Industry Experts Make Their Predictions for Proptech in 2023

Industry experts frequently are asked to prognosticate the future at the start of a new calendar year. Proptech, which sits at the intersection of software and commercial real estate, is no exception.

Blueprint Vegas, an annual event for proptech and construction tech, asked experts from such organizations as JLL Spark, Zigg Capital. PGIM, Cherre, LAB Ventures, and others to make their predictions for what would happen over the next 12 months.

Take notes, as there may be questions on New Year’s 2024.

Raj Singh, managing partner at JLL Spark, JLL’s venture arm, said some things that seem likely. For example, many companies will give up on demanding that all workers return to the office fulltime and implement hybrid work “that allows people to be in the office at the right time according to their roles, locations and needs.” That will open opportunities for “proptech firms that cover tenant experience, hybrid/remote working and office/workplace flexibility,” letting them develop larger revenues and gain profitability.

Zigg Capital founding partner Dave Eisenberg said that “2023 will be about proptech companies surviving, thriving or diving in the downturn,” which pretty much covers all the possibilities. He expects “a handful of very savvy transactions that will pierce through the liquidity desert and prove to be transformative a few years from now.”

Sara Shank, managing director and global head of innovation at PGIM warns start-ups to “focus on their strengths, focus on what sets them apart from their competitors and make that clear in their pitch, focus on what data they can provide (data will be a real focus for 2023 for landlords), focus on ease of implementation (don’t forget to hire strong customer success people who communicate well with your landlords), and as always, focus on creating what real estate wants not what you think real estate needs”

There will be less early-stage start-up funding, according to L.D. Salmanson, CEO and co-founder of Cherre — and more mergers and acquisitions. “Investors will double down on companies in their existing pipelines and key themes, rather than emerging companies that they do not yet understand.” Innovative start-ups may find acquisition by companies already through the early phase as the only viable route.

Lab Ventures CEO Tigre Wenrich thinks that ESG, especially the environmental component, is here to stay “and investment in tech solutions that address them will likely continue with strong growth even if the economy turns to recession.” Construction technology to help people do the actual building will become big as getting labor has become so tough.

For the rest of their views, and many others, check the full Blueprint Vegas predictions page.