. AirDNA is a prime example of this for the short-term rental industry. We are excited to see proptechs of all sizes embrace data in strategy creation and daily decision-making this year.

These thoughts reflect a series of lively debates by technologists, real estate experts, and business builders at Silkhaus. I am excited to hear from you: what are your predictions on upcoming developments in proptech this year?