At the same time, integrations are becoming more strategic and intentional. Integrations still provide value, yet the most successful approach is selective rather than exhaustive. When you own your core product, you can choose integration partners that truly complement your offering, creating stronger, more stable ecosystems.

Hardware as Intellectual Property Protection
Many founders in proptech (and the tech ecosystem as a whole) have quickly learned that AI makes it easy to copy software quickly. Hardware is much harder to duplicate. Building hardware in-house creates a defensible moat that software alone can’t provide.

Controlling the hardware layer changes the equation:
● Firmware is under your control, not another vendor’s roadmap
● Engineering cycles are yours to manage, so there’s no waiting for external dependencies
● Updates are released on your timeline, not negotiated through contracts
● Customized features can be incorporated directly into hardware, and those innovations stay proprietary

Innovation is also another key advantage. Building your own technology gives you full control over how far and how fast you push the cutting edge.

Multifamily and single-family rental environments face unique challenges, from device wear-and-tear to evolving compliance requirements. When hardware and software are built together from the beginning, integration becomes the foundation of the product. It’s engineered as a cohesive system rather than assembled from parts designed in isolation.

Supply Chain Lessons We Shouldn’t Forget
The pandemic exposed vulnerabilities that halted production lines and stretched timelines unpredictably. Manufacturers prioritized the largest buyers, leaving smaller customers waiting in line.

Companies dependent on third-party manufacturers discovered how little leverage they had in moments of scarcity. Operators were forced to postpone deployments and customers felt the delays. Revenue forecasts grew increasingly unpredictable. In a supply-constrained world, owning more of the supply chain translates into operational resilience. It protects delivery timelines and insulates customers from external market swings.

Vertical integration in this context is about reliability. It answers a simple question founders and operators should be asking: when constraints tighten, who actually controls the outcome?

Strategic Integrations Create Stronger Ecosystems
Third-party integrations are still critical to proptech success. The key is choosing integration partners that strengthen your product, not just expanding your feature count.

The best integrations add real value to the user experience. When you own your core product (hardware and software), integrations become choices rather than necessities.

You can be selective:
● How well do they scale?
● Do they reduce complexity or add it?
● Do they improve the user experience?
● Do they align with our values?

While the past was all about touting your many integrations, the future is about integrating with the right partners. These are the companies whose products complement yours without creating dependency.

What This Means for Founders and Operators

For founders, the questions become more architectural:
● Where are you dependent on external control?
● What parts of your product experience do you truly own?
● Is your competitive moat built on agreements, or on engineering decisions
that competitors cannot easily unwind?

For operators, the focus is now on stability and defensibility. Which parts of your stack are vulnerable to third-party changes? Are you purchasing a collection of features, or a system designed to hold together under stress?

For investors and consultants, vertical ownership is becoming a necessary factor for long-term resilience. In a market where technology capabilities and customer expectations can change on a dime, control over core components can reduce volatility and protect long-term value.

Complexity Demands Ownership
The next phase of proptech maturity will reward companies that own more of their stack. As stacks grow more complex and AI accelerates execution, the ability to innovate independently becomes increasingly valuable. Vertical integration protects customers by giving you control over product quality and the customer experience. Simple, standalone SaaS isn’t the template for success anymore. The most defensible proptech companies will be those with multiple layers of integration and control.

In an AI-accelerated market where speed magnifies both strengths and weaknesses, ownership translates into stability. As proptech matures, resilience and defensibility are becoming more valuable than rapid expansion alone.

The post Why Hardware Is Becoming Proptech’s Strongest Competitive Moat appeared first on GeekEstate Blog.

Join me in welcoming GEM’s new Ambassador for the Denver market, Ben Wright. He joins the Ambassador ranks of Mark Choey (Bay Area), Heather Harmon (Sacramento + Bay Area), and Pierre Calzadilla (NYC).

Ben is a founder, strategic advisor, and adventure-based leadership facilitator. Through his fractional executive leadership, capital strategy, and growth advisory firm Next Cap Ventures, and experiential travel platform Peak Adventures, Ben works at the intersection of proptech, professional growth, and personal transformation — drawing on deep experience building, scaling, and investing in real estate technology. He knows firsthand that relationships are the real currency in this industry, and that the founder’s path can be isolating, especially outside the major tech hubs.

