Product and Services Roundup: Homely, AtHome.jp, WillHaben, Rize, Keyper

We have an interesting Product and Service Roundup for you this week, and there's no better place to start than in Australia. Could there be more than meets the eye in this story?

Oceania: Homely partners with Matterport (among others) in major features launch

The Australian challenger portal Homely has partnered with Matterport to provide its users with a set of new features including virtual tours and interactive media.

other collaborators include Diakrit, Little Hinges, Virtual Tours Creator, Best Virtual Tours, Kuula, EnvisionVR, Captur3D, Open2View and iProperty Express.

The Virtual Tours and Interactive Media suite is designed to empower real estate agents with cutting-edge tools to showcase properties like never before, leading to higher property views, increased engagement, and a notable rise in enquiries since launch.

Adam Spencer, co-founder and co-CEO of Homely, said:

"Our partnerships with innovators like Matterport and Diakrit allow us to provide agents and home seekers with immersive, real-time virtual property experiences.

"This integration enhances the discovery process, helping buyers find their dream homes faster, while also driving more traffic, views, and engagement to our platform, increasing value for our agents."

Homely has a dedicated category visible on its user interface for Interactive Floor Plans offered on listings. This new feature ensures a comprehensive, interactive property search experience that sets listings apart in a competitive market.

One interesting question: is the Matterport partnership being driven by CoStar? And if so, is there a potential buyout in Australia on the cards? One to watch...

Asia: AtHome adds 2-step authentication for property inquiries

Japanese real estate marketplace AtHome.co.jp has added two-step authentication for users making inquiries on its portal.

The portal says it added the process to ensure contacts are correctly recorded for real estate professionals to respond to, citing an ongoing problem in the industry whereby consumers make inquiries about properties but cannot be contacted because they inputted the wrong phone number or email address.

Users making inquiries on smartphones will now need to enter a code sent to their phone number to ensure their contact details are valid.

"This will reduce the number of unsuccessful calls and the workload of real estate companies," said AtHome in its press release.

Rent Now, Pay Later platform Rize launches several AI updates

The Saudi Arabia-based proptech Rize has launched a suite of AI-driven updates.

AI can now accept or reject applications to the company's core 'RNPL' product in less than an hour, based on metrics including earnings, citizenship, and employment status. Other improvements include Rize's app contract management feature, which is now easier than ever for users to track and make payments.

Rize closed a seed round worth almost $3 million earlier this year, as it embarks on a mission to revolutionise Saudi Arabia's difficult rental market whereby tenants are expected to pay an entire year's worth of rent in one fell swoop, or if they're lucky, twice a year.

Rize challenges this model by paying the landlord in full and then subletting properties to tenants, collecting a more traditional 12 payments during the year, and charging the landlord 15% of a contract’s value for this service.

Keyper adds property management features and customizable notifications

Dubai-based property management proptech Keyper has introduced a suite of new features offering an improved property management experience for its landlord users.

New features include a WhatsApp integration with several property management and maintenance options such as repairs, cleaning services and renovations. Landlords can also automate tenancy renewals and property listings via the Keyper app or website.

Additionally, landlords can now customize their notifications from Keyper to only receive alerts for topics they are interested in. Customizations for payment notifications, upcoming contract terminations and renewals, similar property transactions and new onboarded properties are all available on a Yes/No basis.

Europe: WillHaben adds sunlight-mapping technology for all properties

The Austrian market-leading classifieds site WillHaben has integrated sunlight-mapping technology from ShadowMap.

WillHaben users can now access information on sunlight exposure for any property listed on its marketplaces, using ShadowMap to simulate sunlight and shade for any location and at any hour of the day. ShadowMap also simulates annual sunlight exposure.