Fix housing, grow tech: A big week for Vancouver's proptech sector

Vancouver holds the unfortunate title of the third-most unaffordable housing market in the world.  

Perhaps unsurprisingly, housing startups and proptech businesses are manifold in the city. The region boasts successful companies such as Juniper, a homeowner-care and warranty-service business that sold to Spark last year; Addy, Canada’s largest real estate fractional investment platform; and Properate, which identifies potential energy upgrades for a person’s home.

But despite the importance of new-build stock to B.C.’s economy, and the contribution made from the city’s tech innovators, Vancouver remains in a housing affordability crisis — which the City suggests will impact the growth of the tech industry.

This past week has seen a number of announcements that directly — and indirectly — influence the Vancouver tech community and its ties to housing. From a $9 million injection into a number of B.C.’s proptech companies, a real estate investing tech business that was caught out by the BC Securities Commission, and more than $12 million pumped directly into local housing starts, news of development has dominated the headlines over the past seven days. Here’s what you missed.

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