The Print, Vol. 215

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.

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QUICK HITS

• Australia has hit on a genius way to take the guesswork out of real estate deals. About a third of homes sell via auctions that wrap up in a matter of minutes. (Business Insider)

• Office conversions find new life after property values plunge. ​The conversions are gaining traction, helping revitalize depressed business districts. (WSJ)

• In the highly competitive world of proptech, Inman recognizes achievements of the companies and leaders transforming the residential landscape with its Best of Proptech 2024. (Inman)

• Major American commercial real estate brokerages are slowly coming around to the fact that office usage in most downtowns is unlikely to return to its former glory. But CRE’s biggest companies are now looking abroad to markets in Asia and Europe, which are growing their office markets at a sometimes ferocious clip. (Bisnow)

• For decades, installing EV chargers didn’t pay off for retailers. Now it does. Companies are now seeing charging as a potentially profitable business in and of itself. (NYT)

• HowAvalonBay is leading the way in the centralization of multifamily operations. (Propmodo)

• "Real estate portals occupy strong market positions globally, giving them incredible pricing power," writes Mike DelPrete. "That power equates to ever-increasing prices." (Mike DP)

• Diana Lind on why the new "Airbnb-friendly condos" are both brilliant and bad. (The New Urban Order)

• A look back at proptech in 2024: Funding picked up and the industry became more sophisticated, with must-have products trumping nice-to-haves. (Commercial Observer)

• Five ways to fix New York City’s housing crisis, according to renters, landlords, developers and politicians. (NYT)

• Unlocking the future of residential property management, with Taylor Hou, the CEO and Chief Happiness Officer at APM Help. (Tangent Podcast)

• The market size of the proptech segment in real estate is estimated to touch $600B by 2047, up from the current $10.5B, according to Credai and EY. (MSN)

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RAISES, BUILDS AND TEARDOWNS

• Constrafor, a software provider for the construction industry, has closed a $264M Series A funding round. (Press Release)

• Lighthouse, a data analytics platform for hotels and others in the hospitality industry, has closed a Series C round of $370M. (Techcrunch)

• Compass will acquire @properties Christie's International Real Estate in a deal is valued at around $444M, with $150M in cash and $294M in equity. (Inman)

• GetMyHome, an AI-powered homebuying tech startup, raised $1.5M in pre-seed funding. (Axios) 

• Citi has made a minority strategic investment in Pylon, a mortgage infrastructure provider. (Press Release)

• Proptech platform Podium has raised $15.1 million in a series A1 round led by software giant Autodesk. (TechinAsia)

• French start-up Upfund, specializing in data analysis and artificial intelligence for commercial real estate, has completed a €1.3M financing round. (Yabiladi)

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FIRE'S PROPTECH JOB BOARD

The Foundation for Innovation in Real Estate is highly excited to announce the launch of its new, comprehensive job board; an initiative designed to centralize and expand career opportunities across the entire proptech and contech ecosystems. The board was developed in strategic partnership with LMRE, JLL Spark, and Alate Partners.

Click here to learn more!

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