As Denver Ambassador, Ben is committed to bringing GEM’s ethos of trust, camaraderie, and candid conversation to Colorado’s proptech community — hosting curated dinners, coworking days, and private events that create the kind of real-world connections and lasting collaborations that don’t happen on Zoom. His work as an advisor, guide, and facilitator makes him a natural fit for GEM’s mission: helping founders and CEOs find their people, build in community, and turn a often-solitary journey into growth and movement.

Along with a fair amount of time with Ben on Zoom over the past few weeks, Jesse Wright and I had a fantastic IRL meeting with him prior to the Denver dinner a few weeks ago. As a fellow diehard traveler, Ben (57 countries visited) feels like a kindred spirit…and I couldn’t be more thrilled to have him take a much larger role in the GEM community. More on experiential travel opportunities to come 

Welcome!

The post GEM’s Newest Ambassador – Ben Wright in Denver appeared first on GeekEstate Blog.

This award honors the member who most consistently embodies the GEM ethos:
• Be Present
• Support the Community
• Show Curiosity
• Harness Authenticity
• Do the Work

Heather exemplifies these values every day. From showing up (online and in person), to asking thoughtful questions, to sharing insights that move conversations forward, to actively helping others along their journey — she represents what makes this community special.

GEM of the Year isn’t about titles or hype. It’s about steady, meaningful contribution. It’s about paying it forward. And it’s voted on by peers, not handed down as a vanity award.

Huge congrats, Heather — and thank you for raising the bar for what it means to be a GEM member. 

The post Announcing GEM of the Year: Heather Harmon appeared first on GeekEstate Blog.

We’ve all done it. You get caught up in the day to day, checking one thing after the next off your endless task list. Selling your next customer on your value proposition. The third reply to an industry advocate you need at your next event. Reporting a bug for your engineers. Signing a venue contract for your upcoming event. Going over monthly burn figures. Pitching the 162th investor to participate in your Seed round.

You and I both know, the end of that list is a myth. So, you grind. Day after day. Week after week. Month after month.

That’s sustainable, for a while. But, you’ll inevitably reach a breaking point. You’ll get tired. Start making careless mistakes. Snap at your CTO. Forget your nieces’ birthday. Realize two days before a conference you never booked the flight. Lose track of what is actually moving the needle after spending weeks working on the wrong things. Not talk to your parents for multiple weeks.

Or, even worse, you burn out. And if that happens, the chances of success for your company go down the toilet.

There’s no magical potion to avoid reaching the breaking point. You need to slow down and find a state of calm to ensure the priorities guiding your life and business, are the right ones.

Some call it solitude. I’ll call it something slightly different…

Quietude: a state of stillness, calmness, and quiet in a person or place.

Enter GEM Walks the Camino (Part II), which gave me exactly that needed quietude a year ago. So much so that we’re doing it again this year, taking place May 9th-16th, seven days and 100 kilometers of incredible scenery, deep conversations, amazing dinners, a supported journey, pre-booked accommodations, and life-altering memories. You’ll be in the midst of “pilgrims” from all walks of life, each there for their own set of personal reasons. It should tell you something that the majority of those who trekked last year are undertaking it again in 2026.

I have no doubt this trip will be the most impactful trip of the year for me. Flights are booked, May 5th through the 18th, when I’ll immediately emerge back in the thick of the grind at the Housing Innovation Summit. But, for those seven days, I’m thrilled that I won’t be hammering away on the keyboard. Won’t be taking meetings. Won’t be checking Inman or X. Won’t be writing articles. Won’t be in the weeds of pitch decks. Won’t be worried about filling the next dinner table. Won’t be worried about any of that, but instead focused on exploring my own thoughts, in the company of other amazing humans choosing to prioritize their own self-exploration.

If you’re ready for a dose of quietude in 2026, I strongly encourage you to join us on the GEM Walks the Camino trek in May (9th-16th). We have two or three spots left. If this all sounds amazing but you’re on the fence, I HIGHLY HIGHLY encourage you to watch The Way.

