Urban.com.au to Rebrand as Apartments.com.au After Acquisition

Urban.com.au has acquired Apartments.com.au in a combined cash-and-equity deal.

Urban confirmed it will rebrand to Apartments.com.au in light of the acquisition, and web searches for Urban.com.au already appear to redirect to Apartments.com.au.

The deal follows closely on the acquisition of iBuildNew and brings Urban’s total acquisitions to six. Urban, Homeshelf, and iBuildNew now operate under Third Door Ventures, the real estate technology group led by Mike Bird and George Glover.

Urban, originally founded in 2017 through the acquisition of Urban Melbourne, claims the highest traffic among Australia’s dedicated off-the-plan platforms. It will rebrand as Apartments.com.au in the coming weeks.

Mike Bird, CEO of Urban.com.au, said:

“Apartments.com.au is more than a domain, it’s a brand buyers can instinctively trust. In a market where people are making some of the biggest financial decisions of their lives, having a name that feels familiar, credible, and safe gives us a powerful advantage in helping buyers and developers connect with confidence.”

George Glover added:

“Buying off-the-plan is a high-consideration purchase, and buyers are hungry for guidance they can trust. The Apartments.com.au brand allows us to build that trust from the very first click.”

The domain had been privately held for more than 20 years by Darren Pateman, former Managing Director of Finbar Group. Pateman was introduced to Urban via DBR and will join the business as an investor and advisor.

Pateman said:

“I saw a rare synergistic alignment of values and ambition which genuinely excited me. Mike and George’s vision and technology growth plans are very compelling and align perfectly with my sector interest and intended continued involvement in apartment developments going forward. I’m pleased to remain connected to the domain through this investment and look forward to being party to this dynamic Group’s future success from the capital table.”

The acquisition occurs amid heightened activity in the portal market. In April, U.S.-based CoStar Group announced a $3 billion acquisition of Domain Holdings Australia. CoStar also purchased Homes.com.au for $22.8 million, with both transactions reinforcing international interest in Australian digital real estate assets.

Ed Keay-Smith of DBR Digital Assets said:

“Apartments.com.au is without question a top 10 domain sale in Australia. It belongs in the same tier as Bitcoin.com.au and Money.com.au.”

Urban's acquisition and rebrand are intended to position Third Door Ventures as a category-defining player across all segments of the new homes market: apartments, house-and-land packages, and home builder comparison tools.

Bird, Glover, and their business partner, Andrew Archibald, have now executed six acquisitions since co-founding Social Garden in 2012. Their portfolio includes Property Observer (acquired in 2020), Homeshelf (2024), iBuildNew (2025), and now Apartments.com.au.