Another week, another big product roundup for portals and proptechs worldwide. Here's what we've spotted...
Stocks in Chinese portal Fangdd almost doubled in value last week after revealing an updated strategy focusing on real estate stock asset services, including plans to build a platform of real estate stock asset services with comprehensive service capabilities of operation, sales, and technology.
FangDD will focus on the following two aspects in 2024:
Russian marketplace giant Yandex has refurbished its real estate portal, partly as a response to user analysis that showed too much space on its portal homepage was taken up by unused filters. As a result, Yandex Real Estate's new main page improves the user experience and emphasizes new-build properties.
The new site also introduces end-to-end solutions helping users select, buy, rent and let properties—Yandex also claims that it has eliminated the need for would-be tenants to meet landlords in person to finalise a deal.
Vladimir Kulikov, head of brand communications at Yandex Real Estate, said:
"Yandex Real Estate has outgrown the old branding. We are making a completely new product, and this required drastic changes in the design. In realtor’s parlance, ‘sprucing up’ the existing design system was not enough; a major overhaul was required."
Home searchers in the USA can now opt-in to a Redfin Beta test for its new search assistant Ask Redfin.
The generative tool can assist people searching for homes. It will respond to prompts including asking if nearby properties have an upcoming open house, what local Homeowner Associations charge per year and a property's proximity to local schools and other amenities.
A Redfin press release said the tool is "integrated with Redfin’s support team, so homebuyers can be quickly connected to a licensed real estate agent if their question goes beyond the details of the listing, such as how to make an offer or to get an agent’s opinion on the market value of a home."
U.S. portal Realtor.com has added several climate risk data points to listings so users can tell whether a property of interest is susceptible to wind damage, air pollution or dangerously high temperatures.
The new data comes from First Street—a climate risk research company based in New York—which already shares similar data with rival portals Homes.com and Redfin.
India-based marketplace MagicBricks has added a directory of new residential developments
Dubbed "MagicHomes", the new directory covers new residential projects in Delhi NCR, Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, Ahmedabad, and Chennai.
MagicHomes includes information on the authenticity and compliance of new projects, sourced from verified authorities like RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Authority).
Customers can evaluate projects across important parameters including master plans, builder history, project construction timelines, pricing trends, and inventory details.
In a release, MagicBricks said that the company expects to increase engagement on its platform by up to 30%.
Vivek Kumar, Head of Product at MagicBricks, said:
"Historically, homebuyers have favored completed projects over new projects due to uncertainties and limited access to information regarding the viability of new developments.
"However, with the changing preferences, MagicHomes serves as a single-window to assist customers in seamlessly comparing prices, assessing appreciation trends, and accessing comprehensive details of their preferred projects."
UK portal OneDome has added surveying to its HomeBuyer Service offer, adding to its pre-existing mortgages and conveyancing services.
Powered by OneDome's proprietary e-HomeBuying platform, buyers are assigned a dedicated property-moving assistant who manages the entire transaction from start to finish including valuations and negotiations as part of a fixed-price package.
Babek Ismayil, CEO at OneDome, said:
"Our aim with the HomeBuyer Service is to simplify the home buying experience by bundling all the necessary services into one straightforward package at a fixed price, offered via a single digital platform. This platform guides customers through the buying process.
"People don't just want to buy a mortgage or conveyancing services; they want to buy homes. We aim to make this process simple for them. One client, one service, one invoice, one project manager—all through OneDome."
Rent Now, Pay Later proptech Keyper has partnered with Direct Debit System to allow Dubai-based tenants to pay their rent by direct debit every month.
Direct Debit System is the UAE’s first paperless direct debit marketplace, with UAE Central Bank and the UAE government already agreeing to participate in this new payment method.
Keyper's integration marks a technological jump considering tenants in the Emirates typically pay their rent via check.
Omar Abu Innab, CEO at Keyper, said:
"Cheques are a relic of the past. The need for our solution has been evident, as all stakeholders in the ecosystem are dissatisfied with cheques but lacked a viable alternative that preserved the functionality and the security of cheques without adding significant friction.
"Embedding direct debit into our service will help numerous landlords in the UAE who have multiple assignment of receivables and loans from banks against their properties."
Indian real estate marketplace NoBroker is reportedly being held to ransom after a data breach. Dubai-based cybercrime monitoring network Hackmanac...
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Yandex, the Russian internet giant, has released its unaudited financial statement for the third quarter of the 2024 financial year....
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Japanese marketplace operator Lifull has released findings from an internal employee survey showing that 82% of surveyed employees said generative...
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