When I’ve completely disconnected from digital life are the times in life I’ve felt the most free. Even of the Camino trek doesn’t fit your schedule, don’t forget to look up and experience the moment that you are in from time to time. You’ll find it ushers in a renewed energy when you get back to the grind, focused on what truly matters. At least, it has for me.

Want to learn more? Shoot us an email at community at geekestate dot com or check the event calendar via GEM Primer for further details.

The post Finding Quietude on the Camino appeared first on GeekEstate Blog.

This shift creates a core tension. Many property managers want to comply, yet the systems they depend on were never built to support the level of transparency now required. As the potential for enforcement comes into focus, operators must understand the emerging rules and evaluate whether their technology can help them meet obligations or leave them exposed.

Regulatory Context: What’s Changing and Why It Matters

Federal and state actors have been signaling a tougher stance on so-called “junk fees,” including those tied to rental housing. The Federal Trade Commission has publicly warned software providers that their role in fee disclosures is not optional. In its communications, the agency has made clear that housing software platforms play a central role in how fees are presented to consumers, and that failure to support transparent practices could invite scrutiny.

At the same time, state legislatures are enacting fee transparency mandates with increasing specificity. Requirements vary from one jurisdiction to the next, but there is a common theme throughout: renters must see all mandatory fees up front, and those fees must be consistent wherever a property is marketed.

This regulatory landscape matters because the risk is no longer abstract. Fines and consumer complaints are realistic outcomes for operators who fail to meet evolving standards. What once was a reputational issue has become a compliance issue carrying financial and legal consequences.

What Property Managers Are Actually Required to Do

Across the emerging body of guidance and legislation, several common requirements are taking shape. First, mandatory fees must appear clearly and consistently in listings before a renter engages with a property. This includes administrative fees, amenity fees, move-in charges, and any other cost that a renter must pay to secure a lease.

Second, disclosures must match across all marketing channels. Whether a property appears on an internet listing service, the official property website, or is shared via leasing emails, the fee information must be the same. Surprise add-ons that appear only after a renter has begun the application process are being singled out as especially problematic.

Third, intent is not enough. Property managers who claim they “meant to disclose” fees may still find themselves in trouble if system inconsistencies or manual processes lead to gaps in how information appears. Documentation and system-level consistency are increasingly part of compliance expectations, leaving little room for ambiguity.

Where ambiguity still exists in legislation, the safest path is proactive clarity and conservative compliance. Property managers have an opportunity now to build business practices that exceed minimal legal thresholds, rather than waiting for enforcement to define the boundaries.

Where Compliance Breaks Down: Process vs. Platform

Many compliance gaps are systemic, rooted not in willful non-compliance but in fractured workflows. In a typical leasing environment, fees may be stored in multiple systems and updated manually across listings. Each of these vectors introduces risk.

When fees are entered separately into a property management system, a marketing platform, or an external listing service, discrepancies can easily arise. A minor change in one system may not propagate to others, creating inconsistent disclosures that attract regulatory attention. Manual updates across channels increase the potential for human error, particularly in portfolios with high turnover or frequent fee adjustments.

Leasing teams that improvise disclosures in emails or PDFs can inadvertently violate transparency expectations simply because the guidance is not enforced uniformly within their software workflows. In other words, the problem is often not that property teams want to hide fees, but that their tools make consistent transparency harder to achieve.

Regulators recognize this reality. The FTC’s warnings to rental software providers emphasize that technology workflows matter. Software firms are being asked to build features that support transparent practices instead of leaving compliance to manual workarounds. This demonstrates how the software a property manager chooses can influence whether compliance feels achievable or perpetually out of reach.

Why Software Choice is Now a Compliance Decision

The new legislation underscores the need for agile property management platforms that proactively make updates to keep up with the changing regulatory environment. The right systems should offer:

• Audit trails and reporting give operators a documented history of how fees were presented, which can be invaluable during an inquiry or investigation.
• Integration capabilities that allow for changes that are made in one system to be reflected in other systems connected to it.

