1. Marketplace The marketplace describes technology-based platforms which change the trading and utility method of real estate. The transaction-centric digital platforms focus on the function as an intermediary, as a digital marketplace, i.e., as a digital marketplace. In other words, the platform brings supply and demand together and enables transactions to be carried out (as in a classic marketplace). They can be online matchmaking platforms, such as an online broker platform, bidding platform, transactions platform or rental platform. These platforms use or build their platform as a service and offer their services with a lot of new tools. This sector supports the real estate occupier and trading markets. The real estate agents have traditionally operated on a ‘sole agency’ basis, and are reliant on instructions to sell properties on behalf of the owner for a fee of around 1%-3% of the purchase price in Switzerland. There are also a few companies who offer a common online platform for brokers where they build multiple listing services. The PropTech companies are under 1% of the market share. But both of them use online platforms to acquire new customers and offer their platforms as a service for transactions. Nowadays, 95% of residential sales are generated by online portals and only 5% by estate agents’ shop windows. There are seven companies which are operative in the marketplace sector. They offer 11 services and 9 products. The business areas are; platform as a service, software as a service and digital brokerage. Most of them have matchmaking platforms to bring different market players together. Swiss PropTech companies in the marketplace sector;
Source: PropTech Academy, PropTech Switzerland, 2021
