We have a vast Product and Services roundup for you this week, starting in North America before going global...
Zillow has added a new messaging feature to its app, enabling buyers and their co-shoppers to communicate, share listings, and coordinate activity without leaving the platform.
The update is designed to address the fragmented nature of digital home shopping, where listing links, decisions, and comments often get lost across multiple chat apps, browsers, and devices. By consolidating these interactions into a single Zillow thread, the company aims to reduce friction and keep purchase momentum moving.
David Beitel, chief technology officer at Zillow, said:
"This new messaging product brings the collaboration that already happens across text messages directly into Zillow. It's another step toward making the home journey simpler and more connected. We're continuing to bring more of the experience onto Zillow, so buyers can move from browsing to closing with less friction and more confidence."
More than 60% of buyers now shop with at least one other person, typically a co-owner. Zillow’s in-app messaging allows users to open their inbox, invite a partner or roommate, and manage conversations directly within the Zillow app interface.
The News Corp-backed US real estate portal Realtor.com has released a new 3D satellite viewing feature that allows users to explore properties from a low-altitude, immersive perspective. Rolling out over the coming weeks, the innovation uses Google Maps Platform’s 3D Maps and technology from real estate analytics company, TopHap Inc.
Integrated directly into Realtor.com’s listing pages, FlyAround enables shoppers to visualise properties in full spatial context, including lot size, terrain, and surrounding neighbourhoods.
According to Realtor.com’s 2025 Consumer Attitudes & Usage Study, 50% of recent buyers said they would consider purchasing a home without visiting in person, up from 44% in 2023. Among first-time buyers, that figure rose to 52%.
“FlyAround brings listings to life in a way that helps home shoppers see not just the home, but its entire environment,” said Dave Herman, SVP of Product and AI Innovation at Realtor.com. “We’re focused on giving buyers the tools and confidence they need to make informed decisions.”
Tina Weyand, Senior Director of Product Management at Google Maps Platform, added: “Bringing 3D Maps into Realtor.com elevates the home search into a fully immersive, photorealistic experience, giving buyers an intuitive sense of place right from their screens.”
Realtor's product release comes several months after rival Zillow launched its own SkyTour feature. CoStar, the owner of the Homes.com portal, also recently released an analogous '3D Exterior' feature for listings, which is powered by its spatial software company Matterport.
Unlike Zillow's SkyTour feature, which is sold as part of the portal's upgraded Listings Showcase product, Realtor.com says that its 'FlyArounds' are available for all MLS-sourced listings with geo coordinates.
Rightmove has launched a digital tool to guide renters through their moving process.
The Renter Checklist, now available in My Rightmove, guides tenants through each stage of the rental journey—from finding a property to collecting the keys. Users can tick off steps as they complete them. Renters will automatically see the status of their reference and any outstanding steps in the Renter Checklist, for tenancies managed through Rightmove’s Tenant Referencing Service.
On the other side of the transaction, agents using Rightmove’s 'Lead to Keys' suite—an end-to-end set of rental tools from lead generation to key handover—will be able to offer tenants a more streamlined experience.
Tarah Lourens, Rightmove’s chief technology and operations officer, said:
“Through the Lead to Keys product suite, we’ve been helping to speed up and reduce admin time for letting agents, enabling them to advertise their properties and hand over the keys to tenants through one integrated system.
“Our Renter Checklist is the first step in helping to speed up the process directly for tenants too, making it much easier for them to see the actions they need to complete and where they’re at in the process, reducing friction and frustration in what has previously been a complex and multi-layered journey.”
Zoopla has released a virtual staging tool on its portal, allowing users to redecorate walls and flooring.
The new tool lets users virtually redecorate the interiors of listings, with real paint colours, carpets and floorings available from commercial partnerships including Farrow & Ball.
A post on Zoopla's LinkedIn profile says:
In a UK property portal first, we're excited to unveil our new property redesign tool—powered by our partner Roomvo. Househunters can choose from pre-made styles or play around to create their own transformations, making it easier to envision a home as their own… without even having to leave the Zoopla site. By giving buyers the power to customise and see a property's full potential, we’re significantly boosting listing engagement levels and sending high-intent leads to agents.
Grupo OLX is now a partner with CredAluga, a fintech specialising in real estate rentals in Brazil.
CredAluga is a fintech ecosystem that integrates technology, credit intelligence, and tailored financial solutions to real estate companies. Grupo OLX has also taken a minority stake in the business, valued at R$25 million (USD 5 million).
Speaking on LinkedIn, Marcos Leite, General Manager at OLX Brazil, said:
"I am very proud to share with you that Grupo OLX is now a partner at CredAluga, a startup that is revolutionizing the rental market - a giant market in Brazil, with a lot of opportunity for simplification.
"The partnership combines the strength of the OLX Group and Zap, VivaReal and OLX portals, with CredAluga's innovation and expertise in lease guarantees, simplifying the rental journey for both market professionals and those looking for a new home.
"Soon, the brokers and real estate agents of the OLX Group will have easy access to CredAluga's services, in order to offer their customers solutions that eliminate the need for a guarantor, reduce bureaucracy and make the lease guarantee process more agile and secure."
CredAluga raised an investment round worth USD 11.1 million in September 2025.
Japanese property portal AtHome.jp has launched an automated recommendation feature for its email marketing service, using a patented AI-driven system licensed from GFL Co., Ltd.
The "Dynamic Comparison Comment System" integrates into AtHome.jp’s consumer-facing recommendation emails, which follow user inquiries on the portal. The system analyses consumer preferences and compares shortlisted listings with algorithmically selected benchmark properties. It then generates property-specific comparative comments summarising key differences and benefits.
