Top 10 new proptech innovations in Australian real estate

👓 7.5 minute read

Proptech (property technology) is accelerating change in the Australian real estate industry. In the past 12 months, a wave of new products and solutions – both home-grown and global – have launched to help Australian agents, agencies, and property businesses work smarter.

These innovations span AI-driven lead generation, virtual tours, smart marketing, blockchain transactions, automated property management and more. Below, we highlight ten leading proptech companies (Australian and international) that have introduced notable new tech solutions in the last year, and explain how each benefits Australian real estate professionals.

Domain (Australia) – LeadScope AI Lead Prediction Tool

Domain launched its AI-powered prospecting tool called LeadScope in August 2023. This solution analyses an agency’s CRM data combined with Domain’s buyer and seller insights to predict which homeowners are likely to list their property in the next 12 months.

The product addresses a common challenge – dormant CRMs – by surfacing hidden opportunities and improving agent productivity. LeadScope has quickly become a strategic tool for Aussie agents to focus their prospecting efforts where it counts. While still relatively new, it has drawn interest as part of Domain’s Agent Solutions suite, positioning Domain as not just a listings portal but a technology partner for agencies.

REA Group (Australia) – AI-Powered Features on realestate.com.au

REA rolled out a suite of AI-driven enhancements in mid-2023 to improve both consumer experience and agent outcomes on its platform. Notably, REA launched realEstimate™, an automated property valuation model now tracking over 35% of Australian homes.

This tool gives agents and owners instant price estimates and market insights for properties, leveraging PropTrack’s data and machine learning. REA also integrated Generative AI (via ChatGPT) into its site’s “Suggested Properties” feature, which highlights a key “Top Feature” of each property based on listing descriptions.

For agents, these AI features mean more engaged buyers and sellers – the platform personalises listings to user interests and even recommends ideal agents to potential vendors using new predictive models.

Additionally, REA introduced an AI-powered listing photo optimiser that automatically reorders photos to show the most appealing images first for Premiere Plus advertisers. The successful uptake of realEstimate and the AI features (one new property is added to realEstimate every 20 seconds) underscores the industry’s appetite for data-driven tools.

Don’t forget First National’s deal with Connect and Connect PRO, that gives you access to a complete suite of AI enhanced products and a seamless end-to-end solutions for each transaction.

Propic (Australia) – Claire Multi-Language AI Assistant

Sydney-based Propic has emerged as a leader in real estate AI, and in late 2023 it unveiled Claire, a generative AI platform that converses in 14 languages. Claire is a fully autonomous virtual assistant trained specifically for real estate, capable of handling enquiries from buyers, renters, and owners in real-time across email, websites, portals and SMS.

Backed by proprietary models and a vast property data lake, Claire can answer questions, qualify leads, and even generate detailed property listing descriptions on the fly by augmenting details from agency systems and the web.

According to Propic, Claire’s conversational abilities are “equal to or better than most humans,” enabling 24/7 engagement with clients. Claire addresses a huge need for agencies – capturing and nurturing leads after hours and freeing up staff from repetitive queries. It also automates parts of property management (e.g. responding to tenants) and project marketing, making it broadly useful to Aussie real estate businesses.

Matterport (United States) – AI Property Intelligence for Virtual Tours

Global 3D-tour provider Matterport – widely used by Australian agents for virtual property inspections – launched a new Property Intelligence suite in February 2024. This collection of AI-powered features transforms Matterport’s 3D digital twins beyond simple tours.

The platform now automatically generates accurate measurements, floor plans, and property layouts from a scan, and can produce analytical reports, saving agents and property managers significant time.

As part of its Winter 2024 release, Matterport introduced Showcase Plugins like a “Compass” and “Minimap” for easier navigation of large virtual spaces, and a “Business Card” plugin that places the agent’s contact details and extra property info inside the tour. This means an online viewer can explore a property and directly connect with the agent or access documents in-tour.

Matterport also upgraded its schematic floor plan service (adding colour branding and furniture options) and launched a beta CAD file export, which converts a property’s 3D scan into editable CAD drawings – a boon for developers and architects collaborating on listings.

The automated dimensioning and floor plans also assist in creating marketing materials faster, while property managers can use the data for facilities management.

BoxBrownie.com (Australia) – AI Listing Copy Generator

BoxBrownie.com, an Australian-founded proptech known for photo editing and virtual staging, launched a brand-new AI Copywriting service in 2023 to streamline the creation of property listing descriptions.

This tool allows real estate professionals to generate a polished, high-quality listing blurb in seconds by inputting key property features. The AI is optimised and trained on real estate language, so it produces marketing copy that is engaging and tailored to the property type and location. Agents can choose different length options (e.g. 150 or 250 words) and get several descriptions free each month as part of BoxBrownie’s service.

Australian agents, especially those in smaller offices, can quickly turn around listings and ensure consistently professional descriptions (useful for those who don’t have in-house copywriters). It complements BoxBrownie’s image enhancement services – now agents can get photos edited, floorplans drawn, and text written all on one platform.

The company offers 10 free AI-written descriptions per month to its members, making it easy to trial

Propy (United States) – Blockchain Transactions & Crypto Escrow

Propy, a Silicon Valley-based proptech pioneer in blockchain real estate transactions, introduced a major new service in late 2024 that holds significance for forward-looking Australian agencies and investors. In October 2024 Propy launched a Crypto Escrow (Settlement) service in partnership with Coinbase Prime, enabling property buyers to use cryptocurrency in real estate deals more securely.

