Milan-based PropTech firm Casavo recently announced that it is acquiring Paris-based online estate agent Proprioo as part of its expansion into the French market.
The Casavo platform streamlines the process of selling property by offering free appraisals to sellers, generating a quick offer to buy a property if an offer is accepted.
Launched in 2017, the PropTech firm has since expanded into Spain and Portugal and initially announced its intention to target France when it raised 400 million euros in a series D round in July.
As the company’s CEO Giorgio Tinacci said at the time: “The round will allow us to consolidate our leadership in Europe by growing across our existing markets in Italy, Spain and Portugal, while expanding into new ones, with France being a priority.”
Tinacci added that by 2025, their “goal is to achieve 5% market share in France’s biggest metropolitan areas, starting with Paris.”
Read on: Italian PropTech Startup Casavo Raises €400 Million
With around 45,000 residential transactions per year, the Paris real estate market is certainly an attractive one for Casavo, which will now go head-to-head with rival platform Zefir, a French firm currently offering a similar proposition to home sellers in the city.
In fact, the latest merger suggests that after a heady few years for real estate platforms in the region, consolidation may be setting in, and Casavo, which has no known competitors in its home market, is well-positioned to become a market leader in France and Europe’s leading real estate platform.
However, in Spain, the field is much more open with alternative offerings from firms such as Tiko and Clikalia that are competing to become the country’s preeminent digital homebuyer.
In cities like Madrid and Barcelona, homeowners looking to sell quickly can choose between the three platforms which have all committed to providing offers within 24 hours as well as an opportunity to complete property purchases within a week.
Elsewhere companies like the U.K.’s We Buy Any House are pursuing a similar quick purchase model, although none has yet to achieve the same level of international growth Casavo has attained so far.
Although the Italian PropTech started out focused on buying properties, it has since evolved into a more comprehensive real estate solution, incorporating an online property marketplace. In Italy, the firm has also become a mortgage broker, an offering it has stated its intention to expand into other markets in the future.
Related: The Italian Firms Riding the Digital Lending, PropTech Innovation Wave
For all PYMNTS EMEA coverage, subscribe to the daily EMEA Newsletter.
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
Learn More