In this context, software becomes part of a property manager’s compliance infrastructure. Choosing a platform that supports centralized fee controls and automated disclosures reduces operational friction and minimizes reliance on error-prone processes. It also gives operators the confidence that their listings meet regulatory expectations before legal risk appears.

This link between technology and compliance underscores the urgency of evaluating software stacks not just for feature sets, but for their ability to support transparent business practices. A proactive approach today may prevent costly remediation efforts tomorrow.

The Implications for Proactive vs. Reactive Operators

Operators who are auditing fee structures and reassessing their software stacks now are positioning themselves as proactive leaders at a time when enforcement is tightening. Those who wait for enforcement actions to define their next steps may find themselves reacting to problems rather than preventing them.

The downstream effects of reactive compliance can extend beyond fines or investigations. Investor scrutiny may increase for portfolios with compliance gaps. Consumers may lose trust when additional costs surface late in the leasing process. Platforms and software providers themselves face liability when their tools are implicated in non-compliant disclosures.
Proactive operators can use transparent practices as a trust signal. Clear, consistent fee information reduces friction in the leasing funnel and improves the renter experience.

Transparency as a Competitive and Defensive Advantage

Legislation at the state level and signals from federal agencies point toward a future where clear, consistent fee disclosures are baseline expectations rather than aspirational best practices. In a market where renters increasingly compare total costs across listings, transparency can become a competitive advantage as well as a defensive necessity.

Property managers should take immediate steps to review fee structures, audit how fees are disclosed across marketing channels, and reassess whether their current software stack supports realistic compliance. A conservative, proactive approach to transparency not only reduces legal risk but can enhance renter trust and operational clarity.

The clock is ticking, and the cost of inaction may be higher than operators expect. Embracing transparent disclosures and technology that enables them is increasingly central to responsible property management.

The post Rental Fee Transparency and the Software Test for Property Managers appeared first on GeekEstate Blog.

GEM remains a highly intentional community of proptech builders, operators, investors, and advisors—spanning roles, sectors, and geographies across the Built World.

Looking back on 2025, there is much to be proud of. Despite continued macro uncertainty across real estate and venture, the community stayed active, curious, and deeply engaged. We convened more in-person events than ever before, expanded Peer Circles as a core pillar of the GEM experience, and continued to prioritize high-signal conversations over scale for scale’s sake.

The essence of GEM remains unchanged: curated relationships, intellectual honesty, and long-term thinking for leaders building real, impactful businesses.

As we have done each year for the past six years, we’re sharing a transparent look at the community.

Thus, we bring you the State of the GEM 2026…

Read on for membership makeup in terms of sector, roles, and diversity. Plus, we reflected against our 2025 goals and shared our 2026 goals for the community/business.

Thank you to the 563 members who make it all possible. And, yes, we’re still taking applications for new members…

Read State of the GEM 2026

Interested in joining GEM? Apply now…

Apply Now

The post State of the GEM 2026 appeared first on GeekEstate Blog.

Executive Summary

The United States is facing a historic housing affordability crisis—one that increasingly excludes first-time buyers from homeownership and deepens generational wealth inequality. While public policy and private markets continue to debate solutions, one source of capital remains significantly underutilized: donor-advised funds (DAFs).

As of 2024, DAFs held more than $326 billion in charitable assets, growing nearly 28% year over year, with contributions reaching a record $89.6 billion (DAF Research Collaborative). At the same time, homeownership is becoming less accessible than at any point in modern history, with prices far outpacing income growth and first-time buyers increasingly shut out of competitive markets.

Donor-advised funds represent a powerful and timely tool to address the homeownership crisis. The capital exists. The need is urgent. What is missing is activation.

I. The Homeownership Crisis

Since 2000, the median price of a home in the United States has nearly tripled, rising from approximately $165,000 to about $443,000 (Federal Reserve). Over the same period, real median household income grew far more modestly—from roughly $42,000 in 2000 to $75,000 in 2022, an increase of just 79%  (US Census Bureau). As a result, home prices relative to income are higher today than at any point in the last 75 years. In parallel, mortgage rates have risen sharply, student debt burdens have increasingly saddled first-time homebuyers, and the growing prevalence of cash buyers has made many housing markets more competitive.

