The first month of 2020 has already seen proptech companies receive millions of dollars in venture capital investment, despite major real estate firms struggling in 2019.
For example, WeWork was forced to cancel its IPO, lay off workers and divest many of its investments and acquisitions. Additionally, another SoftBank-backed company Oyo has started to scale back on its expansion plans.
With the news of these companies struggling, it would be assumed that venture capital would be wary of investing into real estate startups, but there have been many significant investments in 2020 so far.
Roofstock, a platform for purchasing and selling turnkey rental properties, raised $50 million and has facilitated over $2 billion in transactions.
Orchard, a group of startups catering to homeowners looking to sell their home, raised $36 million in funding.
One of the biggest issues that the real estate industry is facing are natural disasters and other aspects of climate change. That has led real estate venture capital firm Fifth Wall to create a $200 million carbon impact fund to help reduce its carbon footprint as well as prepare building to be more climate-resilient.
Overall, it is clear that the commercial real estate industry is experiencing growth in the multifamily and industrial sectors, with no signs of slowing down.