The system is designed to replicate how in-person sales agents justify recommendations, replacing generic email copy—such as “others viewed this”—with tailored, factual comparisons. AtHome said this approach improves decision-making by offering users a clearer rationale for each recommendation.
The technology is based on GFL’s patented “Product Information Generation System,” which assembles prewritten phrases using rule-based logic derived from listing data. Unlike LLM-based generators, the structured syntax avoids hallucinated content. AtHome holds a non-exclusive license for use in the real estate category.
REA Group has unveiled an expanded suite of market intelligence insights designed to help Australia’s residential real estate agencies measure, benchmark, and grow their businesses. The new release is built via PropTrack, the company’s analytics arm bought from former Zoopla parent ZPG in 2018.
The update marks what REA described as “the next wave” of accessible realestate.com.au data, giving agencies deeper visibility into listings, campaign performance, and market demand trends across the country.
Existing PropTrack-powered tools include Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) and Lead Insights available to Pro subscribers. The latest release introduces broader, self-service datasets to support business growth and operational optimisation.
REA’s Ignite platform will be central to this evolution, with plans to integrate AI-enhanced reporting for more actionable insights.
Tim Bradley, Executive General Manager, Customer Platforms and Services at REA Group, said:
“Customers have been asking for ways to access data that supports their business to identify opportunities for growth and optimisation. Realestate.com.au has the most comprehensive view of the Australian property market with access to the broadest listings, campaign performance and demand data across the country. Its value is unmatched in terms of breadth, depth and accuracy. Direct access to market performance data that measures market share and conversion trends at a suburb, state and national level has the potential to supercharge growth for our customers.”
Domain is enjoying having deep-pocketed owners, after recording a historic high audience growth following CoStar Group's takeover of the Australian number two portal.
Domain operates several real estate portals, including allhomes.com.au and commercialrealestate.com.au. According to figures from Ipsos, Domain attracted a historic high 44.2 million visits in September 2025. Other findings from Ipsos suggest Domain’s commercial real estate platform achieved a record unique audience of 1.3 million in September, up 24.6% year-on-year.
Jason Pellerino, who returned to lead Domain recently, said:
"We are about bringing more eyeballs to listings, whether that is residential or commercial, so agents can have confidence when they use us, they will get results. When a vendor lists with Domain, they are getting a lot more attention than a year ago. We have been deliberate in signalling to the market that we are investing heavily in our platforms, improving the user experience and growing the audience.
"We have a long road ahead to radically transform how Australians experience property. However in less than a month, we have set a clear baseline and have proven through our recent independence that we’re not just here to stay, we’re here to deliver on our ambition."
Immobiliare.it Insights will provide structured datasets and analytics tools for Cushman & Wakefield under a new three-year agreement aimed at improving residential property valuations in Italy.
The partnership supports Cushman & Wakefield’s entry into the Italian residential sector and marks the first phase of a broader data collaboration between the two companies.
Luke Brucato, chief strategy officer at Immobiliare.it Insights, said the deal “puts data and advanced analytics at the heart of the valuation process”, producing “more accurate and transparent” property valuations. [translated from Italian]
Joachim Sandberg, Head of Italy at Cushman & Wakefield, stated that the partnership will enable the expansion of its valuation services into residential, making them “more accurate, transparent, and compliant,” while aligning data intelligence with advisory expertise.
The Spanish portal Fotocasa's AI-powered 'Brain' tool has responded to over 34000 questions in its first 12 months since launch, the company said in a release.
In a blog published on its website, Fotocasa said the purpose of the Brain AI platform i"s to offer immediate, accurate and personalised information to its users about the buying and selling or renting processes, commenting that the platform gives tens of thousands of Spaniards "quick and free access to key information on the housing market."
María Matos, Director of Research and spokesperson for Fotocasa, said:
"In a market as complex as the housing market, having reliable and rapid answers is key to reducing the uncertainty felt by buyers and tenants before and during the process. Thousands of users can resolve their questions in seconds, thus democratizing access to real estate information. At a time when digitalization is transforming the sector, our priority is to put innovation at the service of people so they can make informed decisions." [Translated from Spanish]
The Russian marketplace giant Avito is set to provide free insurance policies to over 100,000 landlords who rent out properties long-term via its platform.
As part of a pilot project running from August to September 2025, owners who rented out their apartments through Avito Real Estate on a long-term basis and met a number of simple conditions received free property insurance for six months.
The number of policies distributed was revealed in a report distributed after a collaboration between Avito and the insurance product provider AlfaStrakhovanie.
Other findings by Avito Real Estate also revealed that circa 50% of property owners fear damage to their property when renting out long-term rentals, and nearly one in three has already encountered this problem.
To give owners greater confidence in renting out their apartments, Avito Real Estate offered landlords six-month insurance policies covering interiors and movable objects, including furniture and appliances, up to RUB 120,000 (USD 150).
AlfaStrakhovanie Group is one of the leading insurance companies in Russia.
Kleinanzeigen, a leading German horizontal marketplace, is currently beta testing a new subscription model that offers an ad-free experience for consumers browsing the site.
Users can opt to pay €1.99 (USD 2.30) a month to remove all banner ads, video ads, and disable third-party tracking, across both the web and the Kleinanzeigen app. Subscriptions renew automatically each month and can be cancelled at any time.
The sale of Israel’s leading online classifieds platform Yad2 is approaching its final stage, with ownership expected to change hands...
Read More
Redfin attorneys submitted a letter in a filing this week, casting aspersions against fellow brokerage Compass's attempt to tie it...
Read More
The leading US real estate portal operator Zillow has revealed that it grew revenues 16% year-on-year in Q3 and logged...
Read More
Scout24, the publicly listed German real estate marketplace operator, has released its third-quarter financial results for 2025. Highlights for the...
Read More
