Real estate technology is enjoying a moment in 2022, bolstered by a fresh wind of creative innovators and snowballing attention from the consumer public. And after decades of resistance from the conventionally low-tech real estate industry, innovative companies are starting to gain real headway.
It might still be a few years until we witness widespread adoption in the industry (akin to the financial industry’s extensive embrace of Fintech). As it stands, some American states are ahead of others in the race toward adoption.
This article highlights a few forward-thinking states where real estate technology is taking root. The list takes into account consumer adoption, proptech company headquarters, and practitioner openness. Here are the four states leading the charge on real estate tech.
Texas
Everything’s bigger in Texas – including the burgeoning tech sector. According to several news outlets and business experts, Texas is poised to become – if not the new Silicon Valley – at least a rival to the once-hegemonic Norcal tech mecca.
And you can see this shift play out in the state’s embrace of real estate technology. Nobul, the innovative real estate digital marketplace, is thriving in Texas thanks to a devoted base of consumers aligned with the company’s consumer-first agenda. Nobul CEO Regan McGee sees Texas as the “perfect fit for Nobul.” Speaking to Houston’s KPRC News, he cites the state’s “burgeoning technology industry,” “multiple investors and shareholders,” and savvy real estate consumers.
California
If Texas is the new kid on the block, California is the stately grandfather of all things proptech. The state (in specific, the San Francisco Bay Area) is still home to several real estate tech startups.
According to CREtech, Silicon Valley’s grasp on proptech might be slipping as some established companies make the trek east to New York or south to Texas. But California earns a place on this list all the same. Californian consumers have repeatedly demonstrated that they are open to embracing new real estate innovations, and the state’s real estate industry constitutes some of the more progressive professionals in the country.
New York
NYC is home to roughly 350 proptech companies, besting San Francisco. The city is also home to the world’s leading real estate tech expo. Moreover, consumers (especially in that titular capital city of theirs) are fast to embrace proptech thanks to a younger demographic and a faster-paced real estate market. Together, these facts make New York one of the country’s real estate tech epicenters.
Florida
According to a recent PwC report, Florida was a hotspot for in-migration over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. And that influx of homebuyers happened to coincide with an era of technological adoption in the real estate industry. Consequently, several Florida consumers turn to proptech solutions for mortgages, listings, immersive home viewings, and to search for real estate agents on platforms like Nobul (mentioned above).
If the real estate technology sector continues at its current upward pace, the entire United States may soon embrace the innovations, solutions and consumer-centric businesses at the heart of proptech. Until then, look to these states as inspiration for what the real estate industry, and its consumers, can accomplish.
