Australian real estate PropTech innovator, Propic has acquired Property Realm in a move it says will “unapologetically disrupt” the real estate industry.
The joint power of the PropTech companies will automate up to 80 per cent of property manager’s maintenance tasks and inbound inquiries with human conversation-style Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities.
An investment from Australia Community Media’s Antony Catalano and Alex Waislitz has funded the landmark deal, which sees Propic bringing together the only two truly AI-based machine learning tools for real estate into one world-first PropTech AI platform.
Landlords, tenants, property managers and tradespeople will be able to use email, SMS, or messages sent from an agents’ website or a real estate portal to have intelligent AI conversations via Enliven to solve problems, answer questions, complete tasks and get maintenance help in real-time, 24/7.
“The real estate industry will be able to put people-first again,” Propic Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jeffery Gray said.
“The days of waiting 72 hours for an agent to get back to you ends with us.
“And the fact property managers are now rated as being in a ‘high risk’ industry because of how deeply stressed, overwhelmed and disillusioned they are is profoundly unacceptable when AI solutions exist to liberate them into a job they once loved.”
The integration of Realm’s AI technology into Propic’s existing Enliven conversational AI solution has started.
The enhanced AI capabilities of Enliven enable agencies to intelligently automate most property management processes and tasks including:
- Automatically respond 100 per cent to leasing inquiries 24/7, deflecting 98.6 per cent of calls away from staff.
- Manage and streamline regular maintenance requests.
- Assess the sensitivity of emergency out-of-hours requests and action based on set parameters (for example, if there is a burst water pipe, Enliven can now action getting an emergency plumber call out based on budget guidance for the area).
- Process invoices and chase rental arrears, including asking about the welfare of a tenant if pattern-detection AI notices consistent trends in missing payments.
- Complaint management, including machine learning-driven sentiment analysis to help detect and dilute angry or disrespectful messages from landlords or tenants.
Better work conditions for property managers
The promise of Propic Enliven to reduce workload without increasing headcount offers hope to agency owners struggling to retain good people.
A recent Voice of the Property Manager report released from MRI Software revealed one in four property managers intend to leave the industry, with 53 per cent struggling with mental health challenges related to abusive landlords or tenants.
One of the ways Propic AI helps attract and retain talent in property management is the machine-learning sentiment analysis Realm created in its CLAIRE virtual assistant that now forms part of Enliven.
The AI technology identifies if a tenant is angry or aggressive. Such automation of communication provides a layer of protection.
If an inquiry does need escalation to a property manager to resolve, they can be forewarned about potential issues and be prepared to respond appropriately.
“Imagine your bathroom floods at 10pm,” Mr Gray said.
“Propic Enliven fields your after-hours text, uses its machine learning sentiment analysis to sense it’s urgent and you’re stressed, then finds an after-hours plumber in your area that it’s cross-checked with your lease contract is within an approved cost range – and despatches them to your address by 10:30pm, all without human intervention.”
Incoming Propic Chief Product Officer and former Realm CEO, Patrick Hill said the union created an exciting technological opportunity.
“Combining our products means real time savings with a single provider, with smart technology for applications across both sales and property management which the world has not seen in real estate before now,” he said.
“Together, we can leverage our customers’ digital assets to reduce costs and increase revenue for them in a more comprehensive product offering, backed by a larger customer support team dedicated to supporting progressive real estate agencies, and creating highly intelligent automated solutions leveraging cutting edge AI to meet the needs of the modern real estate industry.”
A roadmap for real estate industry transformation
Propic’s growth acquisition strategy enabled it to continue to transform the customer and agent experience, in Australia and overseas.
With no other firm in the world providing the combined power of Propic and Realm together, the deal has the potential to transform the use of technology and digital tools of the real estate industry globally.
“With this acquisition, Propic has expedited an affordable and accessible means for modern real estate agencies to substantially transform the cost base in their property management businesses,” Mr Gray said.
“At the same time, good people who are struggling with long hours and soul-destroying repetitive work and abuse get released into the human-centric parts of the job that attracted them to the profession in the first place.”
