Welcome to the land technology forgot. High-end leases negotiated and signed via fax. Millions of dollars in apartment inventory — in some of the hottest real estate markets in the country — tracked on whiteboards with dry-erase markers. Client histories recorded in longhand in legal notebooks and stashed in manila folders.

Multi-family real estate (i.e. apartment buildings) is one the fastest-growing sectors in the country right now. In fact, investment hit a record $43 billion in the fourth quarter of 2015, and multi-family units now account for more than one-third of all new housing.

And investors are taking notice. Real estate technology investments are soaring, reaching a record $1.7-billion in 2015, up 50 percent year-over-year, according to a report from CB Insights. With some of the biggest names in venture capital, including our own lead investor, Trinity Ventures, doubling down, growth in 2016 is expected to be even steeper. A big part of the reason: In an era when consumer tech is saturated and unicorns are dying off by the day, real estate remains ripe for innovation.