Banks Finding More Entry Points to Real Estate Tech

Two real estate tech players, Compass and OpenDoor , each rather quietly raised $400 million from SoftBank in 2018, a year that included announcements like Credit Karma ’s $500 million investment from Silver Lake and Plaid 's $250 million raise that made it a unicorn. Meanwhile, JPMorgan Chase , Goldman Sachs and Citigroup all invested in real estate startups last year and there's little reason to believe that trend won't continue. Arvind Purushotham, global head of venture investing for Citi, says the bank has its eyes on property tech, or "proptech," once again this year. The bottom line, he told Bank Innovation , is that real estate is one of the largest markets in the U.S. and the world, and there are many entry points for banks. He said there are strategic angles for Citi on both the residential and commercial side, including investing in the marketplaces, helping first-time home buyers buy homes, and facilitating investors who want to invest in residential or commercial real estate. “There are lots and lots of new opportunities that are coming into the real estate area, and we're seeing that and we're spending some time there,” Purushotham said. Citi is looking to build on its 2018 investment in Unison , a startup that allows homeowners to sell part of their home's equity, as part of the home buying process, so that they’re not taking on additional debt. “We thought that was an innovative model and potentially a really large opportunity if Unison is successful,” Purushotham said. “So, we made an investment there, but we're seeing other things in and around real estate as well.” Consumer real estate tech, in particular, is an emerging investment category, according to a recent CB Insights report on where banks are betting on fintech. The report said innovations in spaces such as home equity are simplifying the market and strengthening banks’ offerings. Taking it one step farther, Tbilisi-based Bank of Georgia recently launched a real estate listing platform, similar to Zillow.com, that allows sellers and other stakeholders to upload properties available for buyers to browse listings knowing what they can afford. “We basically found there were some differentiators we could add, as additional value, and free for users, that were also very convenient,” Andro Ratiani, innovation head at Bank of Georgia, recently told Bank Innovation . He said it can often take 3-4 months in Georgia to select the right property, apply for the mortgage loan and complete the whole transaction. Through the Area.ge platform, Ratiani said users are able to sign in with their Bank of Georgia account, prequalify for a mortgage loan, and see their maximum amount, instantly. Then, once a user selects a property, the bank tells them whether they can afford it, based on the financials that the bank analyzes. Ratiani said 60-70% of the process of getting a home loan is now electronic, and customers can go to a branch to provide paperwork necessary to complete the transaction. Additionally, he said the bank has integrated artificial intelligence functions that detect properties and listings that are duplicated, inaccurate, misleading or incomplete. "Area.ge is equipped with customer propensity detecting systems that enable us to show our clients tailor-made offers within their financial capacity and deliver superior customer experience," said Levan Kobakhidze, general manager of Area.ge. He told Bank Innovation that the team works proactively with sellers to improve those listings. “So, data cleanup is a big part of this,” he said. Kobakhidze also said data is also used to track customer behavior and tailor results found on the platform based on the user’s previous interests. “The bank would simply like to offer products at the right time and in the right place,” he said. “This is a direct and smart way to offer customers individualized loans.” Join us at Bank Innovation Ignite 2019 , March 11-12 at the Hyatt Olive 8 in Seattle. Register here .

Banks Finding More Entry Points to Real Estate Tech

Gen X and Boomers, Not Millennials, Drive P2P Adoption

Credit Agricole-Backed Fintech Startup in Insolvency Filing

Related Posts

AI-driven ‘SaaSpocalypse’ fears overblown, experts say

Is Your Technology Supplier There for You?

Bluevine’s AI chatbot resolves 80% of customer queries

Credit Agricole-Backed Fintech Startup in Insolvency Filing

EMERGING FINTECH DIRECTORY

FinAi Podcast

SPONSORED

Build an Antifragile Strategy to Outperform the Market

How AI and Product Experts Turn Fuzzy Requirements Into Focused Dev-ready Roadmaps

Is Your Technology Supplier There for You?

Connect

Welcome Back!

Retrieve your password

Continue Reading with FinAi News Premium - Less than $2/Day

Banks Finding More Entry Points to Real Estate Tech

Gen X and Boomers, Not Millennials, Drive P2P Adoption

Credit Agricole-Backed Fintech Startup in Insolvency Filing

Related Posts

FinAi Podcast

Connect

Welcome Back!

Retrieve your password

Unlock This Article

Continue Reading with FinAi News Premium - Less than $2/Day