At the distribution of fields, it becomes obvious that the by far biggest share of PropTechs arised in the fields “selling and letting” and “managing”. The legislator’s decision in 2014 to introduce the “Bestellerprinzip” for accommodation pushed this area in the Tech-companies focus. Add to that, that these fields of the Real Estate economy are easily accessible even for founders which do not originate from this industry because most of the relevant processes are open to a large extent. Furthermore, great efficiency gains can be realized in these sectors through software or web applications (so called Space-as-a-Service models). The initial entry barrier is therefore lower than in the other sectors, which are significantly more complex concerning technology, capital and knowledge. So, it is no surprise that the greatest number of PropTechs emerged in the categories “selling and letting” and “managing”.
However, this distribution also indicates that there is still potential in the other sectors. Significantly less innovative business models emerged on the market from these sectors. Since the fields “selling and letting” and “managing” are established for the most part, it can be expected that more complex fields will follow next.
From our viewpoint, the peak of the PropTech development is in no way over. Quite the opposite: We experienced a first wave of business models, which established themselves quicker on an easier-to-penetrate market. Because of more complex technologies, higher capital requirements and profound knowledge for complex industry processes, the following waves will potentially arrive with a longer warm-up time.