Harnessing house hunters: Property startups say there's growth to come

Australia's property boom has seen a large cohort of real estate startups emerge, but finding a successful niche isn't that simple.

Co-founder of social property platform Kohab, David Dawson, says he's keenly aware of what he can't control.

"We realise that we can't make property cheaper — so housing affordability still remains a major issue — and we can't speed up the approval process," he says.

Dawson and co-founder Darren Clark launched their property-focused social media platform this month, after raising $1.5 million in seed funding. The duo invested $300,000 of their own funds in the business.

Pivoting

The startup lets buyers and renters create "boards" to plan their next property move. Users looking to buy or rent together can share listings, diarise inspections, and bring their agents and lawyers onto the site to prepare for a purchase.

"Anyone can download and create boards, anyone can share it between couples, friends and lawyers. Rather than just cutting and pasting URLs , it allows them to invite real estate agents in and have payment conversations in one place," Dawson says. Read more

Emma Koehn - Brisbane Times - 28 Oct 2018