- Proptech is on the rise
- Covid lockdowns causing off the plan releases to be cancelled
- Release.Me looks to provide an innovative solution
Innovation is thriving in the property sector thanks to the rise of the ‘proptechs’.
According to a survey – conducted by Yardi Systems and the Property Council – of 216 Australian property companies (a third of them with asset portfolios valued at more than $1 billion), the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated proptech adoption.
One example is the sudden and increased use of virtual reality open homes to deal with social distancing restrictions brought on by the pandemic.
Property companies have also turned to technology to support the safe return to offices, with track and trace (23%), touchless access (22%), and social distancing technologies (15%) the top three solutions.
In WA, proptech startups are a minority with only 25 in existence out of the 580-tech based startups according to data from Startup News. The sector made progress earlier in the year though when Proptech Hub – a new dedicated space for proptech startups – opened up in the centre of Perth’s CBD.
Release.Me
Innovation is all about finding new ways to satisfy consumer demand – filling a customer need. And with recent Covid lockdowns prompting many off the plan real estates releases to be cancelled, postponed or shifted to event booking platforms – a recently launched SaaS proptech platform called Release.Me looks to provide a solution.
Headquartered in Melbourne, Release.Me says it allows property developers and real estate agents the ability to release off the plan properties to the market online, which the startup claims will create a “win-win scenario for sellers and buyers alike.”
The platform will manage the release of new stock to the market handling buyer preferences, allocation of lots, collection of particulars of sale, bookings for contract signing and payment of holding deposits all within the platform.
The proptech leverages an algorithm that allocates lots to buyers based on their preferences and where there are multiple applicants with the same preference the algorithm will select an application at random.
Release.Me said that although the platform was created to help buyers, the SaaS (software as a service) model is designed to streamline and simplify the release process for developers and agents.
“As developers and agents seek to adopt digital practices in their operating model in response to the current environment, this proptech startup is perfectly placed to assist,” they concluded.
