Product Roundup: ImmoScout24, DomClick, Avito, Bien'ici, Wikicasa, Spotahome

By chance, this week's product roundup is 100% Euro-centric. From Germany to Russia, Italy to France, here's what we've spotted for you...

Bien'ici boosts its search experience with new criteria

French portal Bien'ici has added three new search criteria that match modern users' needs, taking the total list of search criteria to 38 filters.

The first is for people with reduced mobility, with search results showing properties that have more accessible features.

Other introductions include shared apartments for people specifically looking to rent by the room to save money, while there is also a search criteria for people specifically looking to live on the first floor of a building.

Philippe de Ligniville, Deputy Managing Director of Bien'ici, said:

"Our search criteria become the ideal support for our 3D mapping offering each user a unique experience in terms of real estate research.

"Thanks to the geolocation of properties on the map as well as our unique search criteria such as fiber connectivity, you can find the ideal property in just a few clicks."

ImmoScout24 diversifies into the workspace marketplace

Germany's real estate portal market leader ImmoScout24 has partnered up with workspace marketplace ShareYourSpace, which rents out workspaces from as small as single desks by the hour, to entire offices by the year.

According to ImmoScout24's website, almost 700 rentable spaces are already available for browsing via its platform.

Users can browse listings and save favourites on ImmoScout24 but appear to be redirected to ShareYourSpace if they wish to pursue a booking.

Kristina Müller, head of strategic account management and commercial sales at ImmoScout24, said:

"Sharing brings flexibility to offices and working environments. It is also the strongest conceivable lever for greater sustainability in the real estate industry."

Wikicasa adds an auction service to deal with Italy's tired auction market

Italian marketplace Wikicasa has launched Wikicasa Auction to tackle a slow, but growing, auction market for real estate in Italy.

The announcement comes weeks after Wikicasa published a report that stated 13,000 real estate units up for auction in Italy were worth a combined €1.6 billion, 44% of which is tied up in residential.

Wikicasa Auction is a digital, integrated service for the auction and NPE (Non-Performing Exposure) sector. A post on Wikicasa's LinkedIn page says the new service is built on three pillars: information, collaboration, and technology.

Mirko Frigerio, strategic advisor for Wikicasa Auction, said:

"The new portal collects and automatically updates all active auctions throughout Italy. On one hand it gives end users the opportunity to find clear, unambiguous information on properties.

On the other hand, it gives every one of the 1,000 consultants currently operating across the country the chance to showcase their services and show how their skills can make a difference in the market."

Pietro Pellizzari, CEO at Wikicasa, said:

"Creating a digital service that can aggregate all the data and strategic information makes it possible to make the entire sector more dynamic and transparent, bringing supply and demand closer together."

DomClick allows remote mortgages via digital signatures

Russian real estate platform DomClick has added online-only mortgage transactions to its offering thanks to its partnership with Sber, Russia's largest bank.

DomClick clients can now use electronic signatures to complete mortgage applications and transactions without any in-person appointments.

Electronic signatures are powered by 'Gosklyuch' technology, an application partially developed by Russia's Ministry of Digital Development. These digital keys are imbued with the power to sign legally binding contracts online.

DomClick applicants will also need a confirmed account on the state services website, a biometric passport and a smartphone with an NFC module to go through the entire process remotely.

DomClick also revealed its new moving service this week.

Avito is piloting a "comfortable sale" turnkey service for sellers

Russia-based Avito Real Estate has introduced a turnkey service whereby the portal sells properties on behalf of the owner, including appointing a realtor who will assess the market value of the property, create and publish an ad, look for a buyer, handle queries, and manage viewings and paperwork.

Sergey Eremkin, head of secondary and suburban real estate at Avito Real Estate, said:

"When selling an apartment, people want to be sure of two things: that they will not sell it on the cheap and that they will be able to sell it within a predictable timeframe.

"Realtors are an important part of our product because no one else has such expertise in completing a transaction. In essence, we are building a service together and thereby developing the market so that any owner can go through the sale process as quickly and comfortably as possible.

"For now, we accept a limited the number of agents for whom we can provide a flow of clients. But our goal is to expand the service and attract the maximum number of market professionals for whom it will become a source of clients.

Spotahome partners with German talent marketplace, Nioomi

The Spanish-headquartered rentals marketplace Spotahome has announced a partnership with the specialist IT jobs platform Nioomi.

The deal will see Spotahome offer Nioomi's applicants a 15% discount on the reservation fee they pay the platform to book their vetted accommodation.

Spotahome operates a medium- and long-term renting platform that lets tenants search for, view and book a rental property 100% online. Founded in 2014 by Alejandro Artacho, Brian McEire, Bruno Bianchi and Hugo Monteiro, the company has raised nearly $100m in investment from the likes of Kleiner Perkin and was the first Spanish-founded startup to get investment from Silicon Valley in 2018.

Below: Alejandro Artacho, co-founder and CEO at Spotahome, the company's journey and model at the Property Portal Watch event in October 2023.