Two New Portals Launch in Northern Ireland to Challenge Newly Merged PropertyPal and Property News

Two new real estate portals have been launched in Northern Ireland in an apparent response to the merger of the market's two largest players in August.

HomesNI was launched earlier this month by BlueCubes, a Belfast-based web design company that has been catering to agents for many years. The portal claimed to have 120 agents signed up and over 11,000 listings on launch.

Meanwhile, NI Bricks is also fresh on the scene and looking to gain market share by offering agents three months of free listings. The portal is being run by Soham Technologies Limited and is the brainchild of Pragati Dhingra, a 20-year veteran of the PropTech industry.

The emergence of the two new portals comes after previous rivals Property Pal and Property News announced a shock merger in August. Prior to the merger Property Pal, which was considered the market leader, was involved in a pricing dispute with its agent customers.

Now both HomesNI and  NI Bricks are looking to capitalise on agents' concerns over possible price rises being considered by PropertyPal and Property News bosses.

Founder and CEO of NI Bricks Pragati Dhingra said: “NI Bricks was born out of a need for innovation in the real estate sector. We recognised the gap in affordable, tech-driven solutions for estate agents."

“With this platform, we aim to lead the digital transformation of the real estate industry in Northern Ireland, ensuring that agents can maximise their reach, minimise their costs, and enhance their business efficiency.”