The emergence of numerous real estate startups in Australia amid the property boom has made it difficult to find a successful niche in the market. Co-founder of Kohab, a social property platform, David Dawson, acknowledges the things he and his team cannot control. He states, “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.” Despite these limitations, Dawson and co-founder Darren Clark recently launched their property-focused social media platform after securing $1.5 million in seed funding, $300,000 of which they personally invested.
Pivoting
A startup that enables buyers and renters to create “boards” for their property search has been launched. Kohab’s platform allows users to share listings, schedule inspections, and invite agents and lawyers onto the site to facilitate a purchase. Co-founder David Dawson notes that the platform enables payment conversations to take place in one central location, rather than merely cutting and pasting URLs of property listings. The founders aim to generate $1.3 million in revenue in their first year of operation. However, Kohab was initially designed as an app to guide friends through the legal processes of co-buying a property, before shifting its focus to address the challenge of organising and tracking relevant information during the property buying process. The platform emphasises the social element of property purchasing, enabling users to communicate easily with their co-renter, friends, and family.
Falling prices
Real estate startups launching in Australia face challenges due to reports of falling property prices and declining auction clearance rates. Home prices in Australian capital cities have dropped 4% from their peak. AMP chief economist Shane Oliver recently wrote about the potential risks of a market crash, given the possibility of banks becoming too strict and investors withdrawing from the market in response to falling returns. Despite these broader market conditions, Kohab co-founder David Dawson believes the platform will remain relevant since there will always be people looking to buy or rent. He adds that Kohab’s model is not Australian-centric and can be adapted to any property market. Kohab plans to generate revenue from real estate and property agents through software-as-a-service subscriptions, allowing them to use the platform to curate and list properties.
Motivating Bidders to Participate Remotely
With auction clearance rates falling, the Gavl live-stream startup believes there is still potential for growth in the market. Gavl provides a communication platform that lets buyers place bids and live-stream auctions. The company generated $1.6 million in revenue in its first year and has attracted $7 million in funding, including investment from Flight Centre’s Geoff Harris and his son Brad. The Gavl platform is also being used by contestants on reality TV show The Block. Co-founder Joel Smith says that Gavl ups the chances of houses being sold because it enables more people to see when a property is passed in, which could prompt them to make an offer after the auction. He believes that the drama of buying and selling translates well via live-stream.