The consequences are especially severe for first-time buyers and historically excluded groups. First-time buyers now account for just 24% of home purchases, a historic low (National Association of Realtors). For minority groups, the picture is even bleaker: Black and Hispanic households experience significantly lower homeownership rates—44% and 51%, respectively, compared to 72% for White households (National Association of Realtors).

This matters because homeownership remains the single largest driver of household wealth. In 2022, the median homeowner’s net worth was nearly 40 times higher than that of a renter, reinforcing the role ownership plays in long-term economic mobility and community stability (Federal Reserve).

Despite this, much of the affordability conversation focuses on rental housing alone. While rental supply is critical, solutions that expand paths to ownership are essential to addressing the root causes of wealth inequality.

II. Donor-Advised Funds: Scale Without Activation

Over the past decade, donor-advised funds have quietly become one of the most significant pools of philanthropic capital in the United States. What began as a niche giving vehicle is now a central part of the charitable ecosystem.

As of 2024, donor-advised funds held more than $326 billion in charitable assets, with annual contributions reaching a record $89.6 billion (DAF Research Collaborative). These assets are already earmarked for charitable use and legally committed to public benefit. In other words, the capital needed to address large-scale social challenges is not hypothetical—it already exists and it is sitting in accounts at places like Fidelity, Schwab, and Vanguard.

Donor-advised funds represent a powerful source of charitable capital, but their full potential is not always realized in practice. In an average year, approximately 37% of DAF accounts do not make an outbound grant (DAF Research Collaborative). Because donor-advised funds have no minimum distribution requirement, assets in inactive accounts can remain undeployed indefinitely, even after donors receive associated tax benefits. This dynamic has prompted growing debate about the role donor-advised funds are playing in practice—particularly as donors receive immediate tax benefits and asset managers collect ongoing fees, while charitable capital may remain idle even as social needs intensify.

Housing—and particularly homeownership—illustrates why this conversation is more important now than ever. Few social challenges are as urgent, capital-intensive, and consequential for long-term economic mobility. Yet despite significant public, private, and philanthropic attention on the issue, many housing solutions remain constrained by regulatory complexity, rigid funding structures, and limited access to flexible capital—preventing otherwise viable solutions from reaching the households that need them most.

Donor-advised fund donors are uniquely suited to meet this moment. Unlike many others, DAF donors can move quickly, deploy capital in nontraditional ways, and take calculated risks in support of emerging solutions. This flexibility makes DAFs an important part of the solution, enabling them to complement public policy, traditional investors, and established philanthropic efforts by filling gaps that other forms of capital are unable to address in real time.

In the context of a generational homeownership crisis, the central question is not whether donor-advised funds are large enough to matter. It is whether they can be activated with the urgency, creativity, and intentionality the moment demands.

III. Where DAF Capital Can Go: Three Complementary Pathways

Housing—and especially homeownership—is often treated as a single problem. In reality, it is a system with multiple, distinct failure points: rigid mortgage requirements, a limited supply of homes priced for first-time and middle-income buyers, and ownership models that struggle to scale within existing financing systems. These are not the only challenges in the system, but they represent some of the most persistent and consequential barriers to homeownership today.

Rather than forcing a single solution, donor-advised fund capital can support a range of approaches that address these failure points directly. The following three pathways highlight core solution sets within the homeownership ecosystem—illustrative, not exhaustive—that together provide a practical framework for action.

A. Reducing Barriers Within the Existing Mortgage System

For most households, the primary path to homeownership still runs through the traditional mortgage system, yet that system presents significant barriers for first-time buyers. Large down payment requirements, strict underwriting standards, credit score thresholds, and documentation requirements often exclude otherwise qualified households—particularly those without intergenerational wealth or traditional employment histories.

