Overview

The term “Proptech” has gained significant popularity in recent years, evolving from a niche concept to a major force transforming the real estate industry. But what exactly is Proptech? And how are Proptech companies changing the real estate market?

What is Proptech?

Proptech, short for Property Technology, is the innovative use of technology to offer solutions and streamline various processes in the real estate industry. Proptech covers a wide range of applications, including real estate transactions, property management, construction and leasing. Its goal is to improve efficiency, reduce costs and create a more user-friendly experience for buyers, sellers, and real estate professionals.

Proptech uses technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), big data analytics, blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoT) to manage, buy, sell, and rent properties. It facilitates automation, data analysis, and improved decision-making in real estate processes, making the industry more dynamic and customer-centric.

Innovation and technology are expected to be the key driving factors. The PropTech space is heating up, with terms like use-case, sharing economy, distributed ledgers, and data-driven decision-making becoming the new norm.

Jawad Nayyar, CEO of DAO PropTech

The Rise of Proptech Companies

Since the early 2010s, there’s been a surge in the number of Proptech startups and companies. These firms recognised the inefficiencies and pain points within the traditional real estate model and sought to address them through technological innovation. Proptech companies can be broadly categorised into areas such as:

• Real Estate Fintech: These companies focus on the financial aspects of real estate, like mortgage lending, leasing services, and crowdfunding for property investments. Platforms can allow users to easily secure home loans, refinance, or even pool resources with others to invest in property.

• Platform and Marketplace: Companies in this category typically provide platforms for buying, selling, or renting properties. They can either operate as listing sites or offer a more integrated service, like virtual home tours, online transaction processing, and more.

• Smart Real Estate Solutions: This niche involves using tech to improve the actual living or working space. This could be smart home technologies, energy-saving solutions, or even building management systems for large residential or commercial properties.

Proptech’s Influence on the Real Estate Marketplace

Proptech is not just a buzzword; it’s driving tangible changes in the real estate marketplace. Here are some of the primary impacts:

• Efficiency and Accessibility: With the integration of AI, blockchain, and big data analytics, transactions are becoming faster and more transparent. This makes property investment and management more accessible to a wider audience.

• Shift in Brokerage Services: Traditional real estate agents are now armed with more sophisticated tools to enhance their services. For example, virtual reality can offer 3D home tours, allowing potential buyers from different parts of the world to ‘walk through’ properties without being physically present.

• Data-Driven Decisions: With the surge in data collection and analysis tools, investors, brokers, and even individual buyers/sellers can make more informed decisions. This data can reveal market trends, property valuations, and even predictive analytics regarding future market movements.

• Green Building and Sustainability: Proptech is also playing a pivotal role in promoting sustainability in real estate. Energy-monitoring tools, smart home systems, and efficient building designs are making properties more eco-friendly and cost-effective.

The Growth Potential of Proptech

According to Precedence Research, the global proptech market size reached USD 30.16 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach around USD 133.05 billion by 2032, poised to grow at a CAGR of 16% during the forecast period from 2023 to 2032.

The Significance of Naming in Proptech and Real Estate Companies

Naming is very important in the fast-growing real estate industry. New companies are popping up all the time, and having a unique brand directly affects brands’ success. Choosing a good name that customers can easily remember and that really represents what the company does can help it stand out and attract attention in a busy and very competitive market.

Namepicks

OpenDoor

Opendoor is a tech-based real estate company that simplifies the process of buying and selling homes. The company has secured a substantial amount of funding through eleven rounds, totalling $1.9 billion.

Our belief is that by building a better, more efficient, and more transparent system, we can improve the outcomes for both buyers and sellers. Marketplaces have the unique ability to layer in more trust, simplify the process, and eliminate much of the complexity, opacity, and cost. We intend to do just that for real estate.

