Artificial intelligence, profitability, and construction — Second Century Ventures’ Ashley Stinton tells Inman where proptech investors are putting their money as the sector makes a comeback.
Ashley Stinton said the market is very different from the growth-at-all-costs era that characterized the last cycle, as proptech investment gradually returns.
Stinton, managing partner of US residential at Second Century Ventures (SCV), said deal flow is returning, but only to companies that can clearly demonstrate durability, profitability and real-world impact.
“We’ve seen a greater emphasis on sustainable technologies with a clear path to profitability,” Stinton told Inman. “We are focusing on quality over quantity, and trading volumes are gradually coming back.”
Second Century Ventures is the most active global venture fund focused on real estate technology. Backed by the National Association of Realtors, SCV leverages a global network of owners, operators, developers, brokers and industry leaders to help technology companies scale.
Through the REACH program, SCV supports innovation across the United States, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Latin America, and the Middle East.
Stinton characterized the current prop tech moment as a readjustment rather than a full recovery.
“The realignment is welcome and we are pleased to see investors reward sustainable growth,” Stinton said. “We are seeing a surge in AI-related activity, with late rounds seeing strong activity. We expect investors to continue to approach proptech with caution until interest rates improve and trading volumes recover.”
Tools for low volume markets
Stinton said many of the most attractive solutions are those that allow brokers and agents to operate more effectively in a depressed market while trading volumes remain limited.
“Trade volumes are still under significant pressure,” she said. “So lead generation and qualification is still pretty prevalent.”
Beyond lead tools, Stinton pointed to an increased focus on consumer experience and technology that connects historically fragmented workflows, a long-standing challenge in the real estate industry.
Stinton also said that Second Century Ventures continues to invest in technology that helps real estate professionals deliver higher quality services while improving the reliability and efficiency of transactions.
This includes tools like QwikFix and Earnnest. Tools that support your business with brokers like Courted and Purlin. Solutions like Tongo enable real estate professionals to manage cash flow and invest in growth.
“We also continue to invest heavily in technology that helps consumers unlock access to homeownership, including solutions like Foyer, which helps would-be homeowners save faster for their first home, and Stake, which provides renters with an array of cash back and credit-building options,” Stinton said.
A framework for evaluating AI in proptech
Now, as artificial intelligence increasingly dominates proptech pitches, Stinton says differentiating meaningful innovation from hype has become one of the most important parts of her role.
“The pace of development can make it difficult to distinguish between innovation and hype,” she told Inman. “But critical fundamentals can help decipher what will have a lasting impact.”
Her evaluation framework starts with a few key questions: What problem does the technology actually solve? Does it address an immediate pain point or provide clear long-term value? And how much capital will it take to build and deploy it?
Stinton also warns against overengineering, a common trap among AI startups that race to add features or let early customers dictate the direction of the product.
“We tend to build one more feature, and then maybe one more,” she said. “We are focused on striking a balance between cutting-edge innovation and delivering meaningful results for real-world problems.”
Beyond housing
Stinton said that while there is still a lot of focus on residential real estate, Second Century Ventures is also actively investing in construction and built-world technology through REACH Commercial and its global portfolio.
These investments span acquisitions, permitting, workflow automation, robotics, and modular housing. These are areas that Stinton sees as important in addressing supply constraints and long-term housing issues.
From Stinton’s perspective, today’s proptech environment may be slower, but it’s also healthier. Founders are being asked to prove durability faster, investors are prioritizing sustainable economics, and technology is being evaluated for its ability to deliver tangible results rather than aspirational narratives.
SCV strengthens its drive to the Middle East
In other Second Century Venture news, NAR’s investment arm on Tuesday announced a strategic partnership with Advanced Real Estate Services (ADRES), a technology arm driving real estate transformation across Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, ADGM and other UAE partners. Through the REACH program, SCV will serve as an innovation partner in one of the world’s fastest growing real estate markets.
The partnership follows the launch of the first REACH Middle East cohort, a group of high-growth regional companies selected to accelerate innovation across the real estate value chain.
ADRES’ partnership with Debut Cohort will significantly expand SCV’s influence in the GCC as mega-projects and large-scale urban developments in excess of $3 trillion progress in the region.
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