A set of well-established solutions has emerged to help buyers navigate these constraints within the existing financing framework. Down payment assistance programs, like Homium or the Dearfield Fund, reduce the upfront capital required to purchase a home, while homebuyer education and credit counseling programs help households strengthen credit profiles, manage debt-to-income ratios, and prepare for mortgage qualification. Together, these interventions can meaningfully expand access to ownership by helping buyers meet lender requirements and navigate the purchasing process with greater confidence.

While these approaches do not change the structure of the mortgage system itself, they play a critical role in widening access to it. When deployed at scale and paired with responsible lending, these solutions help first-time buyers convert income into ownership, stabilize households, and begin building equity—making them an essential part of any comprehensive strategy to address the homeownership crisis.

B. Increasing the Supply of Attainable Housing

A second—and perhaps even more consequential—constraint is supply. Across much of the country, there is a severe shortage of homes priced for first-time and moderate-income buyers. Even where demand is strong, attainable ownership units are often the hardest projects to finance, particularly for nonprofit or mission-driven developers.

Many viable projects stall before construction begins due to gaps in predevelopment funding, construction financing, or risk tolerance—especially in mixed-income or ownership-focused developments that do not fit conventional lending models. As a result, the market continues to underproduce the very homes most households need.

Solutions in this category focus on enabling the development of ownership-oriented housing: supporting nonprofit and mission-driven developers, unlocking stalled projects, and helping bring attainable homes to market. When these efforts succeed, they not only increase supply but also create pathways to ownership in communities where options are otherwise limited.

Addressing this constraint is essential to any durable homeownership strategy. Without more homes priced for first-time buyers, even the most effective buyer assistance programs will struggle to achieve lasting impact.

C. Advancing New Ownership Models

The third pathway reflects a growing recognition that traditional mortgage-based homeownership no longer works for many households. Changes in labor markets, household balance sheets, and demographic trends have outpaced the evolution of housing finance, leaving large segments of the population without viable paths to ownership—particularly households that can afford monthly housing costs but cannot meet the upfront or debt-based requirements of a conventional mortgage.

A range of alternative ownership models has emerged to address these gaps by rethinking how equity, risk, and responsibility are shared. Community land trusts, for example, lower the cost of entry by separating the home from the land and providing long-term stewardship that supports housing stability and community resilience. These models are designed to expand access to ownership in high-cost or rapidly changing markets, offering a durable pathway for households that would otherwise remain renters.

More recently, fractional ownership models have begun to address similar challenges through a different structure. Rather than requiring a single buyer to finance the full cost of a home, fractional ownership allows households to purchase a portion of a property while partnering with outside capital for the remainder. Models such as Ownify enable buyers to enter homeownership with significantly lower upfront costs and without taking on traditional mortgage debt, while still building equity over time and retaining a clear path to increased ownership.

Together, these approaches reflect a broader shift toward ownership models that better align with modern financial realities and expand access beyond the limits of the conventional mortgage system.

IV. How Donor-Advised Funds Can Be Deployed in Practice

For many donors, the primary barrier to engaging in housing is not a lack of interest, but uncertainty about how to act. Housing is complex and capital-intensive, and donor-advised funds are often used conservatively as a result. In reality, DAFs already offer multiple, well-established ways to deploy capital in support of homeownership.

At the most basic level, DAFs can make grants to nonprofit organizations, supporting buyer assistance programs, housing counseling, land trusts, and other ownership-focused initiatives. In addition, DAFs can be used to make mission-related and impact investments, often through nonprofit intermediaries. These investments can take the form of debt or equity and are structured to advance charitable purposes while recycling capital back into the DAF over time.

An increasing number of DAF sponsors and platforms help donors navigate these options. Organizations such as Impact Assets, UI Charitable, and Neta Foundation work with donors to structure grants and mission-aligned investments, while platforms like CapShift and Realize Impact help surface opportunities and manage diligence and administration. Together, these providers reduce friction and make it possible for donors to deploy capital thoughtfully without needing deep technical expertise. The tools already exist; what matters now is the decision to use them.

IV. How Donor-Advised Funds Can Be Deployed in Practice

The homeownership crisis is not a distant or cyclical challenge—it is a structural shift unfolding in real time. For the first time in modern history, an entire generation faces the prospect of being permanently priced out of homeownership, with long-term consequences for wealth accumulation, community stability, and economic mobility.

