Real Estate Tech Stocks to Watch

01/06/2025

Tech Cre

Property technology (PropTech) refers to the innovative tech solutions transforming how real estate is bought, sold, and managed. In today’s market, real estate tech stocks are gaining traction as the housing sector embraces digital platforms and data-driven services. Despite a volatile property cycle in recent years, investor momentum is strong heading into 2025. PropTech companies attracted billions in financing and saw consolidation through major deals (for example, Rocket Companies’ planned acquisition of Redfin). This sector’s resilience — with PropTech stock indexes rebounding in 2024 — signals that real estate innovation is here to stay. As the industry digitizes, both Wall Street and Main Street are watching these real estate technology companies closely.

Why Invest in PropTech?

Investing in PropTech stocks offers exposure to the modernization of a massive industry. Key benefits include:

Efficiency & Cost Benefits: Real estate processes long burdened by paperwork and middlemen are being streamlined. From virtual home tours to one-click rental payments, PropTech solutions cut costs and save time for consumers and businesses alike.
Rapid Adoption Trends: Digital natives now expect to find homes or manage properties via apps and online portals. The pandemic accelerated trends like remote closings and online mortgage approvals into the mainstream. With real estate one of the last sectors to fully digitize, the growth runway for property technology investing remains significant (the PropTech market is forecast to roughly triple in size by the early 2030s).
Resilient Demand: Housing is a fundamental need, and even when the market cycles, there is consistent pressure for innovation – whether it’s making homebuying more affordable or optimizing commercial space usage. PropTech firms that solve these pain points can capture lasting value.

In short, PropTech stocks combine the stability of real estate with the growth potential of tech, creating a compelling story for forward-looking investors.

Key PropTech Segments and Notable Companies

PropTech spans several segments. Below, we highlight major real estate tech segments and 2025’s notable public companies in each. (Market capitalizations are approximate as of mid-2025.)

Online Marketplaces & Platforms

Zillow Group (Market Cap ≈ $16 billion): Zillow is the leading online real estate marketplace, famous for its massive listings portal and the popular “Zestimate” home valuation tool. The company’s platform attracts hundreds of millions of monthly visitors, monetizing through advertising and lead generation for agents. After exiting a brief venture into home-flipping, Zillow refocused on its core marketplace and adjacent services (like Zillow Home Loans), solidifying its role as a central hub in U.S. housing searches.
Redfin (Market Cap ≈ $1.2 billion): Redfin is a tech-powered real estate brokerage known for its user-friendly home search site and salaried agents. It offers lower commissions and a seamless online experience for buyers and sellers. Despite recent headwinds from a slower housing market, Redfin’s platform and brand remain strong. (Notably, Redfin agreed to a buyout offer from Rocket Companies in 2025, a move that underscores how traditional mortgage players see value in PropTech integration. Until the deal closes, Redfin continues operating as an independent public company.)
Opendoor Technologies (Market Cap ≈ $500 million): Opendoor pioneered the iBuyer model, using algorithms to instantly buy homes for resale. This allows homeowners to sell quickly to Opendoor for cash, with the platform then handling repairs and listing the homes. Opendoor’s technology-driven approach brought liquidity to the housing market, though its margins are sensitive to home price swings. After navigating a tough 2023 (amid high interest rates), Opendoor has sharpened its focus on profitability and prudent pricing. It remains the largest iBuyer, giving it substantial transaction data and pricing AI advantages.

Commercial Real Estate Platforms

CBRE Group (Market Cap ≈ $38 billion): CBRE isn’t a pure software company — it’s the world’s largest commercial real estate services firm — but it has increasingly embraced PropTech in its offerings. As a global brokerage and property management powerhouse, CBRE leverages technology to give clients an edge: think AI-driven market research, digital tenant experience apps, and smart building management tools. The company has also invested in tech startups and partnered with innovators (for example, taking a stake in flexible workspace startup Industrious) to ensure it stays at the forefront of commercial real estate innovation. For investors, CBRE provides a way to play PropTech trends in the office, retail, and industrial segments while owning a profitable, blue-chip real estate business.

