Since it was founded in 2000 as a joint venture between the four of the biggest real estate agencies—Halifax, Countrywide, Connells and Sun Alliance—the company has experienced continued expansion and growth. However, as a new decade dawns, Rightmove is finding new issues only a company of its size can run into.

In its opening years, Rightmove brought a new approach to real estate agent advertisements. The company created a portal where both buyers and agents would go to first to search for, advertise, and purchase a property. By bringing agents together with consumers onto one simple platform the company has made itself crucial to the UK real estate market. 

This transition to online real estate advertising was ramping up as the traditional forms of print were beginning to decline. In 2002, Rightmove launched its first property site and charged to advertise properties that were for sale. By 2004, the portal had 50% of the agents within the UK. Within years the company added rental properties, reached over one million listings, launched mobile versions of its platform, and became the de-facto place to list properties. 

With consistent year-over-year growth in revenue and profits, it isn’t hard to imagine a more attractive company for investors. Rightmove launched a share buyback program in 2007, and by 2010 had returned over £140 million via those buybacks.

Rightmove managed to take over the market by delivering positive results to everyone. Advertisers and agents were happy to support a platform that drove business directly to them. Consumers were happy to have a convenient place to gather information, search for homes and properties, and contact sellers. And investors saw a continued return on their investment with increasing dividend per share prices. 

Even with the wind in their sails, Rightmove may be heading toward rough seas. 

In the early and mid-2000s, Rightmove’s digital platform was a rarity. Agents and advertisers were mainly relying on print media to inform and entice consumers to buy. Nowadays there are more digital platforms than ever which may allow advertisers who once relied heavily on Rightmove to reposition themselves. Despite that intense innovation from twenty years ago, now agents need to stay ahead of the constantly evolving curve. Without innovation, many agents could find themselves out of the market. The market that Rightmove currently dominates might be rife for competition. Companies have diversified their services for both advertisers and consumers. 

Even if that direct competition doesn’t arrive, the company could face another kind of struggle. Year-over-year revenue growth has steadily fallen since 2014 dropping below 10% growth for the first time in 2018. As fewer revenue streams into the company, they are tightening costs but not shifting strategy. 

When Zillow began running into the same revenue slowdown the company began investing in other parts of the real estate transaction business. In the summer of 2019, Zillow revealed plans to potentially move into the house flipping market and has been purchasing mortgage companies ever since. This will allow Zillow to add new revenue streams and keep their investors and agents happy. Rightmove is sitting still.

Rightmove’s biggest weakness may be its agents. Agents have seen Rightmove subscription fees continually rise and over time some have left the platform. As new platforms are launched and provide more options agents will naturally be drawn away. Even with a dominant position within the UK market alternatives don’t stop at the border and over time more agents will exit the portal when given better opportunities.

It isn’t all doom and gloom for Rightmove. The company can still boast a massive network of agents and advertisers that will attract customers for years to come. Even as revenue weakens every year the downturn doesn’t match that of rivals like Zillow. The answers to Rightmove’s problems are only new to them, not to others. If the company is able to find a new way forward, boost its consistent growth, and make nice with the agents who are unhappy the future could be a very bright one.

The partnership will be providing brokers, investors, builders, and other clients who need market information, economic forecasts, and real estate indicators to help them better invest, buy, and sell at the correct time. 

Together CRE Collaborative and Zip Analyser will now offer 11 economic growth indicators covering 37 million properties throughout the United States. 

CRE uses its CRECo.ai platform to provide a single search platform to commercial real estate clients. The platform provides real estate information through a single dashboard. Zip will be adding information from its Real Estate Forecasts and Financial Modeling to bring key information from a real estate region including GDP growth, net worth growth, new business growth, population, unemployment, and disposable income to name a few.

The partnership hopes to boost commercial real estate investment and activity during the unsure markets during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Information is power, especially during more uncertain times. By adding information on 37 million properties both Zip and CRE aim to become a vital tool for commercial real estate investors. 

The sale was revealed through a Securities and Exchange Commission filing and it leaves Samuelson with a remaining 77,891 shares. Several investment research firms have been lowering Zillow's target price while upgrading the stock's status to 'buy' in many cases. 

Overall the company has an average rating of 'hold' and an average target price of $53.50.

Zillow hasn't commented about the sale and it comes at a strange time for the industry. As the global COVID-19 pandemic puts all markets on alert it's never a positive sign to see an insider selling off a chunk of company stock.

Samuelson has been with Zillow Group since 2014 and before that was the President for Realtor.com. In his current position, Samuelson oversees Zillow's industry relations, new construction and advertising, and company-to-company product development.

With a new logo and website refresh, Private Property wants to emphasize company growth and consumer interaction as apart of its new direction. 

The company has been around for 21 years and believes this new direction will help it adapt to new trends and technologies that are evolving throughout the industry. 

These changes will include updating real estate marketing technology and moving toward a multichannel strategy that will include print and online advertising directly to consumers. 

Part of this strategy already has played out when in 2019 the company purchased Property Power Magazine, one of South Africa's top property information guides, and renamed it The Property Guide. Using this issue the company will inform the market about their rights when renting, purchasing, building, or investing in real estate or property. 

Private Property wants to use these new strategies to grow through the African market and transition into new technologies. 

By using a credit line, CoStar Group will be using the money to possibly purchase several other companies as well as "working capital and general corporate purposes".

The borrowing also comes amid the COVID-19 pandemic and will keep the company flush with cash for the time being. This will allow CoStar more flexibility as the markets fluctuate.

