ERA, Huttons, PropNex, Savills to own Real Estate Analytics shares with SoReal deal

DATA and artificial intelligence (AI) provider Real Estate Analytics has acquired Singapore property technology (proptech) firm SoReal Prop in a cash-and-equity deal. The deal value and other details were not disclosed.

Leading property agencies ERA, Huttons and PropNex , as well as real estate service company Savills — which were SoReal’s majority shareholders before this transaction — will become minority shareholders in Real Estate Analytics.

In a statement on Thursday (May 12) morning, SoReal Prop said the acquisition by Real Estate Analytics “will form a strong partnership with the largest real estate brokers in Singapore”.

Jack Chua, executive chairman of APAC Realty , whose real estate brokerage services are operated by ERA Realty Network under the ERA franchise, noted the importance of constant technological advancements.

“With Real Estate Analytics’ global network and strong capabilities in real estate tech innovations, it will create a stronger value proposition and empower all real estate agents and consumers’ intelligence alike in this data-driven world,” he said.

Chris Marriott, the chief executive of Savills South-east Asia, described data as “the new oil” in the service industry.

“To be a dominant player requires scale. The merger of interests between SoReal’s local-data dominance with Real Estate Analytics’ regional and global initiatives will create the traction required to become, not just dominant, but also the leading player in the data marketplace,” he added.

ERA, Huttons, PropNex and Savills will continue their industry collaboration on data analytics, which goes back to 2017, when the former 3 companies founded SoReal.

The proptech player provides a suite of applications with real-time transaction data and analytical tools to real estate agents in Singapore.

SoReal also offers data services to corporate looking to improve their decision-making in the property sector and build market intelligence. These customers include property developers, banks, property managers and valuation providers.

Real Estate Analytics is headquartered in Singapore. It also has a presence in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Australia and Indonesia, and provides access to organised real estate data and AI solutions for consumers, professionals and institutions.

Huttons chief executive officer (CEO) Mark Yip said the property market dynamics have been evolving quickly with different technologies, and that the latest collaboration is expected to help salespersons serve their clients better.

PropNex Realty chief executive, Ismail Gafoor, noted: “SoReal has grown over the years in value — adding to our salespersons, property portals and the industry with the democratisation of data.”

SoReal was set up in Singapore with exactly this aim, and to improve access to digital innovation, which can in turn enable property agents to provide more value-added services.

Jean-Michel Paul, Real Estate Analytics’ chief executive, said the acquisition accelerates the company’s vision of providing the world with unique real estate data and AI solutions.

For this transaction, SoReal Prop and its shareholders were advised by Savills’ Marriott and Singapore-based global management and technology consulting firm LanciaConsult.

As at 11.11 am on Thursday, the mainboard-listed shares of APAC Realty were trading at S$0.61, down S$0.01 or 1.6 per cent, while PropNex’s stock fell S$0.03 or 1.7 per cent to trade at S$1.70.