Property Data & AI Analytics

Compass, Inc. (Market Cap ≈ $3.2 billion): Compass is the largest residential brokerage by sales volume in the United States, and it differentiates itself with a heavy focus on data and AI. The company’s end-to-end platform provides its real estate agents with AI-driven marketing tools, pricing insights, and a streamlined workflow to manage client relationships. By investing in technology (Compass has built an in-house software suite and acquired AI startups), the firm aims to boost agent productivity and win market share from traditional brokerages. For investors, Compass represents a hybrid of tech and bricks-and-mortar: it’s a brokerage business aiming to scale faster via digital advantages and analytics.
eXp World Holdings (Market Cap ≈ $1.2 billion): eXp is a fast-growing, fully remote real estate brokerage that operates via a cloud-based platform (including a virtual reality world for agent collaboration). With no brick-and-mortar offices, eXp uses its technology platform to recruit agents and facilitate transactions online. The company provides real-time data dashboards to its agents and employs analytics to optimize lead generation and training. eXp’s tech-centric, low-overhead model has enabled it to expand internationally and rapidly increase its agent count. This data-driven approach to brokerage shows how AI and digital platforms can disrupt traditional real estate sales, making eXp a PropTech stock to watch.

Real Estate SaaS (Software-as-a-Service)

AppFolio, Inc. (Market Cap ≈ $7.8 billion): AppFolio offers cloud-based software for property management, serving landlords, property managers, and real estate owners (especially in the small-to-midsize segment). Its platform helps users automate tasks like marketing rentals, screening tenants, collecting rent online, and managing maintenance requests. By replacing manual paperwork with one integrated system, AppFolio enables significant efficiency gains for property managers. The company earns recurring subscription revenue, enjoys high customer retention, and has been steadily expanding its user base and feature set (including AI tools for rental applications and accounting). As the rental market professionalizes, AppFolio’s SaaS model is positioned to benefit from the ongoing tech adoption by property operators.
Procore Technologies (Market Cap ≈ $10.6 billion): Procore is a leading SaaS platform for construction project management — a crucial part of the real estate ecosystem (especially for new developments and large renovation projects). Procore’s software connects contractors, developers, and subcontractors, enabling real-time collaboration on blueprints, schedules, budgeting, and compliance. Replacing cumbersome paper plans and siloed software, Procore helps reduce costly construction delays and errors. The company’s revenues have been growing at a solid clip as construction firms digitize their workflows. For investors interested in “built-world” tech, Procore provides exposure to the modernization of construction processes, which ultimately feeds into faster, more efficient property development.

Smart Home & IoT (Internet of Things)

Alarm.com Holdings (Market Cap ≈ $3 billion): Alarm.com is a platform provider at the heart of the smart home revolution. The company’s cloud-based software and hardware integrations power home security systems, smart thermostats, video cameras, and other IoT devices in millions of homes. Often white-labeled through local security service providers, Alarm.com’s technology lets homeowners control their security alarms, locks, lights, and more via smartphone apps. The firm generates subscription revenue from these connected home services. As smart home adoption grows (for security, energy management, and convenience), Alarm.com stands to benefit as a pick-and-shovel provider enabling various device brands to work seamlessly together under one ecosystem.
ADT Inc. (Market Cap ≈ $7 billion): ADT is a household name in home security, now pivoting aggressively into smart home technology. The company has millions of existing security customers and has been upgrading its offerings to include smart locks, connected doorbells, and automation — often in partnership with tech leaders (Google invested in ADT and collaborates to integrate Google’s Nest devices into ADT’s systems). For investors, ADT represents a blend of a stable, cash-generating security business with newfound growth opportunities in IoT. The company’s nationwide installation network and brand trust give it an edge as homeowners increasingly seek professionally installed smart home solutions that go beyond DIY gadgets.

Emerging PropTech Trends to Watch

The PropTech space is evolving quickly. Key tech trends shaping real estate in 2025 include:

AI-Powered Analytics: Artificial intelligence is now deeply embedded in real estate decision-making. Companies deploy AI for everything from instant property valuations and personalized home recommendations to automated mortgage underwriting. Predictive analytics are helping investors find opportunities and allowing property managers to anticipate maintenance or turnover. This trend means PropTech firms with rich data sets and machine learning capabilities could have a competitive edge.
Virtual Transactions & Digital Twins: The buying, selling, and renting of property is moving increasingly online. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are enabling immersive 3D home tours and property “digital twins” that let buyers explore listings remotely. At the same time, the transaction itself is going digital – eSignatures, remote online notarization, and fully online closings are becoming common. This end-to-end digitization makes real estate transactions faster and more convenient, expanding the market reach of those PropTech platforms that master it.
IoT and Smart Buildings: Smart home technology and IoT sensors are becoming standard in both residences and commercial buildings. From app-controlled thermostats and voice-activated appliances in homes to smart elevators and energy management systems in office towers, connected devices are improving efficiency and user experience. The data collected by these devices also feeds back into analytics for building owners (for example, to optimize energy use or predictive maintenance). PropTech companies in the IoT space, or those partnering with device makers, are at the forefront of this “smart property” wave.
Fintech Integration & New Ownership Models: Real estate tech is increasingly converging with fintech. Examples include crowdfunding platforms that let investors buy fractional shares of properties, blockchain-based property registries that promise more secure and transparent transactions, and digital mortgage platforms streamlining home financing. These innovations lower barriers to real estate investment and simplify complex processes. While still emerging, trends like tokenization of property assets and AI-driven mortgage approvals indicate how PropTech is expanding what’s possible in property ownership and finance.

