This week's product roundup features not one, but two AI-powered portal launches in the UK, and a revolutionary, if controversial, partnership in France...
ModelProp, an AI-led property platform co-founded by Primelocation and Zoopla alumnus Mal McCallion, has confirmed it will launch a new consumer-facing portal at the beginning of 2026.
Codenamed 'IntelProp', the platform is designed around natural language search and voice-first interfaces. More than 2,750 agent branches have signed up, accounting for over 12% of the UK market.
IntelProp will use AI to generate area recommendations, match properties to user preferences, and offer interactive home customisation tools. At launch, the platform will allow users to receive location suggestions based on lifestyle goals and personal criteria; virtually decorate and furnish homes in their own aesthetic; and purchase furniture and accessories directly within the platform
Listings will be automatically optimised for visibility across search engines, voice assistants, and conversational AI tools. ModelProp states that this architecture will enable agents to meet consumers where search habits are already shifting, without incurring additional costs.
Listings and lead generation services will remain free of charge. Instead, ModelProp will generate revenue through consumer subscriptions, affiliate partnerships in removals, furnishings and related services, and data insights.
McCallion said:
“I helped launch Primelocation in 2000 and Zoopla in 2008—and this moment feels bigger than both. AI is transforming how people search, decide and act. Property discovery is shifting from typing into narrow, filtered boxes to simply asking questions and expecting intelligent, personalised results. That’s what this platform delivers.
“Consumers still want a familiar, trusted place to explore. Going back and forth between individual agents’ websites is a sub-par journey. Our AI portal brings everything together—listings, lifestyle, local context, agents and tools to make each home feel real.
“We’re building this together—with agents, not against them. This is the moment to get involved. It’s free, it’s future-proofed, and it’s going to put your listings where the next generation of buyers are already searching."
A unique, AI-powered real estate marketplace has launched in London, acting as a luxury property concierge for the prime property market.
HomeHapp AI is a ChatGPT-style property search engine that pulls information from agent websites and portals to give house hunters a full picture of London's luxury property market.
AI then sorts and filters properties according to a freeform search, with access to up to twice as many luxury properties as are visible on major portals like Rightmove and Zoopla.
Rajesh Goenka, cofounder at HomeHapp AI, said:
"We built HomeHapp AI to put the entire prime market at people’s fingertips. Whether you’re an agent advising a buyer, or an individual looking for your next home, it combines discovery and due diligence into a unified, instant experience. You see what’s available, what it’s worth, and what’s happening in the market, all in one place, in real time.
"Buyers believe they’re seeing the whole market when in reality, they’re missing the majority of available options. During 2023, one in three London homes sold above £1 million never appeared on Rightmove, Zoopla, or any public platform. For properties above £5 million, 54% transacted completely off-market.
"Even the visible market remains fragmented. Rightmove lists approximately 19,000 properties over £1 million in London, Zoopla shows 10,000 to 13,000, and LonRes lists 12,000 plus. Due to platform overlap (35 to 42%), the total net unique listings across all three combined is only 24,000 to 27,000."
The British hybrid agency PurpleBricks has ended its free-to-sell offering, citing new market conditions.
PurpleBricks was snapped up by Strike for a nominal fee of £1 in 2023 after years of spiralling losses and management turmoil. The company replicated Strike's 'free-to-sell' offer to reinvigorate its business, but a recent announcement suggests the offer has been withdrawn in favour of a tiered-pricing system.
PurpleBricks said:
When we merged with Strike in 2023, we kept their boldest selling idea: sell your house for free. And thousands did. All without hefty estate agent fees.
For a fast-moving market, our Free package was the perfect way to sell your home and save. But today, the market is different. Homes are on the market for longer as buyers take more time to find their perfect pad.
In its place, PurpleBricks has introduced a three-tiered pricing package starting at £799 and rising to £2199 according to the seller's preference.
PurpleBricks revealed pre-tax losses that doubled to £37.8m in the year to 31 March 2024. Updated financial results are due in December 2025.
France's Leboncoin has restructured its suite of professional real estate packages designed to improve agent visibility, lead performance, and business support amid signs of market recovery.
The portal operator has launched a three-tiered offering—Privilege, Impact+, and Smart—which now defines the core commercial strategy. Each aligns to a specific professional objective: visibility enhancement, performance optimisation, or service access.
The Privilege Pack, positioned as the top-tier product, delivers up to four times the visibility of the Smart Pack (the bottom-priced tier). Interestingly, the package includes "automated exclusive mandate emails" featuring agency branding and listing details, distributed to a base of qualified buyers.
Other features of the top package allow agents to trigger targeted exposure during key campaign periods, increase branding, and have continuous featured placements with unlimited ad rotation across a 12-month cycle.
The Impact+ Pack provides twice the visibility of the Smart Pack. Key features include high-ranking Featured placements in search results, with unlimited ad swaps for one year, and an optional "real-time feedback activation" for selective campaign adjustments.
The cheaper Smart Pack entry-level package provides several upgrades beyond basic listing distribution, including a valuation tool to support pricing strategy, and call tracking for lead management insights.
