PropTech companies fulfil an essential function for the sector. They create new dimensions for customer interaction and help optimise professionals' use of resources, data, and insights. In other words, they drive a true digital transformation in the real estate industry.

The real estate market has long been viewed as a traditional and analogue sector that relies on direct customer contact. However, more and more news stories have recently gone out about PropTech startups that have entered European markets, providing new digital access to all phases of real estate transactions and management using digital technologies.

The consequences of this shift to PropTech platforms are potentially far-reaching. PropTech can change how consumers and companies think and behave long-term, especially by integrating innovative information technologies into new business models. In this case, “PropTech” includes various digital solutions, including smart homes, smart buildings, leasing, and commercial real estate services.

Our goal with this article is to give you an overview of how PropTech is developing, how this impacts the real estate industry and where the European market currently stands.

What is PropTech?

To begin, it's crucial to understand the exact meaning of PropTech. PropTech, or property technology (sometimes also known as real estate technology), involves the development of (enterprise) software for parts of or the entire real estate life cycle.

PropTech software uses advanced technology, from online tours with virtual reality to building information modelling (BIM), to optimise various real estate investment and utilisation phases. Established (tech) companies, entrepreneurs, and other industry professionals explore PropTech solutions to benefit end consumers.

PropTech software can be included in a network of existing tech solutions, particularly FinTechs in the financial sector, LegalTechs for preparing and managing contracts, and ConTechs in the construction industry. The focus here is often complementary or even overlapping.

The most significant overlap is with FinTech because it is so closely related to real estate. While FinTech matured earlier than PropTech, the two sectors are increasingly converging, particularly in mortgage origination, insurance automation, and embedded financial services within real estate transactions. This is especially interesting for investors because it can help them better understand and predict developments in the PropTech space.

Now, let’s delve into the European PropTech market and its unique features and explore how the European market compares to the US. Keep reading to learn more!

Fragmented markets, united vision: PropTechs in European real estate

In contrast to the largely uniform US market, PropTechs in Europe face additional challenges due to fragmentation: multiple countries with separate legal systems, different languages and cultures, and varying real estate standards make cross-border scaling more complex. At the same time, this creates a strength: European PropTech companies are well‑tested in localisation, a competency they can later leverage when expanding into other international markets such as Asia.

This fragmentation also affects capital availability. European countries do not benefit from the same concentration of investment as the United States. According to the annual PropTech Global Trends 2024 Barometer, published by the ESCP Business School and the Princely Government of Monaco, the US—home to the most prominent PropTech players—received the largest share of investments, totalling more than $280 billion between 2005 and 2024.

The first European country on the list is the United Kingdom in third place with $23.9 billion, followed by Germany with over $13.4 billion; Spain ranks fifth with around $12.4 billion, and France ranks ninth with about $4.2 billion. This funding gap makes it harder for European startups to scale at the level needed to reach unicorn status.

For this reason, substantial efforts are underway by PropTech companies to move to the USA; concurrently, initiatives like the German PropTech Initiative or the European Commission’s ESCALAR funding program aim to support growth within Europe and retain talent and innovation on the continent over the long term.

Against this backdrop, it is easier to understand why so few PropTech unicorns have emerged in Europe. The scene began later than in the US, and the conditions described above play a role. However, as market penetration increases despite fragmentation, business models focus on scalability and disruption, and sufficient funding becomes available, the likelihood of European PropTech unicorns will grow.

For example, the German ClimTech startup 1KOMMA5° reached a $1 billion valuation in 2023 after 23 months and seven funding rounds. Amsterdam‑founded hotel‑tech platform Mews achieved a $1.2 billion valuation in 2023, and Greece‑based accommodation platform Blueground crossed into unicorn territory following a $45 million Series D. These successes suggest Europe may see more PropTech unicorns soon.

Despite these examples remaining exceptions rather than the rule, a combination of growing investor interest, collaborative initiatives, and experience in localisation and technology integration could pave the way for further European PropTech unicorns in the coming years.