Risks and Challenges

While PropTech is promising, investors should be mindful of several risks:

Market Cycles & Interest Rates: Real estate tech companies ultimately depend on the health of the property markets. When home sales or commercial leasing slows (for instance, due to high interest rates or a recession), even innovative PropTech firms can see growth stall. For example, lower housing turnover directly impacts revenue for marketplaces and iBuyers. Macro conditions like mortgage rate spikes can rapidly change sentiment toward these stocks.
Regulatory and Legal Hurdles: The real estate industry is heavily regulated, and new tech-driven models can face legal challenges. Short-term rental platforms deal with city-by-city rules; online brokerages must navigate state real estate laws; and use of personal data or AI in lending comes under privacy and fair housing scrutiny. Any regulatory shift – from zoning laws to data privacy regulations – can create compliance costs or limit PropTech offerings.
Intense Competition (Including Incumbents): PropTech is a crowded field with startups and established tech giants vying for market share. Traditional real estate firms are also rolling out their own tech. This competition can lead to higher customer acquisition costs and pressure on profit margins. In residential listings, for instance, Zillow faces competition from newcomers and brokerage sites; in smart homes, specialized firms compete with giants like Amazon and Google. Companies that lack a clear differentiator or network effect could struggle to maintain an edge.
Business Model Challenges: Not every innovation has proven profitable – some well-known PropTech ventures have stumbled. The rise and fall of WeWork (office space tech) and the steep losses incurred by certain iBuyers illustrate how scaling in real estate can burn cash quickly. Many PropTech firms are still finding the right balance between growth and profitability. Investors must be prepared for volatility, and should scrutinize whether a company’s tech truly creates a sustainable advantage or is just subsidizing services to gain users.

Tips for Evaluating PropTech Stocks

For those interested in property technology investing, here are key indicators to consider when evaluating individual stocks:

Growth Metrics: Look at user growth and revenue growth rates. How quickly is the platform adding new home listings, subscribers, or clients? Consistent double-digit growth in users or sales can indicate that a company’s solution is gaining traction in the market.
Unit Economics & Profitability: Real estate tech often operates on thin margins, so it’s crucial to assess if the company’s unit economics are improving. For example, if it’s an iBuyer, are they narrowing the gap between purchase and resale prices? For SaaS models, is gross margin high and expanding? Also note profitability or lack thereof – some PropTech firms are in growth mode, but a clear path to profitability (or at least positive cash flow) is a healthy sign.
Innovation and Partnerships: The real estate tech landscape changes rapidly, so consider how a company is innovating. Are they incorporating new technologies like AI or AR before others? Also, partnerships can accelerate growth – for instance, a PropTech firm teaming up with a big brokerage, homebuilder, or device maker can quickly expand its addressable market. Strategic alliances (such as ADT partnering with Google, or a fintech integrating with Zillow’s platform) often signal a vote of confidence and can boost future prospects.
Balance Sheet Strength: Finally, check the company’s financial foundation. Real estate cycles can be rough, and firms with ample cash and manageable debt can ride out downturns or invest in R&D while weaker competitors fall away. A solid balance sheet also matters if the firm needs to sustain losses for a period in exchange for growth (common in newer PropTech models).

Conclusion

The PropTech sector is changing the face of real estate, bringing a traditionally offline industry into the digital age. From browsing homes on a smartphone to installing AI-powered smart thermostats, the influence of these technologies is only growing. For investors, real estate tech stocks offer a chance to capitalize on an innovation wave that is reshaping how we live and work in physical spaces. We’ve covered key segments – from online property marketplaces and AI-driven brokerages to smart home innovators – that illustrate the breadth of real estate innovation. Each sub-sector has its standout companies, and as a whole they show considerable growth potential. Of course, prudent investing requires watching the risks and picking the PropTech players with truly durable business models. By keeping an eye on the trends (like AI, IoT, and digital transactions) and tracking the companies leading the charge, investors can position themselves to benefit from the ongoing evolution of the property industry. In 2025 and beyond, PropTech is expected to remain a dynamic arena – one where technology and real estate converge to create new opportunities for those paying attention.