Investment in proptech in Spain has registered €31.3 million during the first half of the year, representing 3.3% of the total invested by venture capital (VC) funds in various industries. According to CBRE data, this volume is 112% higher than the same period last year and is only 14.9% below the total investment for 2023.
Despite these gains, the sector has yet to recover the peak investment levels of 2021 and 2022, which reached €622 million and €201 million, respectively. During these years, important financing rounds were recorded for companies. Among them, Clikalia stood out, which, with 460 million euros, was the largest financing round recorded by a start-up in Spain. It was followed by Idealista, with 425 million euros; Tiko, with 60 million euros; and Housfy, with 40 million euros. Nevertheless, the proptech ecosystem in Spain remains active, with a total of 466 companies, marking a 61% increase in the last five years.
In contrast to the growth in Spain, global investment in proptech has fallen by 40% over the same period, totalling $2.8 billion. The ratio of investment in the sector to total investment in other industries has also declined globally, from 3.5% in 2020 to 1.5% in the last six months.
Internationally, 39 proptech companies have achieved unicorn status, the two most recent being 1Komma5 and Avenue One. 62% of the unicorns in this sector are US-based, with a focus on solutions that go beyond real estate transactions to asset management and user experience, including facilities management and energy optimisation.
Globally, the proptechs attracting the most capital are those offering smart building solutions, workspace solutions, alternative financing and sustainability. Investment interest in sustainability-focused digital solutions is growing and has accounted for 13% of total venture capital fund investment over the past three years.
‘Within the ClimateTech sector, we identified a niche with significant growth in investment: ClimateTech for Real Estate. This intersection between ClimateTech and PropTech focuses on solutions that promote the sustainability of real estate assets. During the first half of the year, this niche accounted for 17% of total PropTech investment, making it the segment with the greatest weight’, explained Arturo Carballo, Director of Strategy and Corporate Development at CBRE.
