Welcome to The Print, Blueprint's weekly curation of the most important things going on in real estate and construction technology. We hope our newsletter will keep you informed as we shine a light on the newest innovations and opportunities that exist in the built world.
- KKR has completed its largest-ever purchase of apartment buildings, the latest in a string of big-ticket deals, signaling that some of the most prominent investment firms are betting on a broad rebound for multifamily housing. (WSJ)
- Sales of previously owned homes are sitting at a 30-year low and didn’t move much in May as prices hit a new record and mortgage rates remain high. (CNBC)
- Brookfield's plan to turn malls into minicities seems to have fallen short. Six years after big bet, only two projects have been completed. (WSJ)
- Proptech is increasingly working with hotels and other hospitality properties to increase efficiency and reduce costs for owners, operators and consumers. It’s doing so with back-of-the-house functions and guest-facing technology. (Commercial Observer)
- Why real estate investment firm Jamestown L.P. is often ahead of the curve on some of the most important trends in the industry. (Propmodo)
- Proptech funding has fallen 14% in the first half of the year and is down more than 86% from its H1 2022 peak, a result of the overall tight lending environment, according to CRETI. (Bisnow)
- Jon Klein looks at the potential impact of a DJI drone ban on the commercial real estate industry. (Proptech Consulting)
- Joe Aamidor takes a deep dive into "enterprise-wide decarbonization roadmap analytics" solutions, or just "enterprise decarb analytics," an area that is gaining steam. (LinkedIn)
BLUEPRINT'S BUILT WORLD CHALLENGE
The Built World Challenge, which will debut at Blueprint Vegas 2024, showcases how the latest technologies can solve real world problems today. This year's judges represent some of the best known brands, and jointly represent $400B+ in real assets. In this challenge we will be looking for solutions relating to everyone's favorite, inescapable topic, Generative AI. Submissions are open now! Deadline to submit is Friday, July 19.
RAISES, BUILDS AND TEARDOWNS
- Balto Energy, which hopes to speed the electrification of homes throughout the U.S., has raised $1M in new funding. (Techcrunch)
- Construction industry software company Clearstory has closed a $16M Series B round. (Commercial Observer)
- Flyhomes is gaining attention in the housing market by attaching Sam Altman’s name to the company, and launching new AI technology. (Fast Company)
- Entrata has acquired Colleen AI, a leader in multifamily artificial intelligence, further bolstering the AI capability across the Entrata OS while providing industry-leading AI for every operator. (Entrata Blog)
- SewerAI, a company focused on AI- and cloud-driven sewer condition assessment, has closed a $15M Series B round. (FINSMES)
- Measurabl, an ESG tech platform for real estate, is partnering with susteco solutions GmbH, a company focused on creating centralized access to data-driven real estate solutions. (Press Release)
- CoStar Group will soon have a new chief financial officer. The commercial and residential real estate powerhouse has appointed Chris Lown as CFO following the retirement of former CFO Scott Wheeler. (Real Estate News)
- Final Offer has announced that Rebecca Guthrie is joining as Chief Operating Officer and Andrew Wild as Senior Vice President, Partnerships. (EIN News)
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