At the same time, the philanthropic landscape has quietly changed. Donor-advised funds have accumulated unprecedented levels of capital, much of it sitting undeployed while social needs intensify. This convergence—acute housing pressure alongside historically large pools of flexible charitable capital—creates a rare window for meaningful intervention. The resources required to move the needle already exist; what has been missing is activation.

This is why now matters. Donor-advised funds are not designed to solve every problem, but they are uniquely positioned to act in moments like this—when speed, flexibility, and scale matter most. Deploying DAF capital toward homeownership today is not simply a charitable choice; it is a decision that will shape economic opportunity for decades to come.

Image generator: DALL-E

The post Unlocking Donor-Advised Funds to Address the Homeownership Crisis appeared first on GeekEstate Blog.

Please RSVP if you plan to attend…

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Guests – RSVP

The post Orange County GEM Soiree – January 12th appeared first on GeekEstate Blog.

The number of fraudsters and scammers targeting property management software to exploit unsuspecting landlords and tenants is multiplying every year. To combat this, software platforms—including my own—are requiring more extensive verification of customer information than ever before. Sometimes these verification processes can exceed what even financial institutions might ask for. While necessary, these measures create friction and a clear barrier to entry at the exact moment we’re working to protect the people using our platforms.

At the same time, advancing security and surveillance capabilities—from smart locks to property cameras to AI-powered monitoring systems—must be carefully balanced against rising tenant expectations for privacy and transparency. What used to be a simple operational decision is now a major trust decision that can impact your bottom line.  

Navigating this fine line—protecting properties and clients, reducing risk without compromising trust, and running secure, reliable software platforms—will remain one of the industry’s biggest challenges as we move into the new year. 

Rising Threats

In the last few years, fraud, scams and cyberattacks targeting the rental industry have exploded, putting landlords, property managers, tenants and PropTech providers in the crossfire. A 2024 industry survey found that 90% of renters worry about falling victim to scams, and 92% believe landlords and property management companies should adopt better technology to prevent fraudulent rental listings.

Rental scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and with the recent popularity of AI technology, fraudulent listings are today’s most common scam. The National Multifamily Housing Council reports that 1 in 3 renters encountered a fraudulent listing during their housing search in 2025. In my own hometown—a small, rural city in Southern Oregon—I recently saw a legitimate two-bedroom rental advertised for $1,400, which is in line with local market rates. Hours later, the same property appeared in a duplicate listing, using the same photos and description, but priced at just $800. Vulnerable renters who think they’ve found a great deal can fall victim by handing over deposits or personal information. 

Identity theft and document fraud are also on the rise. Fraudulent rental applications have doubled in recent years, and in one survey, more than 93% of multifamily landlords reported experiencing fraud in the form of falsified pay stubs, forged bank statements or misrepresented employment history.

Too many times—especially before two-factor authentication became common—I’ve seen property managers reuse the same username and password for every service, from personal email to online banking to our software platform. When they do this, they make themselves vulnerable to scammers and hackers, because if any one service is compromised, bad actors will have access to everything. The moral of the story: use unique passwords for every account and enable multi-factor authentication wherever provided.

PropTech platforms are now under pressure to close security gaps, but tightening verification and fraud detection can slow down onboarding and frustrate legitimate users. A security incident like a breach, phishing attack, or identity fraud can severely damage trust. 

How Landlords and Property Managers Can Strike the Right Balance

The answer isn’t choosing privacy or security—it’s balancing the two. Intentionally designing systems that respect both—protecting properties, tenants and software users without creating unnecessary friction or eroding trust—is key. 

A common example of this balance is tenant screening. Some applicants are extremely cautious about sharing sensitive personal information, like their Social Security Number or credit history, even with reputable property management companies or secure screening services. When these situations arise, landlords are left with little to no insight into an applicant’s rental or financial history, making it difficult to make an informed decision. The challenge lies in finding a middle ground between protecting tenants’ privacy while responsibly using personal information to ensure reliable tenancy.

