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.
This week's The Print Live sits down with?Christian Calusa,?the CEO & Founder of Neo, to talk about how his company's?platform helps international brokers look?for pre- and under-construction U.S. listings for their clients.? ?
- Defaults are reaching historic levels in the office market, as a growing number of owners capitulate to persistently high interest rates and weak demand. (WSJ)
- It is more expensive than ever to buy a home in the U.S., according to Redfin. The median home price hit a record $383,725 last month,?up 5.2%?from a year ago?(The Hill)
- Wall Street went on a home-buying spree. Now, more lawmakers want to stop it from ever happening again. Democrats in the U.S. Senate and House have sponsored legislation that would force large owners of single-family homes to sell houses to family buyers.?(WSJ)
- A giant 3D printer, which is big enough to make a house, has been unveiled at the University of Maine. The Factory of the Future 1.0 can print objects 96ft?long —?approximately the length of a blue whale.?(BBC)
- "Where is there room for software adoption, what new use cases do LLMs enable, and are there still opportunities for venture-scale outcomes in real estate?" asks Nima Wedlake in a post looking at the major proptech trends of?2024.?(Thomvest)
- Despite the considerable promise of robotics in construction, the hurdle of their ROI?remains, write Zach Aarons and Sage Shamsai. (Built Worlds)
- CVCs?have some compelling advantages that can make them the perfect investor?for many proptechs. They also provide a?great opportunity for traditional corporates to embrace innovation and deliver returns.?(Proptech Connection)
RAISES, BUILDS AND TEARDOWNS
- WeWork?revealed?that under its $450M plan to exit bankruptcy, property management software provider?Yardi Systems?will?become the?coworking?titan's majority owner.??(Bisnow)
- HomeServices of America?and some of its subsidiaries have agreed to pay $250M to settle antitrust lawsuits accusing it of colluding with the NAR and other major brokerages.?(The Real Deal)
- KKR and Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust?have announced a definitive agreement for funds managed by KKR to acquire a portfolio of 19 purpose-built student housing properties from BREIT for approximately $1.64B.?(Press Release)
- Backflip, which helps potential house?flippers?source?and evaluate potential investments — as well as secure?short-term loans — has raised $15M in a Series A round. (Techcrunch)
- Decarbonization Partners?has raised $1.4B at the final close of its inaugural fund, which will invest in companies providing tech?and solutions that accelerate the transition to a net zero. (ESG Today)
- Infogrid, a?building intelligence and analytics company, has secured $13M?in new?funding.?(TFN)
- Zefir, a French company that?aims to speed up real estate transactions, has?raised €11M in a new funding round.?(Tech.eu)
- Casa Shares, an?SEC qualified real estate investing platform, has raised $1.5M in Pre-Seed funding.?(FINSMES)
- Inhabitr, an AI-powered CRE furnishing platform, has?secured $27M in a Series B?round. (Press Release)
- ProSentry, which creates?smart building solutions that can be installed across a wide range of new and existing buildings, has closed a $2.55 million seed?round. (NYREJ)
OXFORD REAL ESTATE CONFERENCE
Blueprint's?President Martin Kelly will be speaking at the 8th?Oxford Real Estate Conference which will be held on May 7th at the Said Business School, University of Oxford. For our network who will be in England at the time we have a small discount code “friendsofoxres” to share with you (don’t have to be affiliated with the university to attend).?
- Simon Jones, has been named CFO at Watkin Jones. Jones was?formerly CFO at Mapeley Estates Limited. He will take up his new post in May and go through a "managed succession"?process.?(Construction News)
NEWLY POSTED JOBS IN REAL ESTATE & TECH
