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Hello readers,
I’m sure you’re all riveted by the stories of my house-hunting adventures, so I’ll share a couple more gripes. For one, the proliferation of duplicate listings on online platforms is a pain, and listings that don’t even have any photos are just as bad. How those could even pass muster and make it to users’ screens is a complete mystery to me.
One Malaysian startup is aiming to solve these and other common problems – albeit just in the rental space for now. I’m talking about Instahome, which counts Patrick Grove as a co-founder and investor.
Today, we look at:
- How Instahome aims to streamline the home-rental process for tenants, landlords, and agents alike
- The Southeast Asian startup exit scene over the past decade
- Other newsy highlights such as the op-eds that foreshadowed the suspension of Ant Group’s IPO and the difference Joe Biden could make in US-China business ties
PREMIUM SUMMARY
Tech for rent
Finding a new home, even if it’s just a rented space, is a difficult and time-consuming process. Trawling through online platforms to find the right fit can be tedious at the best of times, and then there are the viewings which eat up valuable weekends. And if you find the right unit – lucky you – there’s all manner of administrative procedures to tend to.
These and many others are the kinds of frustrations that Instahome is looking to eradicate with its platform.
- Personal touch: Instahome promises that it will do in-person visits and take photos and videos of each property, and that its platform won’t allow duplicate listings.
- Handing out assists: The company also offers a simplified sign-up process, the ability to make rental payments and request for maintenance services on the platform, and rental guarantee packages to help not just potential renters but also property agents and owners.
- Is it scalable? Other proptech players question the unit economics of Instahome’s model, given the cost and time required to personally inspect each home being advertised, along with other issues inherent in the property space.
Read more: Why is Patrick Grove starting a new property marketplace?
NEWS SPOTLIGHT
The state of Southeast Asian startup funding and exits in the past 10 years
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