Meanwhile, Leboncoin has also withdrawn its previous credit-based Premium Shop model in favour of simplified, volume-based manual offers. The new structure includes a monthly subscription linked to deposit volumes by category; three-tier fixed-price packages including an Elite tier with automatic listing lifts; and optional visibility boosters available via subscription or one-off purchases from the professional dashboard.
ParuVendu.fr has signed 315 real estate agencies in 10 days, following the announcement of a distribution partnership with Bien’ici. The two platforms launched a joint commercial offer earlier this month aimed at attracting agents seeking alternatives to dominant portals.
The partnership introduces two bundled packages—“convergence” and “privilege”—designed to broaden listing reach while controlling advertising spend. No pricing details were disclosed.
The offers combine listings exposure on Bien’ici, France’s third most visited real estate site, with visibility on ParuVendu.fr, which ranks among the country’s most recognised classified portals.
The companies positioned the move as a response to cost pressures and strategic constraints imposed by larger competitors. Messaging to agents focused on platform independence, reduced reliance on dominant players, and parallels to commission-based models seen in other markets.
The campaign resulted in over 300 new agency sign-ups in under two weeks, according to internal figures released by ParuVendu, suggesting the adoption rate is an early indicator of a possible rebalancing of power between portals and advertisers.
Laurent Radix, President at ParuVendu.fr, said:
"315! In 10 days, that's the number of real estate agencies that have decided to say stop, enough is enough! Stop the ever larger and incomprehensible price increases of some of our competitors.
"Never forget that it's your own ads that make them powerful. This partnership is not only an economic opportunity, but a real collective approach to shaping the profession of tomorrow." [Translated from French]
The move has been criticised, however, by a rival marketplace.
Quentin Saint Guilhem, co-founder and CEO at the startup Squarimo, which does not allow FSBO listings, wrote on his LinkedIn page:
"Bien’Ici and ParuVendu are joining forces to ‘strengthen the real estate ecosystem.’ But in reality, it is a decision that deeply weakens real estate professionals. They are [blurring] the line between sales supervised by professionals and those made by individuals. The risk is that this openness will maintain the idea that a transaction between individuals offers the same level of security as a sale accompanied by an agent."
DomClick, the real estate platform of Russia's largest bank (Sber), has introduced new digital features designed to simplify mortgage applications and enhance transparency for homebuyers purchasing new builds.
According to a company blog post, the update removes a key administrative hurdle from many of Sber’s most popular mortgage programs. Applicants no longer need to upload a scanned copy of their passport; instead, identity data is automatically populated when users log in with Sber ID or through Gosuslugi, Russia’s public services portal.
In the platform’s “My Real Estate” section, customers can now monitor the progress of their home’s construction directly online.
A major addition is the upgraded 'Acceptance with DomClick' service, which allows buyers to inspect a completed property before final approval. Currently available in test mode across Moscow and the Moscow region, the feature dispatches professional surveyors to assess the apartment before keys are issued. Their report details any defects and includes recommendations for correction, which are shared directly with developers.
Alexey Leipi, director at DomClick, said:
“The launch of ‘Acceptance with DomClick’ is a logical step in the development of our real estate ecosystem. We strive to make home buying not only safe but also as convenient as possible, taking care of the turnkey move-in process.”
Finn.no, Norway's leading horizontal marketplace, has added a new rentals listing form to make it easier for landlords to publish properties for rent on its site.
Nora Vigen Stabell, head of communications at Vend Marketplaces, said:
“Private landlords are the backbone of the Norwegian rental market, and it’s important that they have good tools to succeed. That’s why we’ve developed this new form, which makes it much easier to post a rental ad.
"Development is at the core of Finn. We’re constantly working to improve user experience, and this is a good example of how insight and technology can help solve a social problem. When we know that over 75% of rental properties in Norway come from private individuals, it’s crucial to make it easier to post a rental ad. The lower the barrier, the more homes can enter the market.
"Because Finn is part of a larger Nordic network within Vend, we have access to resources and expertise that make it possible to develop modern and user-friendly rental tools—for the benefit of both consumers and the market as a whole." [Translated from Norwegian]
Apartments.com, a leading rentals marketplace in the United States, has revealed a set of AI tools for communities and renters.
Apartments.com's VP of Product said in a webinar that search behaviour is trending towards AI and has responded to these needs with a suite of enhanced features.
He said:
"Three topic changes that we’re seeing in rentals are renter search behavior, the use of AI to optimize listings and AI tools that support lend-to-lease-conversion. Consumers are testing generational AI search platforms such as ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google’s own Gemini.
"These allow consumers to ask more complex questions of a search engine. While a typical search on a typical search engine might be for a term like ‘Atlanta’ and ‘apartments,’ an AI engine search might be more complex. These searches are conversational with many dimensions.
"We’re also hard at work bringing in more conversational features. Imagine being able to narrow your shortlist by asking Apartments.com to show you the pictures of all the swimming pools of the properties you are considering.
"Our AI tools help communities generate content, analyze renter sentiment and respond to comments and reviews, all within seconds. Our new lead-nurturing tools use AI to help our customers respond to these high-quality leads. We’re just scratching the surface of what’s possible."
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