Startup Applies Latest Technology to Real Estate, Innovating the Market
“You have to put in the legwork to find good properties,” an old adage in the real estate industry, is expected to become a thing of the past soon. This is because a new kind of effort is emerging to replace physical legwork. This is the so-called “PropTech.” PropTech is a compound word of property and technology. It applies the latest technologies such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and big data to the real estate market, achieving results beyond traditional legwork. It goes beyond simply providing listings; it uses big data to identify suitable commercial spaces and analyzes risk to prevent deposit losses. At the heart of this market innovation through PropTech are startups.
On the 6th, SweetSpot announced that it is building a “Tenant Library” this year. Based on its accumulated retail store database, this system allows users to check characteristics, sales, foot traffic, ratings, and more for each store. Utilizing this, store owners can select retail sectors that fit the commercial district and store location, and self-employed individuals no longer have to wander searching for profitable spots. Kim Jeong-su, CEO of SweetSpot, who founded the company in 2015, has steadily accumulated data by providing a matching service that connects brands needing “pop-up stores” with vacant spaces in commercial buildings. Currently, the database includes information on 2,219 brands, over 6,900 sales data points, and about 650 space data entries. They are preparing a pop-up store recommendation AI feature using ChatGPT. Since 2019, they have expanded their business into large arcade leasing agency services. CEO Kim said, “With the Tenant Library, we can conduct retail curation tailored to each commercial district,” adding, “We will also expand into areas such as retail asset management software to support stable store revenue and streamline operating costs.”
“Jippoom,” a real estate review platform operated by NextGround, has recently gained attention due to the reverse jeonse crisis and jeonse fraud issues. Jippoom provides a “Deposit Risk Analysis Report” that analyzes the risk of deposits using official documents such as the certified copy of the register and building ledger. The report includes information necessary to prevent jeonse deposit damage, such as whether the landlord has failed to return the deposit, tax delinquency, auction or public sale history, and illegal building status. The number of users of this report increased by 400% in January this year compared to November last year. Additionally, Jippoom allows users to conveniently check information that can only be known by living in the property, such as noise between floors, maintenance fees, and the interior of the house, simply by searching the address.
The foundation enabling startups to continue their challenges in the domestic PropTech market was laid by Zigbang, which pioneered this market and rose to unicorn status. Founded in 2010, Zigbang has advanced its services by integrating technologies such as 3D, augmented reality (AR), and AI beyond just real estate listings. A representative service is the “3D Complex Tour,” which allows users to check sunlight rights and views by apartment unit and floor. Recently, they also launched “Zigbang RED,” an AI big data solution for real estate professionals. It is characterized by providing more practical and extensive data on location, demand, and residential convenience than existing analysis data. An Seong-woo, CEO of Zigbang, explained, “We have improved the quality of real estate information by utilizing the latest analytical methods such as machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing.”
The outlook for the PropTech market is also bright. Last month, market research firm ReportLinker released the “PropTech Market Size Industry Trend Analysis Report,” forecasting that the global PropTech market will grow at an average annual rate of 15.4% over the next five years, reaching $64.3 billion by 2028. Han Areum, senior researcher at the Korea Capital Market Institute, said, “The domestic PropTech market has continued its steep growth, and the business areas, which were initially limited to real estate brokerage platforms, are expanding,” adding, “In the future, the opening of public information will act as a booster for PropTech development.”
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