Shaping the future: four PropTech trends revolutionising Europe's real estate 

Based on current observations and analyses, there are four main trends affecting the PropTech scene in Europe to look out for:

1) Digitalisation of processes

The shift from property management and home selling/buying processes to digital takes account of changes in consumer behaviour and offers enormous potential to optimise and conserve resources. This includes e-signatures, a trend taking hold in many countries and making it possible to sign contracts quickly on a terminal device. Another aspect is the automation of building management tasks, such as online payments and accounting, as well as the digital processing of repair requests and maintenance planning. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the trend that has grown the most is digital tours of properties.

Platforms like Nodalview offer integrated digital solutions such as 360° photos, guided video tours, and interactive 3D walkthroughs, all accessible via a mobile app. Customers also have the option of purchasing more suitable photographic equipment if necessary.

Offerings that span different sectors, such as Meero, are also used in the real estate market. This French start-up, which reached the coveted unicorn status in just three years, finds photographers on a project basis and uses artificial intelligence to optimise and retouch the resulting images.

Increasing digitalisation is affecting not only back-end processes, but it is also occurring on the customer side.

2) Digitalisation of daily work and lifestyles

Routine tasks and everyday work are primarily performed on technology platforms in ever-increasing areas. The HqOS app uniquely reflects this in the real estate world. Like intelligent home technology, this app focuses on the digital networking and management of office and other commercial properties.

Marketed as a “tenant experience operating system,” HqOS allows users to design intelligent spaces that expand the customer experience as a tenant and real estate user to include a digital dimension. It offers additional data analysis and tenant management capacities for property owners, making developing and implementing a letting strategy easy.

3) Real estate crowdinvesting

On the investment side, a concept that has already seen significant success in many other sectors is now catching on in the real estate world: crowdfunding or crowdinvesting. By enabling even smaller investment amounts, it taps an entirely new group of primarily young investors, previously deterred by the higher barriers to entry of traditional real estate investments.

For example, the start-up IMMO Capital works with residential real estate portfolios in high-quality European markets like London and Hamburg. By focusing on individual residential units, like condominiums, instead of entire apartment blocks, the investment management company can also cultivate a part of the real estate market often neglected by large investors.

4) Data-based and AI-supported solutions

One aspect that connects the many stakeholders in the real estate market is the need for reliable market data and analyses. Thanks to tech innovations in property data collection and processing, these​​ are now more accessible and meaningful than ever, provided they are used correctly.

This is precisely where PriceHubble comes into play. Originally from Switzerland, the B2B real estate PropTech is active in many European markets and Japan. Its innovative real estate valuation, insights and analytics solutions address the entire real estate value chain for real estate agents, banks and financial services, property managers and more.

PriceHubble applications collate data to deliver in-depth residential real estate market analytics. Its algorithms can accurately determine any residential property's current market and rental prices. PriceHubble’s data-driven insights support real estate professionals in making informed decisions across valuation, lending, portfolio management, and advisory workflows.

With the introduction of its brand-new AI Agent Suite, PriceHubble is leading residential real estate into a new era. The Suite – the first of its kind – brings together PriceHubble’s trusted real estate data, task automation, and generative AI. It comprises PriceHubble Companion for client engagement, PriceHubble Copilot for workflow tasks, and PriceHubble Analyst for market research.

The AI agents empower finance and real estate professionals to offer round-the-clock, integrated, premium experiences, significantly boosting client engagement and accelerating productivity.

Embracing the PropTech revolution: A look to the future

“Real PropTech” is not the only driver defining, expanding and changing the digital level of the real estate market. Take blockchain, for example; while it wasn’t developed specifically for the real estate market, real estate professionals (such as investors, property developers, or real estate agents) are holding their breath to see how this new technology will impact their business models.

All real estate market stakeholders are responsible for accepting digitalisation as a challenge. The targeted use of PropTech and a proactive response to emerging trends will enable success and offer more significant development opportunities. As social media, sustainability, and energy efficiency continue to be essential factors in the property industry, real-time dashboards and intelligent buildings are likely to play an increasingly vital role in shaping the future of the real estate sector.

Overall, the integration of tech companies, machine learning, and AI-supported solutions will further revolutionise the property industry in Europe, making it an attractive asset class for investors, home buyers, and renters alike. While the USA may currently lead in venture capital and unicorn startups, the UK PropTech scene and other European markets are steadily gaining momentum, hinting at a future where further PropTech unicorns in Europe may soon become a reality.