Product and Services Roundup: Yandex, Domclick, PAP, OnTheMarket, Houseful, MagicBricks, Mudah.my

This week's product roundup starts in Russia, where another portal is pushing its pre-market offering...

Europe: Yandex updates its pre-sale feature

Russian internet giant Yandex is the latest business to revamp its pre-market solution after updating its landing page for homebuyers looking to purchase a new-build property before it comes to market,

Yandex's real estate segment now lists offers from developers in new projects that are about to come onto the market, while home-seekers can take their chances on 'early bird' discounts for properties that are in the early stages of construction.

Evgeny Belokurov, Commercial Director at Yandex Real Estate Services, said:

"The planned volumes of new buildings in the largest Russian cities in 2025 will correspond to the volumes of 2024 and will amount to about 20 million square meters of new housing.

"The ambitions of developers to commission new housing in megacities in 2026 are 16 million square meters. In a changing market, an aggregated offer with new buildings at the start will help a potential buyer choose an apartment for living or investment on favorable terms."

The new section also includes a "Sales Starting Soon" segment displaying projects whose sales will start soon. Users can subscribe to these properties and be the first to know about their launch on the market.

Domclick integrates powerful datasets and marketplace into its platform

Domclick, the defacto state-owned Russian real estate marketplace backed by national bank Sber, has integrated the nash.dom.rf into its platform.

Nash.dom.rf transmits all-encompassing, real-time information about ongoing and completed real estate development projects—with Domclick saying the integration will make it more convenient for home seekers in Russia.

The nash.dom.rf system contains 100% information on the construction market, including over four thousand developers, 12000 houses and 2.4 million apartments. In total, over 100 types of data will be active on Domclick's website.

Alexey Leipi, director of Domclick, said:

"Our joint project has become another step towards digitalization and transparency of the real estate market. Due to integration, the time for making a decision on accreditation of new buildings will be halved, the time for reviewing a package of documents in the bank will be reduced due to receiving them directly from nash.dom.rf. This is not only an increase in convenience and speed, but also trust—now Domclick users can be confident in their choice of housing."

Nikolay Kozak, Managing Director for IT and Digital Transformation at DOM.RF, said:

"Technological interaction is based on the software interface from DOM.RF—API of the Unified Information System of Housing Construction nash.dom.rf. It allows transferring reliable and up-to-date data on developers and housing construction projects, which are legally stored in the system. As part of the integration solution, we have implemented automated data transfer nash.dom.rf for use in more than 15 services of the Domclick ecosystem."

PAP launches FSBO-friendly campaign

French FSBO specialist portal PAP has launched its latest advertising campaign, celebrating the ease of buying or selling a property without an agent.

A young woman meets a landlord in a swimming pool, triggering an unexpected encounter. Between two strokes, she asks him if he is selling an apartment. To her surprise, he answers affirmatively and offers her an immediate visit. Without waiting, they swim together towards their future transaction.

It's an unlikely situation in real life, says PAP, but normal on the real estate platform. Watch the ad (in French) below.

Corinne Jolly, President of PAP, said:

"We are proud to launch this new advertising campaign that reflects our values: simplicity, efficiency and proximity. At PAP, what may seem improbable in real life becomes a daily reality for thousands of owners and individuals. It is this simplicity and efficiency that we are committed to highlighting."

PAP—Particulier à Particulier (Individual to Individual)—says the ads will run throughout the first half of the year during specially picked periods when the housing market is most dynamic.

Finn.no adds value-based pricing for properties in Norway

Finn.no, a subsidiary of Schibsted Marketplaces, has introduced a pricing system whereby advertisements are now priced according to the property's value—so a cheaper property is cheaper to advertise than a more expensive property.

Kjersti Høklingen, executive vice president of real estate Nordic marketplaces at Schibsted, commented:

"The introduction of a value-based pricing model is quite a change for us... it makes a lot of sense. The launch has gone well. It was experienced as a big change for several of our customers, but we have worked hard this fall to make the transition as smooth as possible.

"The cost of an ad at Finn is only 0.11% of the transaction value. And if you look at the total cost to sell a house for the seller, the cost for an ad is only 5% in Norway at the moment."

United States: Flyhomes launches "Reimagine" virtual home customization feature

Home search portal and real estate services company Flyhomes has launched a consumer-facing home customization tool called Reimagine.

Users can now virtually redesign homes listed on Flyhome's portal. The Flyhome's AI allows users to choose specific wall colours, furniture layout, and even the extent to which a room is 'restyled'.

A video tutorial by Flyhomes showed accurately renovated rooms and the tool even offers a 'See Variation' button for a quick redo.

Users also can book home visits from the Reimagine page.

United Kingdom: OnTheMarket enters agreement with build-to-rent specialist Property Sense

British challenger portal OnTheMarket (OTM) has signed a deal with specialist letting agency Property Sense to increase its presence in the rental sector across the UK.

Property Sense manages more than 1200 build-to-rent properties across the length and breadth of England, and will use the OTM partnership to find tenants for its stock.

Mike Haywood, CEO at Property Sense, said:

"Partnering with OnTheMarket was a no-brainer for us and we’re excited to see how the collaboration positively impacts our business in the coming 12 months.

"We’re currently working with huge developers in the BTR space, securing lettings for some of the best blocks in the country. Naturally, developments of this nature attract a certain clientele, and we’re confident OnTheMarket will help us to get in front of these demographics and showcase the exceptional properties they could be living in. We’ve spent the last few years developing an extensive database of tenants, situated across the country and are always looking for ways to increase this further."

Houseful subsidiary Alto launches skills-based learning portal for agents

Alto, part of Houseful alongside British number two portal Zoopla, has launched a new learning portal for agents.

Alto Skills is the new home of Alto digital education and will replace the Alto Learning Hub, including recommended content and expert guidance from within the portal.

For managers, a simplified view also shows their team members’ engagement and keeps track of how staff are progressing against their learning goals. Managers can also use the gamification available within the platform to track points and progress.

James Dolan, head of customer solutions and education at Alto, said:

"Unlike the training traditionally offered by estate agency CRMs, Alto Skills is designed to support agents throughout their CRM journey, and not just their onboarding. The flexibility offered by Alto Skills is also unparalleled and should be a game changer for agents when it comes to their branch training needs."

Asia: MagicBricks scales up its AI-driven CRM

The Indian marketplace MagicBricks says it has launched its proprietary CRM ReadPro to 200 cities in the past six months.

ReadPro is an AI-driven CRM that provides real-time sales tracking, lead integration and performance analytics for real estate brokers.

The business was acquired by MagicBricks in 2020.

Sudir Pai, CEO at MagicBricks, said:

"By integrating ReadPro’s advanced CRM capabilities into the MagicBricks platform, we are empowering the broker community with tools that enhance productivity, improve profitability and streamline their operations. This aligns with our commitment to providing innovative solutions that address the evolving challenges of the real estate ecosystem."

MagicBricks appears to be investing heavily in AI products after closing the acquisition of 3d visualization tool PropViz for an undisclosed sum in December 2024.

Mudah.my launches a new proptech feature in partnership with CelcomDigi

The property segment of the Malaysian generalised marketplace Mudah.my has entered an agreement with mobile service and internet provider CelcomDigi.

The new offer allows users to easily access CelcomDigi’s fiber and 5Gg home Wi-Fi services while searching for homes.

The Han Ming, head of Mudah Property, said:

"This market-first initiative is a good fit as it addresses consumers’ need for internet services when renting or buying a home, thereby increasing brand consideration for CelcomDigi."