End-to-end real estate financialization: from developing to occupying through proptechs

Abstract

During the last decade, new global real estate business models have expanded and gradually replaced the traditional landlord-tenant relationship intermediated by local companies. This paper analyzes how real estate production is transformed by financial capital within the context of real estate products directed to investors and rented via digital platforms. Methodologically, the qualitative investigation follows the money that finances real estate startups, known as proptechs, to identify the financial agents involved. The results suggest that real estate financialization continues to occur in construction and development but has now advanced towards occupation intermediated by companies permeated by financial capital. The conclusion is that real estate businesses have become more complex in four waves: financialization, financialdebureaucratization, financial-virtualization, and shared financial-virtualization of real estate occupation.