smartrent funding heralds new wave in \'smart home\' market1

NEW YORK (Reuters)-
The \"smart home\" software produced can help the landlord cut operating expenses such as shuttle, Key and other maintenance workers or guide the trip. The quasi-tenant proposed nearly 32 million US dollars for the owner of Bain Capital enterprise on the 1 million th. S. apartments.
Bain led Round B financing for SmartRent for $25 million on Wednesday, depending on Latchable Inc. and the foothold of Google Nest in the technology market, these technologies help owners improve profit margins and add-
Service for tenants.
The rest comes from RET Ventures, an American venture capital fund. S.
Canadian property management or investment companies including five real estate investment trusts.
Apartment owners Essex Real Estate Trust and UDR, as well as Starwood Capital, the investment arm of billionaire real estate tycoon Barry Sten Ridge, in addition to its stake in RET Ventures
The companies declined to comment on the valuation of SmartRent for this round of financing.
In other services, the Scottsdale startup in Arizona allows owners to set up their own
Tour guide service for potential residents and door lock password for maintenance personnel and others.
Investors believe that smart home technology such as remote access to refrigeration and heating systems and water leakage detection will become the standard for apartments.
These features will reduce operating costs, including water damage insurance premiums, which exceed $10,000 each time.
Denver has been saved by mobile or digital lock access-
Jerry Davis, president and chief operating officer, said that UDR-based money makes residents happy, reducing the hassle of losing or forgetting keys, usually late at night.
\"We went through the reduction of locks --
This increases the satisfaction of residents.
It also means that our people will not be called out in the middle of the night and will not be paid overtime, \"he said.
At the REITweek meeting earlier this month, UDR said that it has already received a return of 25% to 30% in a pilot project, involving 13,300 of the 49,795 apartments, which is expected to end in the summer, smartRent will be installed in 20,000 sets
The cost of SmartRent ranges from $900 to $1,000, including installing door locks, water sensors and other hardware, Davis said.
UDR expects residents to pay $20 to $25 a month, the cost of the project is paid in three to four years, and the life of a unit is estimated to be paid in six to seven years, he said.
There are about 24 connected home or remote control
Access providers on the market, such as Latchable, a manufacturer of locked digital lock systems, and Google Nest, Alphabet Inc.
Latchable raised $70 million last year, mostly from the property giant Brookfield Asset Management, which is valued at $0. 25 billion.
Lucas Haldeman, chief executive of SmartRent, who was the chief technology officer of the colonial American residential company, is now the inviting residential company.
Davis of UDR said Haldeman\'s knowledge of the apartment market and its needs impressed RETV members.
About 23 million in the United StatesS.
Matt Harris of New York says if every apartment has $1,000 in revenue, the market is in the north of $20 billion.
Bain\'s partner.
Bain believes smart apartments will become ubiquitous as the technology is rolled out over the next five to ten years.
However, the owner of the apartment who checked in early will be able to charge a service fee and the opportunity will eventually pass.
With the proliferation of packaging and food delivery, babysitters, dog walkers and maintenance personnel need to enter when residents are away, and remote access is increasingly becoming an important feature, Yishai Lerner said
Chief executive of JLL Spark, a joint venture capital fund
\"The curve is taken from nice and must have,\" Lerner said . \".