Do you remember the days when you would need to enlist the help of a real estate agent any time you wanted to sell, rent, or manage properties? It would often involve in-person meetings and a lot of legwork, making it much more time-consuming. Not only that, it didn’t have the reach that the internet offers. Online technology truly transformed the property market in exciting ways.
Proptech companies can make quick work of buying, renting, selling, and managing properties using highly advanced and user-friendly online platforms. With proptech offering a high level of efficiency and security, it quickly spread across the industry, leading to an influx of proptech companies in the UK over the past couple of years.
As you look at the various proptech platforms, they tend to resemble online job marketplaces like Upwork and review sites like Casinos.com that allow you to play the best online slot machines online confidently. It’s easy to see why this would be such a useful model for the real estate industry.
But just how expansive have proptech companies become in the UK? Here’s a look at some of the biggest ones.
Hybr
Hybr is a platform that connects UK landlords with potential tenants. This platform is useful because landlords can count on the tenants being listed as reliable, responsible, and actively looking for a place. On the flip side, it’s ideal for young and first-time renters who are just breaking into the market and aren’t sure where to start. It takes a lot of the stress out of the process and allows users to input different data points and criteria.
Houseful
Next, we’ve got Houseful, which is another example of a proptech platform that is growing in the UK market. What makes this one unique is that it has several brands under the main name, so users can access Mojo, Prime Location, Calcasa, Zoopla, Alto, and Hometrack. As you can see by that list of companies, the idea is that users have a vast number of resources at their fingertips when it comes to residential property. The platform also offers insights that can help people make decisions that much easier.
Searchland
While Searchland hasn’t grown at the same pace as some of the others, you shouldn’t just blow past it. This one bills itself as an all-in-one planning and property data platform. The goal of this platform is to speed up the search and acquisition of off-market development opportunities. These can be hard to locate without the right channels and contacts, so Searchland aims to fill a void.
The many features of the platform are useful for all types of people in the real estate market, but professionals in particular.
Goodlord
If you’re a letting agent, Goodlord is the platform you need to check out. Described as an all-in-one cloud-based option, the software makes quick work of all the processes and steps of tenancy. You can even use the software to create an offer letter and rent collection. One thing to note about Goodlord, however, is that it’s not meant for private landlords but rather agencies looking to streamline and increase their revenue.
PRODA
Checking rent roll data used to be a time-consuming task, but AI-enabled software has helped to propel PRODA into the spotlight. PRODA prides itself on data accuracy so that commercial real estate agents can get a clearer picture of the industry. The software excels in report generation, something that professionals rely on to make informed decisions.
Habito
Habito is one of the better-known proptech companies on this list. It’s one of the most popular online mortgage brokers for buyers to use. What makes this one such a hit is that the feedback and results are impartial and extremely fast. Buyers get the answers they’re after in a no-nonsense way that is simple to understand. Even if you’re a first-time buyer, Habito won’t feel too advanced or confusing. If anything, it can make the buying process less scary and overwhelming.
Orbital Wellness
You’ll see AI being used across the board in some form or another, and Orbital Witness is a great example of this trend. This software makes it possible for businesses to quickly perform due diligence on properties. This is a task that used to be all-encompassing, time-consuming, and at risk of human error. AI has completely transformed the process, and many would argue for the better. The benefit the company pushes the most is the high level of accuracy real estate professionals can count on.
Fixflo
It’s common for landlords to own not just one property, but several. Managing all those properties is a huge task, and landlords usually welcome any help they can get. Fixflo is a proptech company that is meant to streamline the maintenance of properties. Fixing property issues can seem never-ending, especially if the landlord has many properties.
Through this platform, tenants can access tips and information, make reports, add photos of the problem area, and more. Many of the steps are automated, thereby saving time for landlords and making sure nothing goes unnoticed or ignored.
Conclusion
What’s exciting for the UK market is that this is just a small look at the proptech companies out there. As technology continues to evolve and advance, proptech will become even more useful and streamline even more processes.