On October 31, 2022, MRI Software, a real estate solutions and software firm, announced that it would acquire PropTech Group, an Australian real estate software investment firm. The acquisition is at an estimated value of $93.4 million. This partnership has further solidified MRI’s Australian and New Zealand market presence, furthering its spot in the real estate space.

MRI looks to revamp its platform through the new market hold

MRI Software, which has been in the real estate industry for over 50 years, is now focusing on acquisitions to help integrate innovation into its platform. MRI Agora, the company’s property intelligence software, can unify data from multiple applications and sources across the PropTech ecosystem. One of MRI Agora’s key functionality is collecting third-party data from PropTech platforms. This indicates that MRI developers kept future partner integrations in mind prior to the acquisition announcement.  

How will the deal benefit PropTech?

PropTech will benefit from this deal as it helps expand its product offerings to customers. MRI Software serves more than two million users worldwide and has over 30 global offices. Therefore, this acquisition allows PropTech to expand its market presence further west (i.e., North America, Europe, and Africa).

Managing director and CEO of PropTech Group, Joe Hanna, described the acquisition as a vital investment in the future of the real estate sector, stating:

"Bringing our respective innovations together in one ecosystem makes sense as agencies rise to the challenge of keeping clients for life." 

In addition, PropTech Group employees are presented with job security as no operational or workforce changes are expected at this time.

Property management software trends at G2

Over the past year, several vendors, such as MRI Software, have seen steady traffic to their property management software’s product page. This consistent flow of traffic is due to real estate agencies looking to adopt technology that will improve property owner and client relationships.

PropTech Group can help MRI Software address this concern. Senior vice president for MRI Software, David Bowie, said, “This acquisition brings immediate value to our real estate agency clients in the region and represents a significant investment in the future of the real estate sector more broadly.”

One can only believe Bowie was referring to the numerous products in PropTech’s portfolio. For instance, VaultRE offers a single-view portal that allows owners and tenants to set property permissions and view tenant ledgers and inquiries. The mix of PropTech offerings, such as EagleCRM, PropSEO, and RentFind Inspector, with MRI Property Management's automated AI-driven portfolio data, can help improve consumer retention and satisfaction. MRI Property Management currently stands in the Contender quadrant in the G2 Grid® for Property Management Software products. 

G2 expects the acquisition to address consumer expectations and market demand for technology that transitions with users as they grow from tenant to landlord. We also expect to see more global acquisitions and new feature development.

Edited by Shanti S Nair