This week's Product and Service roundup starts in Russia, where a new aggregator was born this year...
Etagi, a hybrid brokerage and marketplace in Russia, is set to take on market leaders Cian and Avito by transforming into a real estate aggregator.
Founder Ildar Khusainov told Newslab that Etagi's core innovation this year was to support more real estate agents around Russia by pivoting into an aggregator.
Etagi will open its website to other real estate agencies to list properties and will provide tools for their promotion, including Etagi's popular mortgage offering, and over 1,500 strategic partnerships with developers and banks.
Khusainov said:
"For the Russian real estate market, where, as a rule, the real estate business is built on the principles of autonomous databases of properties, this is a revolutionary solution.
"We have long discussed this development option, now it has become more than relevant and will allow, among other things, to support small real estate agencies in these difficult market conditions. We are ready to provide the opportunity to use the resources of our site to place properties of other agencies and provide tools for their promotion. Only by creating competition for established models can the market be developed."
Cian and Avito are two of the largest marketplace businesses in the world.
Cian redomiciled itself in Russia in September after recording strong results in Q2, while horizontal marketplace giant Avito had its app unceremoniously removed from Apple's app store this summer.
Zoopla has added a "property for sale" carousel at the bottom of listings pages for the listing agents, to add visibility to extra stock on the agent's books.
Zoopla listings also show the total number of properties listed on Zoopla. Agents also have the opportunity to highlight their membership in organisations like the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), further enhancing their credibility.
Rich Hayes, Chief Operating Officer at Zoopla said:
"We recognise that a big part of why agents choose Zoopla is to gain additional reach and exposure for their property listings.
"This is why we’re doubling down on driving increased exposure for agents on the Zoopla website, which will deliver increased lead volume and quality in time. This is just the beginning of how we’re improving ROI for our brilliant agent partners, with much more to come in 2025."
Zoopla also announced improvements to its Find Agents page, whereby consumers can now search for an agent by geography, radius, agent type and even agent name simultaneously, delivering even more tailored results.
OneDome has acquired mortgage advisory firm Albany Park from HatBox Group to boost its homebuying services offering.
OneDome clients will benefit from widened access to expanded mortgage offerings and a further enhanced homebuyer journey.
Babek Ismayil, chief executive at OneDome, said:
"We are thrilled to welcome Albany Park Mortgages to the OneDome family.
"This acquisition enhances our ability to deliver seamless mortgage solutions to customers while offering greater choice and convenience. With Albany Park Mortgages’ expertise, we continue to push forward in our goal of transforming the home-buying journey and setting a new standard in the industry."
Steve Whatley founder of Albany Park, added:
"We are on the verge of exciting changes as we launch our new brand, Cignpost Insurance. With this new focus on health and protection, we are very pleased to have found such a suitable home for Albany Park Mortgages and its mortgage advisers."
Zillow has released the Zillow Observed Rent Forecast (ZORF). ZORF provides forecasts for the Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), which measures changes in asking rents over time.
ZORF data is available nationwide for single-family homes and multifamily residences.
Zillow said:
Rental prices and the rental market are inherently interconnected with the for-sale real estate market. To effectively capture the relationship between these two markets, and to leverage our industry-leading, for-sale market forecasting suite in ZORI forecasting, we pioneered a structural approach grounded in solid economic theory and well-supported by empirical evidence.
REA Group has announced it will offer new advertising solutions to unlock actionable insights and deeper personalisation, enabling customers to better target their campaigns while giving consumers increased transparency and control over the use of their data.
Developed in collaboration with LiveRamp, a leading data collaboration platform, the solution will launch in early 2025 for media customers.
The LiveRamp Clean Room will create a secure and controlled data collaboration environment with approved partners allowing REA to deliver top insights to advertisers.
Rob Hudson National Sales Director (Media) at REA Group, said:
"We’re delighted to partner with LiveRamp to provide REA customers with optimised insights that support the execution of their advertising campaigns.
"Our personalisation strategy is at the core of realestate.com.au’s audience leadership, with more than 11.9 million Australians visiting realestate.com.au on average each month.
“We know the industry is grappling with audience fragmentation and upcoming privacy legislation changes will shine an even brighter spotlight on data use. REA is committed to privacy best practices, and we continue to invest heavily in uplifting our privacy capabilities while ensuring we have appropriate consumer consent."
MagicBricks, the India-based real estate marketplace, has launched a Site Visit product for home buyers and developers to streamline property visits for new-build properties.
The company says the product has already been used 16,000 times resulting in more than 1,000 bookings
MagicBricks said:
The Site Visit product addresses key challenges for both home buyers and developers. Many homebuyers, due to busy schedules, miss out on visiting multiple properties while deciding on their ideal home. On the other side, developers face challenges in engaging high-intent customers effectively.
The Site Visit product offers a comprehensive experience, beginning with expert project recommendations tailored to buyers’ specific needs. By considering factors, such as budget, location, and configuration, MagicBricks curates a shortlist of properties that aligns with buyers’ preferences. Furthermore, the product provides logistical support, ensuring a seamless experience as buyers visit selected properties.
Sudhir Pai, CEO at Magicbricks, said:
"This initiative not only simplifies decision-making for buyers but also provides logistical support, benefiting developers by presenting a more focused audience and creating an effective sales funnel by bringing in high-intent buyers to tour new properties. It further adds value through repeat visits, signaling strong buyer interest. In some instances, buyers have viewed 4-5 properties in one day, reducing decision-making time by nearly 50%.."
MagicBricks competes with the likes of 99acres and Housing.com for market leadership in India, one of the most fiercely fought battles for number-one status in global marketplaces.
Emlakjet, one of Turkey’s leading real estate marketplaces, has launched a B2B service for agents looking to gain sales authorization for branded projects in Turkey and abroad.
The new Emlakjet Link service allows real estate offices to work directly with partners' projects, offering their clients an extensive selection of vetted and profitable investment opportunities.
Through Emlakjet Link, agents can select the best project for investors; submit investor information to facilitate communications and transactions; and earn competitive commissions with each successful sale.
Emlakjet Link is only available to member agents.
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