The survey shows that investors made fewer investment over the past year: an average of 2.7, compared to 4.7 between Q3 of 2016 and Q2 of this year. Accordingly, the survey found that 29% of PropTech CEOs expect that raising venture capital will be easier in '18 compared to '17. That's down from 41% in Q2.

In line with that increasing selectivity, 31% of investors are now investing at later stages of a PropTech company's growth: i.e. past series A, although 47% still invest at the pre-seed and seed level. Investor confidence in the sector remains high with an index of 8.2 out of 10, although that's down fractionally from 8.3 in Q2.

The report cites “later-stage startup funding, increased deal flow and a wealth of M&A activity” as factors in that confidence. It notes that with startup confidence at 7.2—also down slightly from 7.3 in Q2 of this year—“the gap between investor and startup confidence is the closest it has been since the report's inception in Q2 2016.”

This slight retreat in startup confidence, which stood at 5.6 when the report was launched and has climbed since then, represents “the first indication of startup confidence plateauing, which could be related to uncertainty of exit opportunities. High competition within the space and fundraising optimism have kept startup outlook positive.”

A survey comment from a startup appears to set the stage for the coming year: “We're in the third inning of a game that's likely heading into extra innings as the entire FinTech, RealTech, PropTech, etc. space is relatively nascent. Many are still figuring out sustainable business models, yet the entrenched, legacy players are so completely and irreversibly behind in terms of tech that the opportunity for the survivors continues to grow, and fortunately, that growth will be exponential. But make no mistake, this is warfare, and 2018 will very likely show increased competition as incumbents put up their defenses.”