Portal Product Roundup: Zillow, Lifull, Immowelt, Graana and SeLoger

Another week, another product roundup for our readers. No need for fluff, here's what we've spotted...

Zillow adds six cities to its suite of 'Enhanced Markets'

U.S. portal giant Zillow has added six new cities to its enhanced markets division.

Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, all in Texas, are four—with Chicago (Illinois) and Minneapolis (Minnesota) joining 13 other cities to have already made the jump to enhanced.

In an announcement on the Zillow Group website, Zillow said:

"Zillow is bringing an integrated home-buying experience to life in select areas we call enhanced markets. In these markets, we are laying the foundation for customers who come to Zillow to be able to easily move through a traditionally complicated process in a more intuitive and seamless way with the expert guidance of Premier Agent partners and Zillow Home Loans loan officers."

Zillow's Investory Strategy Presentation published in February outlines how enhanced markets drive "significant growth in customer transaction share in mature Enhanced Markets", while:

"Market share gains in our early test markets demonstrate opportunity as we roll out more Enhanced Markets in 2024."

But what's the difference?

Zillow's flagship Premier Agent product charges agents upfront for leads, and any agent can subscribe. In an Enhanced Market, Premier Agent ceases to exist and is instead replaced by 'Flex', a program that does not charge agents upfront in exchange for a commission share if a lead converts to a transaction.

Meanwhile, end users get access to "real-time touring" and can book in-person visits within an hour of enquiry, and also have an improved Zillow Home Loans experience.

In short, buying in an Enhanced Market is better and easier than in any other, but it isn't for everyone. The new cities will officially become Enhanced at the end of May and Zillow has set a lofty target of 40 Enhanced Markets by the end of the year.

Zillow may look to expand the enhanced markets program nationwide if it sees success.

Lifull Home to add energy-saving performance and estimated utilities cost to Homes.co.jp imminently

Homes.co.jp will display energy-saving performances of properties on its listings by the end of April. The new feature will highlight estimated utility costs, insulation performance, consumption and energy savings.

Toshiaki Nakayama, deputy director at Lifull Home’s Research Institute, said:

"Lifull Home’s is helping the housing industry achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 by making users aware of property performance and cost performance through the display of housing performance labels.

"By proactively utilizing labels, real estate companies will begin to create a system to communicate to users that differences in housing performance are significantly related to living comfort and energy consumption."

Immowelt Group (AVIV Germany) merges Immowelt's and Immosolve's software divisions

Immowelt Group, owned by AVIV Germany, has merged the software for real estate portal Immowelt and the CRM system Immoserve. The Group has reshuffled some senior roles accordingly.

Alexander Köth is now the manager of Immowelt Software and Immoserve. Ramon Lahme is the new director of software sales and Harald Sonntag is the new director of product and tech software.

Alexander Köth said:

"The merger of the CRM divisions of Immowelt and Immoserve is a real milestone for us. We will use this concentrated power for better products, higher customer satisfaction and more innovation. 2024 will be an exciting year for our software company."

Graana integrates MoveItTech for additional moving and packing services

Pakistani portal Graana has integrated MoveItTech to allow users to arrange moving and packing services during the transaction. The agreement also includes integration into Graana's sister company Agency21.

Uzir Khan, co-founder at MoveItTech, said:

"Partnering with Graana.com and Agency21 is a fantastic opportunity for MoveIt. It enables us to serve a wider clientele and provide our comprehensive moving services at competitive prices, benefiting all parties involved.

"This partnership allows clients of Graana.com and Agency21 exclusive access to MoveIt’s services at preferred rates, underlining the commitment of all three organizations to leverage their expertise for the betterment of the real estate and moving experience in Pakistan."

According to the web traffic database Similarweb, Graana is the number two player in Pakistan after clear market leader Zameen but ahead of internationally-owned portals like Lamudi and Mitula.

SeLoger launches tool to assess 'thermal strainer' market

The French real estate portal SeLoger has introduced a new tool to let real estate professionals analyse the impact of the country's Climate Resilience law on home values.

The law, enacted in 2021, requires all real estate for sale to include energy performance certificates along with details of refurbishment costs needed to bring the least energy-efficient properties up to legally defined energy-efficiency standards.

SeLoger claims that 60% of French consumers are unaware of the reforms and says that this is an opportunity for agents to step in and educate clients with the help of its new tool.

The new tool, named 'Impact DPE', shows the potential discounts on so-called 'thermal strainer' houses as well as their average time to sale and their percentage of the total housing stock by region.

“SeLoger does not just offer advice or tools such as 'Mon Livret data' or 'Impact DPE', but is also actively involved in requesting a clear legislative framework around the Climate and Resilience law. By working together with industry players and the relevant authorities, SeLoger strives to create a regulatory environment favourable to a successful energy transition in the real estate sector, ” said Caroline Evans de Gantès, Managing Director at SeLoger.