The RentPath Holdings acquisition was announced a few months ago for $588 million. RentPath operated Rent.com, Rentals.com, and ApartmentGuide.com and had recently filed for bankruptcy. 

This acquisition and credit line will help CoStar Group further itself into the rental market. By adding more real estate portals and marketing, in addition to the additional funds on hand, CoStar is preparing itself for a strong 2020.

WeWork claims its business is essential even as it receives criticism from members for not closing the doors, offering any refunds, or suspending rent for clients not willing to work during the pandemic. 

The company defends its decision by stating it has "an obligation to keep our buildings open." They have also stepped up building cleanings, introduced work from home programs, new rotation shifts, and some subsidies to use ride-hailing platforms to avoid mass transit systems.

WeWork has temporarily closed some offices in New York City after some workers tested positive for coronavirus. 

The company also reportedly sent out a memo to employees offering community worker $100 per day to go into work and keep locations operating. 

Under normal circumstances, a member is required to give WeWork a 30-day notice before exiting their agreement, but as more businesses are deemed as unessential and the company refuses to suspend rent payments many are getting more upset. Some members are hoping to get out of their contracts altogether or are trying to convince the company to suspend membership fees.

All these issues land in WeWork's lap at a difficult time. After launching a troubled IPO and changing out the company's leadership WeWork also saw the first three fiscal quarters of 2019 lose around $2.6 billion. Since then WeWork hasn't released any new financial information. 

SoftBank Group, one of WeWork's biggest investors, did provide bailout money to the company but reportedly wants partially out of that deal. SoftBank already spent $5 billion as apart of the bailout but the $3 billion promised to buy stock from existing investors may be off the table.

WeWork isn't the only company landing in hot water for its lack of initiative during the pandemic. Rightmove suspended payment to its agents sparking some to create a "Say No To Rightmove" website. 

Other companies like OnTheMarket have stepped up and are offering a three-month agent listing discount while Vrbo is warning its members to not downplay the pandemic. 

The Chief Executive of rival portal OpenBrix called Rightmove's policy insensitive and arrogant. 

The new pricing policy was structured to help agents during the pandemic by allowing a partial deferral of fees for a short period of time. But many agents and other companies made their thoughts known very quickly through social media. Rightmove quickly apologized and rescinded the policy. 

Despite the change, many agents saw this as a move among many others that has upset the market. Rightmove's share price lost around 20% of its value during the troubles recently. 

OpenBrix was openly critical of Rightmove's move as it aims to update and modernize the buying, selling, and rental real estate markets while building a community-focused platform.

OpenBrix aims to launch in early April and will start by offering agents 100% free listing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The platform also boasts a lower £100 per agent fee with no limit on the number of listings.  

The platform will also be based on blockchain technology to reinforce safety for both agents and consumers. 

Clearly OpenBrix is offering its criticism as an effort to promote its own platform, but with the coronavirus outbreak heavily influencing the real estate market there is 

Uncubed's online platform provides a pre-screened talent network and works with clients to help them find the correct skills and experience for their needs. 

This online expansion comes as colleges, universities, and other educational programs close and Uncubed becomes a stronger source for students to use. With larger access to more companies, students will have a higher potential of finding new employment opportunities as online platforms become more popular in a quarantined world.

The company has also added additional support staff as demand on the platform increases. It will also add more resources for students and clients to help transition into the online recruitment market.

Students will also be given access to newsletters, articles, and online webinars to help them build new skills. 

Online recruitment platforms have a positive track record for some companies, especially those hiring among a certain skill set. Even with the world sheltering in place more and more due to the pandemic, online-focused platforms like Uncubed have an opportunity to take advantage.

Sky News has learned that Cazoo, which was set up by the LoveFilm and Zoopla founder Alex Chesterman, has secured the new funding from an assortment of existing and new backers.

The equity-raise, which will take the total sum invested in Cazoo since Chesterman came up with the idea for the business in 2018 to £180 million, will be announced soon.

Tech sector sources said that the amount being raised by the company was "staggering" against a backdrop which has seen funds fleeing new investments as they seeks to digest the implications of the coronavirus pandemic.

The £180 million figure is said to be a record for any British start-up during its first year of trading.

DMG Ventures, the venture arm of the Daily Mail's parent company, led the latest round, which is said to have been secured at a substantial premium to earlier valuations.

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The warning comes after two Arizona news organizations, Phoenix New Times and ABC15, reported on travelers who said they were given misinformation from the unit owners about the danger of coronavirus when they tried to cancel trips and get refunds.

Vrbo, which connects travelers to owners and property managers offering short-term rentals, included this statement in a COVID-19 Emergency Policy on its website: "Any intimidation of travelers (such as suggesting that travel is safer for them than staying home or dismissing the severity of the crisis) will result in permanent removal from Vrbo and Expedia Group." Expedia Group owns Vrbo.

In a letter on the Vrbo website signed by president Jeff Hurst, the service acknowledges the size of the crisis: "In Vrbo's nearly 25 years, we’ve been through a lot, but nothing comes close to the current challenges facing our travelers, partners, and team members around the world."

In the News Times story, a prospective traveler who tried to cancel an Arizona reservation because of increasing concern about safety said the rental company that refused her refund request insisted on Monday that Arizona is "one of the least affected states." Another who denied a refund touted a visit to the state as "a wonderful retreat to ‘normal.'"

One Arizona rental owner said coronavirus concerns were "being pushed by the media," while another reportedly denied a cancellation, explaining that "my beliefs are contrary to what the public and media see it as." 

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