It has been quite some time since we shared a set of product launches from around the industry. From improved search functions to AML integrations, here are six stories to take some inspiration from—with the new SeLoger offering a particular highlight.
UK challenger OneDome has added a new functionality to its search portal that lets users find listings based on their proximity to preferred schools.
Buyers can now search by the name of their selected school, with an interactive map showing matching results.
Babek Ismayil, founder at OneDome, said:
"Choosing the right school for your child is one of the most important decisions parents make, and proximity is a crucial factor when schools decide who to allocate their places to.
"Not only can the location of your home help you integrate with the school community, but it’s also futureproofing your investment.
"A family home near a good or outstanding school will always be in demand."
Real estate stakeholders in New Zealand can now call upon Tāhū to ease the listing process for agents, vendors and administrators.
A New Zealand first for property portals, Tāhū has already improved accuracy and made the listing process faster.
Powered by Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Tāhū can interact with various applications or websites like a human would while streamlining repetitive processes such as data entry.
Realestate.co.nz says that the robot currently does around 40% of all manual listing bookings and saves staff around 40 hours a week—which will increase as it gets smarter.
Sarah Wood, CEO at realestate.co.nz, said:
"Several listings can't be uploaded immediately to our site every day due to missing information. Tāhū means we will have another set of eyes constantly scouring the system, checking new listings for missing information, and notifying the real estate agent when there may be something they have missed – likely before they've even noticed the listing isn't live."
UK challenger OnTheMarket has improved its offering by integrating digital ID and source of funds provider Thirdfort.
Using NFC technology, Thirdfort's app reads and verifies digital signatures and signing keys for thousands of identity documents issued by governments worldwide. International addresses can be verified via Experian data, with 23 jurisdictions covered globally.
OnTheMarket clients will be able to use the Thirdfort integration to handle Right to Rent checks through the portal's TecLet platform.
Source of funds checking will be completed using Open Banking, while PEPs and sanctions screening are included, and 12-month monitoring is also available.
Alan Blockley, CEO at TecLet, said:
"The integration of AML solution Thirdfort within the TecCRM platform builds on our commitment to providing our users with access to best in class, compliant solutions across our suite of products."
Patrick Brierley, partnerships manager at Thirdfort, said:
"We are delighted to integrate our compliance products with OnTheMarket Software and to be able to provide our mutual clients with, what we believe to be, the leading digital ID and source of funds service available in the market today."
Otodom, The Polish real estate arm of OLX Group, has launched a free-to-use concierge service for all listings.
Users can use the service to get help from dedicated Otodom Concierge experts to simplify the home search process according to their preferred criteria for their favoured properties.
Users will also receive alerts for new listings that match their needs—and will even be able to request individual offers from sellers.
Sinyi.com.tw, a leading property portal in Taiwan, has added AI-optimised matching during home searches.
A story from Chinese publication NowNews reports that Xinyi Housing (Sinyi) is the first in the industry to launch to AI smart matching to help consumers filter properties that match more closely to their individual needs, which has been a historically difficult task for homebuyers.
The company has reported a 200% increase in transaction rates since the launch of the AI—which leverages big data—and has won the Silver Award for Best Technical Innovation and Best Product Innovation in the 2023 Innovation Business Awards.
Xinyi says its database of more than 40 years of housing data (it was founded in 1981) is a big contributor to the success of the AI integration, which boasts significantly higher accuracy thanks to the vast range of text, image, and geographical and spatial data at its disposal.
Xinyi has incorporated digital products and services including smart tours, real estate e-passports and mortgages into its portal.
Xinyi operates in Chaina, Japan and Southeast Asia.
Leading French portal SeLoger has launched a new solution that the company says will increase the number of qualified leads for agents.
The solution is for the 'Neuf' (New) arm of SeLoger's real estate operation, which focuses on new-build properties in major markets across France.
Agents using Neo Extend will benefit from a number of perks including simultaneous advertisements of listings across four domains (SeLoger, Logic-Immo Neuf, Seloger, and Logic-Immo).
Listings will be featured prominently on each platform for the first month, as well as extra ads sent via email to highly qualified targets. SeLoger will also expand the listings' visibility to extra postcodes to improve visibility for those properties that would otherwise not show up in searches.
Finally, a retargeting system will show ads to prospects who have submitted specific searches on high-profile websites including Le Monde and L'Equipe.
Franck Le Tendre, vice-president responsible for Operations at AVIV France (SeLoger Meilleurs Agents Group), said:
"Neo Extend boosts the visibility of programs in an unprecedented way by bringing together in a single offer the power of leading sites, the effectiveness of retargeting and the expansion to an additional quality audience.
"As the market tightens, it is a simple and effective solution that allows professionals to significantly increase the number of their contacts and achieve their business objectives."
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