Eric Wu, Co-Founder of OpenDoor for Stratechery

You can find OpenDoor at their exact brand match domain name – OpenDoor.com. Domains with dictionary words are easy to remember, as they are typically straightforward and descriptive. They can convey credibility and professionalism, as they are often perceived as clearer and more reliable names. This can be especially important for businesses that want to build customer trust and credibility. They also give a strong competitive edge by increasing organic traffic and overall marketing effectiveness.

Curbio

Curbio is a leading pay-at-closing home improvement service for real estate agents, brokerages and home sellers. Founded in 2017 by Rick Rudman, the company aims to transform the move-in ready process with its streamlined, technology-based approach to home improvement.

Curbio is a completely turnkey solution, taking care of all sourcing, project management and communication, and acting as the licensed, insured general contractor on all projects. Curbio makes home improvement accessible and stress-free so that every real estate agent and contractor can grow their business, and every seller can unlock the value in their home. From simple refreshes to total renovations, Curbio gets every listing on the market fast and sold for top dollar.

Curbio’s team

The company operates on the domain name Curbio.com, which perfectly encapsulates its global aspirations and vision for the future.

In our Names with stories series, Olivia Mariani, VP of Marketing of Curbio has shared why they have chosen to invest in the exact brand name Curbio.com right away, what it stands for and what was the process of selecting a brand name like.

Curbio stands for “curb appeal inside and out”, which is a perfect representation of what we can do (anything on the inside or outside of a home) and what’s needed to sell a home quickly and for the best possible price (curb appeal!)

Olivia Mariani, VP of Marketing of Curbio

Side

Side is a real estate brokerage platform that empowers the very best agents to create and grow their own businesses. The company was founded in 2017 by Guy Gal, Edward Wu and Hilary Saunders.

Most of the folks that are high performing do not have a brand, or they just have a logo. Their brokerage is branded on everything, and maybe their name is next to it. In partnership with Side, our brand does not appear on anything. We are entirely white label – a silent partner that’s the broker of record behind them. We don’t want consumers to interact with the Side brand. We want them to interact with the brand the agent now owns, which is distinctly their own.

Guy Gal, founder of Side for HousingWire

The company originally used the SideInc.com domain, while Side.com was used by SIDE, a global audio provider. In 2021, SIDE moved to SideGlobal.com, leaving Side.com available. Side Real Estate took this chance and was able to secure Side.com, taking ownership of this memorable and extremely valuable CVCV domain name. This strategic move not only provides strong online brand protection, but also increases the efficacy of their marketing efforts. Numerous global brands, such as Nike, Dove, Visa, Sony, Lego, Bose, and Puma, have effectively used CVCV domain names to cultivate easily recognisable and enduring brand identities.

Guesty

Guesty is an Israel-based leading property management platform for the short-term, vacation rental and hospitality industries. From individual hosts to hotel brands, customers use Guesty to centralise reservations, interact with guests, clean management, operational tasks and more. Its platform seamlessly integrates with leading booking channels such as Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, Tripadvisor, Expedia, Agoda, direct booking sites and more. The company was founded in 2013 under the name SuperHost but changed its name to Guesty in 2014 to better reflect its mission and values.

We loved being SuperHost and we certainly considered ourselves to be super hosts but we feel like our new name better represents what we love to do – putting the focus on helping hosts provide the ultimate experience for their guests. Hence Guesty.

Guesty’s team

In August 2022, Guesty raised $170 million in Series E led by Apax Digital Funds, MSD Partners and Sixth Street Growth, raising a total of $280.6M in funding over nine rounds.

Guesty can be found on their exact match domain name – Guesty.com. One-word .com domain names tend to be more effective at attracting attention and encouraging users to take action compared to domain names that are longer or more complex. These types of domain names are often easy to remember and can be quickly typed, which enhances the user experience and increases the chances that users will visit the website.

VTS

VTS (formerly View The Space) is a leading real estate CRM software company bringing together owners, operators, brokers, and tenants in a single platform “to capitalise on opportunities revealed in every square foot of their properties.”

