MetaProp NYC, the world’s premier real estate technology nexus and RETech accelerator, announced today the results of the first-ever Global Real Estate Tech Confidence Index©. The Index is a barometer of the health of the real estate technology market from the perspective of the most active real estate technology investors and startup founders around the world.

Despite recent media reports of the dearth and death of technology unicorns, the Index results are surprisingly positive. “We found that 90% of investors intend to make either the same amount of investments as last year or more in 2016,” said MetaProp NYC Co-Founder and Managing Director Aaron Block. “Founders and investors expect that the real estate tech market will grow more competitive during 2016, with more startups chasing a larger pool of venture capital funding. We also see indications that the market is continuing to expand across asset types, with 40% of startups disrupting multiple asset types and about a third of investors expressing interest in technologies focused on multi-use, leisure, and others.”

For this ground-breaking survey, MetaProp NYC polled real estate tech investors and founders globally on their expectations for future market conditions as well as company growth. Key findings include:

• Investors are significantly more confident about the real estate tech market (9.1 out of 10 Confidence Index) than entrepreneurs (5.4 out of 10 Confidence Index). Investor sentiment is driven by confidence in expected deal flow and expectation of more M&A activity, while founders are more concerned about the fundraising environment.
• Investors and startups both expect the market to get significantly more competitive—except for finance & investment and consumer/broker tech.
• Investors are leaning in, but entrepreneurs (particularly on the West Coast) are skeptical of funding availability and exit opportunities.
  • Most investors are looking to make bets in (1) Consumer/Broker Tech (Space Selection, Leasing, Payments), (2) Connected Devices (Smarthome, Sensors, IoT) and (3) Space Management and Usage (Property Management, Basement Tech).
  • About half of investors expect to see more M&A activity in 2016 compared to 2015, while startups are generally pessimistic, with 44% reporting it is unlikely or very unlikely their company will be acquired, go public, or have a major liquidity event in the next two years.
  • Investment interest and innovation in asset classes beyond commercial and residential is significant.

• Customer growth expectations are moderate; hiring plans are aggressive.
  • Most startups expect to bring in 2-3x 2015 revenue in 2016, with about 18% not expecting to bring in any revenue this year.
  • Startups have aggressive hiring plans for 2016, with 39% of companies planning to hire 6-20 employees in 2016, and 12% of companies planning to hire up to 50 employees.

The survey was designed in collaboration with the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), based on industry leading standards for sentiment analysis, based on a purposive sample of active investors and startups in real estate technology. The Index is based on responses to four sentiment questions about future market expectations. The Index has a range of zero to 10. An Index above five indicates that respondents are confident in the market; more responded positive than negative to the survey questions. An Index below five indicates that respondents are not confident in the market; more responded negative than positive to the survey questions. An Index of five indicates that the positive and negative responses were equal.

The full report can be found here: http://www.metaprop.org/confidence-index

MetaProp NYC’s Silicon Alley based Accelerator is the world’s leading growth program for early stage companies and selects less than 3% of applicants each year. We are now accepting applications for our 2016 Accelerator Class at http://www.metaprop.org/apply/. Applications are due July 31, 2016. We strongly recommend that you apply early to benefit from additional time to meet with our team if selected for the interview stage. The 2016 Accelerator program boasts more than 80 mentors, world-renowned corporate partners (including The Real Estate Board of New York, Zillow Group, the International Council of Shopping Centers, the New York City EDC, and Warburg Realty), as well as widespread media coverage from The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes, New York Post, TechCrunch, Inman, AlleyWatch, Commercial Observer, Real Estate Finance and Investment, Real Estate Weekly, Bisnow, Curbed and more.

About MetaProp NYC

MetaProp NYC is the world’s premier real estate technology nexus and RETech accelerator. MetaProp NYC brings together the brightest minds in real estate and technology to help quickly build our industry’s most promising young companies. Each year, the best technology driven real estate industry startups are selected to participate in the 22-week intensive growth program based in New York City. The program culminates in a Demo Day for partners, investors, VCs and media.

About The Real Estate Board of New York

The Real Estate Board of New York is the City’s leading real estate trade association with more than 17,000 members. REBNY represents major commercial and residential property owners and builders, brokers and managers, banks, financial service companies, utilities, attorneys, architects, contractors and other individuals and institutions professionally interested in the city’s real estate. REBNY is involved in crucial municipal matters including tax policy, city planning and zoning, rental conditions, land use policy, building codes and legislation. In addition, REBNY publishes reports providing indicators of market prices for both the residential and commercial sectors. Please visit us online at www.REBNY.com.