PROPTECH-X ‘Proptech & Property News’: House sales record high | Property Deals Insight joins REACH UK

Property Deals Insight makes it onto the REACH UK scale-up

I am extremely proud to announce that Nitin Aggarwal, the founder of Property Deals Insight, has made the grade and has been accepted into the 2022 cohort of the REACH UK accelerator program. 

With my other hat on as the CEO of Proptech-PR, a consultancy for proptech founders, Nitin is one of our star clients. He’s done well to make it to the cut out of several hundred who applied.

Last year, REACH UK’s inaugural year, Steve Rad and James Taylor of InventoryBase, also clients of Proptech-PR, made it into the original cohort. I know that they found the experience helped them move their business on significantly, so I am sure that Nitin and the ten other founders will really benefit from the program this year.

I am not just a mentor on the program, but for some years I have known Valentina Shegoyan the Managing Partner and she does an exceptional job, together with her right-hand lady Natasha Terinova and of course Paolo Rigutto.

The reason that I support the program is that it pushes forward the digital transformation of real estate for all. I firmly believe the sooner analogue turns to digital the easier it will be to ensure that any businesses that touch the property asset, in the plan, build, sale, lease or operations verticals, have a very profitable future.

Good luck to all the founders and SMEs that have committed to the program. The full official press release for REACH 2022 follows, outlining all of the eleven businesses who made it onto the program. 

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Second Century Ventures, the strategic investment arm of the National Association of Realtors® and the most active global real estate technology fund, announced today the acceptance of 11 companies to the 2022 REACH UK program. Launched in 2020, this is the second cohort for the REACH UK program, which focuses on helping technology companies accelerate their growth throughout the real estate, finance, banking, home services and insurance industries.

“We are excited to launch our second cohort and welcome 11 new companies to the REACH UK portfolio,” said Valentina Shegoyan, managing partner, REACH UK. “We have listened to the real estate industry’s most pressing challenges over the last year and answered the call with a diverse range of solutions in this year’s cohort. These include some cutting-edge innovations which are helping improve environmental footprint, the sharing economy, property and facility management, and agent tools.”

REACH UK announces the 2022 program with support from strategic industry partner Propertymark, the UK’s leading professional body for property personnel, representing members who practice from over 15,000 offices in all aspects of property services. Through this collaboration, NAEA Propertymark is able to further help its members navigate new market conditions with unique access to the best-in-class technology.

“We’re excited to be working with REACH UK to help accelerate their growth to drive digital innovations in the industry,” said Nathan Emerson, CEO, Propertymark. “Early engagement with these exciting companies will help members of Propertymark navigate the world of technology as it develops and give them early exposure to some of the best-in-class tech solutions.”

Companies selected for the 2022 program are domiciled in the United Kingdom, France, Austria, and Estonia, and operate across a diverse range of market segments and specializations. Collectively, this cohort represents a combined valuation of $220 million and employs over 200 people globally.

The companies accepted to the REACH UK 2022 program are as follows:

Solutions in Sustainable Futures

Fyma: AI powered actionable insights for landowners, asset and portfolio managers through real-time data gathering from existing video capturing devices.

BlockDox: Patented technology powering portfolio owners’ and operators’ ability to manage sustainability goals, reduce operational wastage, increase profitability, and improve space utilisation.

Mökki: Circular economy business helping consumers to recycle, resell and measure the impact of their used goods via operating smart last mile mini hubs in offices, mixed-use developments, shopping centres and other buildings.

Houzen: Data driven platform to enable fast financing, valuation certainty and refurb imagery to ensure buyers buy the right home and grow equity value through sustainable refurbs.

Solutions for the Commercial Sector

Edozo: Commercial property valuation platform combining best-in-class digital mapping with occupier plans, transaction data and automation tools for agents, valuers, developers, investors and architects.

Cleverly: Multi-stakeholder solution that uses no-code workflow automation and sensor integrations to provide operating efficiencies for property and facility managers.

Solutions for Consumer Experience

SearchSmartly: AI property matchmaking engine with focus on superior consumer experience, providing higher quality leads, and higher conversion at lower cost for estate agents, build to rent providers, and developers.

Residently: The app that makes renting fast, easy and rewarding for renters, property managers and letting agents by making searching, securing, managing, and moving home a seamless experience.

Solutions for the Residential Sector

Monspire: Working capital finance solution for real estate agents and SMEs providing a real-time credit scoring with personalised accuracy utilising open banking.

Safe2: Tracks and automates property inspections and certifications to streamline landlords’ & estate agents’ compliance processes.

Property Deals Insight: Comprehensive, in-depth property data analytics helping investors, estate agents and real estate service providers analyse and package their property investments in a few clicks.

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REACH is a unique technology scale-up program created by Second Century Ventures, the most active global fund in real estate technology. Backed by the National Association of Realtors®, REACH leverages the association’s more than 1.5 million members and an unparalleled network of executives within real estate and adjacent industries. 

The National Association of Realtors® is America’s largest trade association, representing more than 1.5 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

Propertymark is the UK’s leading professional body for property personnel; representing members who practice from over 15,000 offices in all aspects of property services. 

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Press Release: House sales set to hit record high in April – NAPB 

The number of houses being put up for sale rose by 36% last month compared to the same time last year, new figures reveal.

And the National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB) believe April is set to be the busiest period “for decades” as prices continue to soar – especially outside London.

According to data analysed by the NAPB, 116,386 properties were listed for sale on Rightmove in February.  

This is up from 85,416 last February – an increase of almost 40%. 

Last April 144,737 properties were listed but Jonathan Rolande, the founder of the NAPB, said he expected this year to surpass this figure. 

He said: “All the data indicates that next month is going to see a real boom in sales and transactions. I predict we could see record numbers of houses being put for sale as people try to benefit from the continued increase in house prices. It could be the busiest April in decades. 

“It’s worth noting that prices are actually increasing at a much faster rate in places outside of London. So new hotspots for property are showing up and there are still great deals out there which is encouraging people to go for it.”

Mr Rolande, the director of House Buy Fast, said there were many reasons why April, traditionally, has always been the most popular month to try and move. 

He said: “Thanks to the long, drawn out buying process, April is pretty much the last month parents can move in time to start a child at a new school in September.In January there is under 8 hours of daylight – by mid-April that’s up to nearly 12 hours. That’s more time to get out viewing. Two Bank Holidays at Easter give people the head-space to think about a move.

As any estate agent will tell you, homes just look nicer in spring sunlight.

“But this year the fear of increasing interest rates is resulting in buyers rushing to nab a cheap fixed rate.”

According to official data released last week, the average house price in England is now £291,560.

Regional data indicates that the East Midlands experienced the greatest increase in its average property value over the last 12 months with a movement of 11.6%. London saw the lowest annual price growth with an increase of 2.2%.