RET Ventures is backed by players in the real estate industry.

RET Ventures announced Tuesday the final close of its second fund, RET Ventures Fund II, at $165 million. The fund received “extremely strong” interest and exceeded its initial target of $130 million. The investors in the fund were a group of real estate “strategic” investors focused on real estate technology for rental properties. (Yahoo Finance)

RET is an industry-backed VC firm focusing on “Rent Tech”

RET focuses on technology for apartment and single-family rentals. Its limited partners comprise the largest group of apartment and single-family rental owners ever assembled – they own and manage over one million multifamily and single-family rental units across the U.S. and Canada. Since the launch of its first fund in 2017, RET Ventures has backed many very successful products in the rent tech ecosystem.

Investors in the new fund included 40 such owners who serve as technology development partners and customers for the RET’s portfolio investments in startups.

Affiliates of major multifamily real estate investment trusts (REITs) including Essex Property Trust, Inc., Invitation Homes, Inc., Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (MAA), and UDR, Inc. participated.

Private owners and managers such as BH Management, Bozzuto, Cortland, Edward Rose & Sons, Greystar Real Estate Group, Starlight Capital, Starwood Capital Group, and Waterton also came on board.

Rental real estate in flux, and technology’s role

“Over 45 million US households live in rental real estate and the industry is in a rapid state of evolution, as the pandemic, the rise of remote work, rapid household formation and changing consumer preferences continue to alter where and how Americans live,” said Christopher Yip, Partner at RET Ventures. “As these dynamics play out, technology will play a pivotal role in reshaping the home and helping the industry adapt to a rapidly changing world.”

“After the great success of our first fund, we are excited to more than double the size of our Strategic Investor base in this new fund, which will enable us to further shape the future of real estate technology in the years to come,” said John Helm, Founder and Partner at RET Ventures.

In November 2018, RET Ventures raised $109 million for its initial fund.

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