Here’s my advice for fellow landlords, property managers and software providers navigating this growing tension:

• Make security seamless: Verification and fraud detection should feel built-in, not bolted on. Implement verification processes that integrate smoothly into the user experience, and educate users through clear prompts and alerts instead of walls of technical jargon. Use AI, automation and fraud detection tools to flag suspicious activity without making tenants jump through endless hoops.
• Collect only what’s necessary: More data does not always equal more protection. Limit data collection to what’s essential for verification, safety and compliance and avoid gathering information “just in case”. Transparent policies about why data is collected and how its protected will help build trust between landlords and tenants. Avoid retaining any sensitive data any longer than absolutely necessary. 
• Use a layered security approach: Combine multiple security measures—identity verification, two-factor authentication, encrypted communication, monitoring systems—to protect against the widest variety of threats. A layered approach will make breaches less likely while minimizing impact on legitimate users, and multiple layers protect both user accounts and property-level smart devices.
• Monitor and adapt: Threats evolve quickly, and your processes should too. Stay ahead by regularly (I recommend at least quarterly) reviewing verification workflows, monitoring emerging fraud tactics and updating security protocols accordingly. Listen to feedback from tenants to identify opportunities to improve both privacy and protection protocols.

A thoughtful, proactive approach to security and privacy can be a differentiator for your business in an increasingly digital rental landscape. Tenants and property owners are increasingly choosing platforms based on trust—and trust comes from transparency, balance and a commitment to protecting people as much as properties. 

Security and privacy aren’t mutually exclusive. Done well, they reinforce each other—and they will continue to shape the future of real estate technology.

The post Privacy vs. Security: The Growing Battle Reshaping Real Estate Technology appeared first on GeekEstate Blog.

Here’s a snapshot of the most notable industry dynamics that played out:

Anywhere-Compass: There is no question the Compass merger with Anywhere was the largest industry development of the year, at least on the residential side. The bombshell of bombshells  marks the beginning of domination of big brokerage shops and private listings chaos (and portal turmoil as a byproduct). Short of regulatory approval stopping the train from reaching its final destination, the impact of this deal will reach every corner of the industry.

Redfin-Rocket:  Rocket’s array of financing tech and expertise plus Redfin’s 2,200 agents leapfrogged Zillow in the quest to deliver a “housing super app.”  Can independent brokers across the country survive in the future without being attached at the hip to a mortgage/title/closing engine? Not likely.

Lawsuits Galore: From the Compass-Zillow suit to the Beagle Labs-Appfolio showdown to FTC versus Zillow and Redfin to DOJ versus RealPage, 2025 was the year of proptech legal wars. If there’s one thing I hope for 2026, it’s that companies decide enough is enough with the legal skirmishes already. If we’re talking lawsuits in 2026 reflections, I won’t be a happy camper. That said, something tells me, I will be an unhappy camper come next January…

Rise of Gemini: The launch of Gemini 3 was a turning point in the AI war. The data advantage Google has is beyond immense. Another example of the reality that being first (at anything) doesn’t guarantee victory. One small data point is that GEM has since switched all our image generation from OpenAI’s DALL-E to Gemini’s Nano Banana Pro.

Opendoor Reboot: It wouldn’t be right to exclude  the Opendoor upheaval  as one of the biggest stories of 2025. In fact, if I open X, it’s literally impossible to avoid—as I’m flooded with Opendoor commentary every time I open my feed. The company is  going back to its origins of bypassing the agent in the transaction . And  my wager is on home management being part of the play .

Robotics as a Service in Construction: The end-to-end home/building manufacturer playbook  Katerra  and  Veev  tried didn’t work. It’s now a game of empower the local builders and AEC firms with advanced robotics to drive efficiency and cost reductions, with BotBuilt and Auar as shining examples.

You’ll have to click in to read the full win/lose/draw verdicts and corresponding reflections. The high level recap on how we fared…

Overall 2025 Proptech Trend Score: 9-4-5
Overall 2025 Proptech Predictions Score: 2-2

And, with that, time to oil the machines and get to it…

Head over to our Crystal platform to read the full verdicts and reflections…

Read full reflections

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