We come to work every day and ask ourselves ‘How can we make the day-to-day work life of our users better?’ This is the DNA of our company and it always will be.

Nick Romito, CEO of VTS

In September 2022, VTS raised $125 million in Series E led by ed by CBRE, raising a total of $462.4M in funding over eleven rounds.

VTS operates on the domain name VTS.com. Three-letter .com domains are rare and valuable due to the fact they are easy to remember and can be used as acronyms for companies with longer names. With only 17,576 possible three-letter combinations, all .com variations have already been claimed and are only available for resale. Considering that there are more than 150 million .com domains currently registered, owning a three-letter .com domain reflects not only prestige but is also a solid investment in the brand’s future.

Houseful

Houseful is a real estate platform that “supports Canadians in their home-buying journey.” Houseful launched in 2021 under the name OJO Canada from the partnership between RBCx, the innovation and venture arm of Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), and OJO Labs. In 2023, the company was acquired by RBC and later rebranded to Houseful.

When it comes to home ownership, we believe in helping anyone fulfil their potential. And we’re starting with ourselves. We’re thinking bigger, so our consumers can too. That’s why we’re excited to announce that OJO is becoming Houseful. This change reflects our ambition to create a first-of-its kind home ownership platform to provide tools, resources and expertise that will support a lifetime of Canadian homeowner needs. 

Houseful’s team

The company has invested in both Houseful.ca and Houseful.com, strengthening their online brand presence. A good domain strategy is a crucial element in building a strong brand identity, facilitating increased engagement with the business.

Highlights

A domain name is often the first point of contact potential customers have with a company and can have a significant impact on their impression of the brand.

Using a .com domain extension is considered the preferred choice for businesses looking to establish their online presence. This is because .com is widely regarded as the most trusted and respected extension and can help companies build trust and credibility with their target audience. 276 of the 320 companies on our list of top proptech companies chose a .com domain.

15 on the list use the .co domain extension. This extension is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Colombia, but it is also commonly used by companies and individuals as an alternative to the more well-known .com extension.

5 companies have chosen the .io extension, followed by the .ai  also with 5 users. These extensions are often associated with technology and innovation, which can be beneficial for companies in the proptech sector or those looking to position themselves as forward-thinking or cutting-edge. However, these extensions may not be as widely recognised as other domains, such as .com, and may not convey the same level of credibility to potential customers. This can make it more difficult for people to find and remember the company’s website, potentially impacting traffic and revenue. Country domain codes offer more freedom of choice but come with certain risks for businesses.

Having a strong online presence is crucial for the success of any business, especially in the fast-paced and competitive world of real estate. To establish their brand and attract customers, 240 companies in our list have taken the important step of securing an exact brand match domain name for their online presence.

Securing an exact brand match domain name is a great approach for companies looking to build trust and credibility, attract customers, and gain a competitive advantage in the industry. It demonstrates a commitment to the brand and makes it easier for customers to find and remember the company, which can lead to increased engagement and conversions.

Dashes are used in 2 names on the list. Adding hyphens is not advised since it adds complexity for consumers who frequently overlook it while typing in a domain name.

While we make every effort to ensure the data on our site is accurate, complete, and up-to-date, we cannot guarantee its reliability. Our data is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal, financial, or other advice. We strongly recommend that you independently verify any information before relying on it.

Other resources

• Top Insurtech Companies and Their Domain Name Choices
• PropTech & Real Estate Brands in 2021 and Their Domain Name Choices
• Names with stories: The story behind Curbio.com
• The Importance of Investing in a Strong Domain Name for Your Business

Premium domain names are an important consideration when it comes to building and protecting your brand. If you’re ready to take the next step and invest in a premium domain name for your business, contact us to learn more about our available options and how we can help you get started.

branding domain domain name domain names domains naming property proptech PropTech companies Real estate Real Estate Companies