What Is Proptech Anymore?

In the last decade, the term proptech has rapidly gained traction, becoming synonymous with innovation and modernization within the real estate sector. Initially, proptech was understood as the application of technology to real estate, aimed at improving processes like property management, transactions, and investment. However, in recent years, the term has been stretched and diluted to the point where it feels almost meaningless. The boundaries of what constitutes proptech have become so elastic that industries like travel, energy, and even retail sales are being roped into the definition. The result is an industry classification that lacks precision, failing to serve any specific function, and in some cases, becoming little more than a buzzword.

This growing ambiguity and lack of specificity raise a critical question: What is proptech anymore?

The Dilution of Proptech

Proptech, short for property technology, originally referred to the digital transformation of the real estate sector. At its core, it focused on using technology to streamline how properties are bought, sold, rented, and managed. Proptech solutions were inherently tied to real estate—whether through AI-driven property management platforms, online real estate marketplaces, or digital tools to facilitate mortgage lending and property transactions.

Today, however, this once-clear definition has become murky. As more industries race to align themselves with the tech-forward narrative, the proptech umbrella has broadened to an almost absurd degree. Energy platforms that optimize building efficiency are now branded as proptech, as are travel apps that help you find vacation homes, and even software that manages retail spaces. By this logic, anything related to a physical location—be it a store, a factory, or an energy grid—can now be called proptech.

Separate Industries, Separate Goals

The problem with this expanded definition is that it misses the point: these are separate industries with distinct goals, challenges, and solutions. Energy platforms, while they may deal with the physical infrastructure of buildings, are fundamentally part of the energy industry. Their primary focus is not real estate but energy consumption, sustainability, and efficiency. The same can be said for travel and hospitality platforms, which may involve the use of properties but exist within a broader ecosystem of tourism and service industries.

Calling everything proptech not only oversimplifies but also undermines the specialized knowledge and technologies that exist within these other industries. By lumping them all under a single banner, we lose the nuance and distinct expertise that each field brings to the table. Just because a piece of software manages something related to a physical location does not make it proptech. If we stretch this definition too far, we may as well call retail sales software proptech because retail stores operate in physical locations.

The Risk of Dilution

The risk of this dilution is that proptech loses its identity and its ability to serve as a meaningful classification. When everything becomes proptech, nothing is proptech. Without clear boundaries, the term no longer adds value or insight. Worse, it can mislead investors, entrepreneurs, and businesses about the true nature of the technology they are working with. Imagine a startup pitching itself as a proptech company, when in reality, it's an energy efficiency platform or a travel booking site. The conflation of these industries can confuse stakeholders and muddy the waters of technological innovation.

Moreover, this lack of clarity can make it more difficult for businesses within the real estate sector to position themselves effectively. As more unrelated industries co-opt the proptech label, genuine proptech startups and firms may find it harder to differentiate themselves in the market. What once conveyed expertise and focus on real estate technology now encompasses so many unrelated sectors that it risks becoming a generic, overused term.

Why It Matters to Preserve Industry Boundaries

Every industry that has undergone digital transformation has seen the rise of specialized technology sectors. Fintech, for example, refers specifically to financial technologies, focusing on areas like banking, lending, and payments. Healthtech focuses on digital tools and innovations for healthcare. These industries are clearly defined, and as a result, innovations within these spaces can be easily understood and categorized. Proptech must follow the same path.?

Maintaining clear industry boundaries doesn’t mean that technology can’t overlap between sectors, but it does mean that we should be precise in how we classify those overlaps. If a piece of technology is primarily focused on energy efficiency, it should be categorized under energytech or cleantech. If it is about optimizing real estate transactions, it belongs in proptech. This level of precision helps create a clearer, more navigable landscape for innovation, investment, and collaboration.

The Future of Proptech Requires Refinement

As technology continues to reshape industries, it’s inevitable that we’ll see more crossover between sectors. However, to ensure that proptech remains a meaningful term, we must refine and uphold its definition. Proptech is about transforming the real estate industry, and its primary focus should be on innovations that improve how properties are developed, managed, transacted, and valued.

The most valuable innovations come from specialization and focus, not from trying to be everything to everyone. By keeping proptech tightly aligned with the real estate sector and resisting the temptation to include every tech development that happens to touch physical space, we can preserve the integrity of the term and continue to drive meaningful progress in real estate technology.

The rapid expansion of what constitutes proptech has led to a definition crisis. While there is value in recognizing how technology transcends traditional industry boundaries, lumping too many disparate fields under the proptech umbrella diminishes the term’s value. Reclaiming the original intent of proptech as a specialized field within real estate is essential for the sector to have any meaning.