The recently published PropTech Germany Study 2026 paints a picture of a dynamic sector with a continuously expanding revenue base. More than a third of the 192 surveyed companies, and 44 percent of established PropTechs, generated revenues exceeding one million euros in the 2025 financial year. Concurrently, perceived client-side obstacles have decreased compared to the previous year, suggesting a gradually waning reluctance.
Although hurdles in the PropTech sector across the phases of business model development, sales, and implementation have risen since 2021, key client-side resistances have diminished. The study authors note a decrease in the lack of digitalisation pressure within the industry, an increased willingness to take risks among established companies, and improved prioritisation of digital projects. This development is corroborated by three independent questions. Simultaneously, the assessment of the order situation is increasing again after a low point in 2025, which aligns with the study's earlier forecast. For 2026 and 2027, 90 percent of PropTechs predict increased new business, with more than half expecting a significant rise.
Challenges and Investment Behaviour
The biggest challenges for PropTechs remain in the organisational domain. Decision-making structures on the client side lead the list with an average of 3.7 out of 5 points. The lack of budget has emerged as the fastest-growing hurdle since 2021. Technical obstacles, such as inadequate IT infrastructure, play a subordinate role in all three phases.
Sarah Maria Schlesinger, CEO and Managing Partner of the blackprint Group and author of the study, comments on the results, emphasising that solutions are market-ready and providers show a growing revenue base. The pressure for digitalisation has reached the industry. Success now primarily depends on the client's ability to make decisions. Regarding the financing environment, the investment readiness of growth capital providers remains unchanged for 57 percent of the surveyed PropTechs – the highest stagnation value since the survey began in 2022. A fundraising process takes an average of eight months. Notably, 40 percent of companies have grown without external capital since their inception. The potential for an exit as a financing argument has lost significance since 2022, while market potential, business model, and team remain crucial.
ESG and Target Group Development
Despite the abolition of reporting requirements for the majority of companies under the EU Omnibus package, demand for ESG solutions persists. PropTechs less frequently cite legal regulations (48 percent, down 11 percentage points) and more often changed customer requirements (26 percent, up 10 percentage points) as drivers. Requirements for property valuations and the management of ESG risks at banks also contribute to sustainability demands. Providers with an environmental focus particularly often report increasing order volumes (70 percent compared to 18 percent for providers without an ESG focus). In terms of content, the focus is shifting from certification issues to measurable indicators, with transparency showing the highest increase.
The public sector is increasingly establishing itself as a significant demander of PropTech solutions. Three-quarters of PropTechs address at least one asset owner. Public asset owners are mentioned as target groups by 44 percent, and municipalities, federal states, and authorities by 39 percent. This makes the public sector the most frequently addressed group of actors in the market after private-sector asset owners. Direct engagement with property users, however, remains a subordinate segment; only 16 percent of PropTechs view them as a direct target group, although 44 percent cite tenant satisfaction as a benefit of their solutions. Business models that reach the end-user via corporate clients have declined from 25 to 11 percent since 2023. Construction management and construction contractors are addressed relatively rarely, by 11 and 13 percent of providers respectively.
Ms Schlesinger summarises the situation by highlighting that the pressure for change on the industry now comes from outside and is no longer negotiable. Sustainability has influenced valuation and lending since this year, artificial intelligence is changing the cost structure of entire process chains, and the shortage of skilled workers can no longer be managed without technology. The solutions for this are available in the market through PropTech providers with a sustainable revenue base. According to Schlesinger, the decisive factors lie on the client side: a project with priority, a responsible person, and a dedicated budget. It will be decided by 2027 who benefits from the transformation and who will have to pay a high price for it.