This service allows buyers to deposit Bitcoin, Ethereum or USDC into a custodial escrow account during a property purchase, with funds held safely until closing. It mitigates the risk of crypto volatility or tax triggers from early conversion – effectively simplifying high-value transactions like real estate closings by keeping crypto as crypto until settlement.

While currently focused on the US market, Propy’s blockchain platform (which also facilitates smart contracts and even NFT-based property sales) signals where global real estate is heading.

Australian real estate businesses and investors are taking note of blockchain’s potential – whether for streamlining cross-border purchases, enabling fractional ownership, or attracting crypto-rich buyers. Propy’s technology could allow Australian sellers to accept crypto or Australian buyers to safely invest in overseas property via crypto, expanding their pool of opportunities.

As Australian regulators explore digital asset frameworks, Propy’s innovations provide a tested model. Some forward-thinking agencies in Australia have already begun partnering with local blockchain platforms (like Brisbane-based B4Real) to allow crypto-property purchases; Propy’s solutions further validate this trend and may well enter the Australian market in the near future.

PropertyMe (Australia) – Bills AI Automated Invoice Processing

Cloud property management software PropertyMe rolled out a new AI-driven feature called Bills AI in 2024, aiming to reduce administrative drudgery for property managers.

Bills AI uses artificial intelligence to scan and read a wide range of property-related bills – from utilities invoices to handwritten tradie notes – and then automatically creates the corresponding entries in PropertyMe. This includes parsing details like amounts, dates, and property addresses, so that what used to require manual data entry can now be done in bulk with a single click.

The tool even links with PropertyMe’s Paperless Inspection module to help automate water usage invoicing for tenants.

Kolmeo (Australia) – Kolmeo Plus Tenant & Landlord Service Platform

Melbourne-based Kolmeo, a property management software provider, launched an innovative new platform called Kolmeo Plus in August 2024. Kolmeo Plus is an integrated suite of features and partnerships designed to help agencies anticipate and meet the needs of their tenants and landlords beyond the usual property management tasks.

In practice, it functions like a value-added concierge: for example, when a new lease is signed, the platform can prompt tenants with on-demand services such as utility connection, renter’s insurance, mail redirection, hiring removalists, or even booking cleaners – all through a single easy interface.

By using predictive data from the property and tenancy (e.g. lease start/end dates, tenant profile), Kolmeo Plus recommends relevant services at just the right moment, much like Netflix’s recommendation engine but for real estate needs.

For Australian property managers, Kolmeo Plus offers a way to enhance customer experience and generate new revenue streams. Agencies can differentiate themselves by providing a “one-stop shop” to renters and landlords, improving satisfaction and retention. Landlords benefit too – for instance, seamless insurance setup or maintenance services mean happier tenants and better cared-for properties.

Little Hinges (Australia) – API-Powered Digital Inspections at Scale

Brisbane-based startup Little Hinges, Australia’s largest digital twin and virtual tour provider, has spent the past year expanding the capabilities of its platform for real estate inspections.

In mid-2024, Little Hinges completed development of a suite of partner APIs and supporting tools that make it easier for other real estate systems (like portals, CRMs, or agency websites) to integrate its 3D tour technology. These APIs allow seamless ordering, creation, and delivery of digital assets – including 3D virtual property tours, high-resolution imagery, and floorplans – directly from within whatever software agents are already using.

For example, a CRM could trigger a virtual tour booking when a new listing is created, and the finished tour and floorplan files can flow back into the agency’s system automatically. Little Hinges’ APIs also provide access to rich data generated by its digital twins, such as property dimensions, “virtual inspection” engagement analytics, and details on a home’s internal features.

By integrating Little Hinges’ service into their existing workflows, agents can more easily offer digital inspections for every listing – a practice that gained prominence during COVID and is now becoming standard for interstate and overseas marketing. The data insights (like which parts of a tour users spend the most time on) give agents actionable feedback on buyer interest.

AiRE (Australia) – RiTA AI Assistant Goes Mobile

A standout in Aussie proptech, AiRE is the company behind RiTA, an AI-powered digital assistant that helps real estate agents with lead nurturing and prospecting. While RiTA has been used on desktop for a few years, in May 2023 AiRE launched the RiTA mobile app to bring its AI assistant into agents’ pockets.

With the app, agents on-the-go can have RiTA analyse their CRM and identify the best contacts to reach out to each day – for example, past appraisals that might be ready to sell, or cold leads showing new activity. RiTA can then initiate personalised two-way SMS conversations with those contacts, handling the initial outreach and questions via chat so that agents only step in when a lead is warm or requests a call. The mobile app sends push notifications of important updates (like a contact replying or a property in an agent’s patch being listed/sold) so that agents can respond in real time.

In Australia’s competitive agency landscape, RiTA has become akin to an “AI PA” for many agents, automating prospecting conversations and ensuring no inquiry falls through the cracks. The new mobile app makes RiTA’s benefits available anytime, anywhere, fitting well with agents’ work style of being out and about at inspections, auctions, and appraisals. This boosts productivity – an agent can be lining up their next appraisal via AI while conducting another in person.

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