In the case of the UK's OnTheMarket, the property portal announced via email yesterday that they will offer a 3-month, 33% monthly listing fee discount as a payment support initiative for its agent customers. 

OnTheMarket stated that the discount will be given to all OnTheMarket agent customers who are paying on full-tariff listing agreements and that the discount will apply automatically for invoices issued in the three months beginning in April 2020.

The email reads:

We hope that this will go some way towards easing the pressure which agents of all sizes, in both sales and lettings, are anticipating in the coming months against the unprecedented COVID-19 backdrop.

 

We understand the next few months are going to be tough and, as such, we believe simply deferring the monthly listing fee is not the best way to help agent partners, it is delaying the unavoidable. We believe that offering this discount early will assist agents to control costs in the face of such uncertain times. 

 

OnTheMarket exists because agents had the foresight to want their own portal in order to control their online marketing cost base. 

 

We are resolutely focused on doing everything possible to deliver value to our customers, both in these circumstances and beyond. 

OnTheMarket plc is the parent company of Agents’ Mutual, which owns and operates the UK online property portal OnTheMarket.com, launched in January 2015.

Launched in 2013, Agents’ Mutual was formed by several leading estate and lettings agents to create a new residential property portal as a challenger to the two leading portal groups, Rightmove and ZPG.

After some speedy product development, Hemnet announced that they have created a solution for open house viewings, without physically visiting the property. 

The company said in a press release that Hemnet Live, delivered in cooperation with the live video company Bambuser will be available for open house tours during the coming weekend. Available free of charge during an initial test period, Hemnet Live will enable agents to live-stream their property viewings to anyone who is interested in a listing but is choosing or is unable to leave the safety and/or comfort of their own home.

"The serious situation with the spread of Corona/Covid-19 demands us as a company to innovate," said Cecilia Beck-Friis, CEO of Hemnet.

"We have a responsibility to find new solutions that contribute to a slowdown of the spread of the infection. We are therefore giving all real estate agents access to a new feature for streaming open house viewings live online. This means that agents can reach a large group of potential buyers and sellers who can view the open house from the safety and comfort of their home," added Beck-Friis. 

Real estate agents will be able to use their smartphones to show the property by live-stream, displayed via the listing on Hemnet, whereas, potential buyers "visiting from home" will be able to ask questions of the agents in the chat function. 

Beck-Friis stressed that the company worked hard to deliver Hemnet Live as soon as possible to the public. "We are investing so that the real estate market will work as well as possible under the current conditions." Adding that Hemnet conducted a survey which indicated that more than half of the portal's visitors would be happy to view a live "virtual" open house online, provided that it was a high-quality stream. "During current circumstances, the demand for such service is likely to increase," concluded Beck-Friis.

​In addition to Hemnet Live, the property portal is also developing several other initiatives promising to further simplify real estate transactions without physical interaction.

Rightmove said in a recent press release, that it is offering smaller agencies the chance to defer paying fees of £500 per branch per month for three months or £275 per branch per month for six months.

For agents on a lettings only membership package, the scheme allows deferrals of £150 each month for six months or £250 each month for three months.

The scheme will be regularly reviewed to assess its suitability over the coming months. 

Rightmove’s Agency and New Homes Director David Anderson said: “As we enter a period of the unknown, at this stage we hope this payment deferral scheme will help to reduce some of the negative impacts. To help agents looking for practical advice we’re also running a series of webinars with industry experts on subjects from working at home through to legislation in the current environment and managing mental health.”

Rightmove will check a number of things when agents apply for the scheme. Some of the criteria will include:

• Have fewer than 25 branches on Rightmove
• Have been a continuous Rightmove customer for at least 12 months
• Pay by direct debit and have paid their Rightmove invoices on time for the past two years (or for the length of time they have been a customer if they have been on Rightmove less than two years)
• Provide evidence of sales or let agreed pipeline (either through SSTC or other proof of funds)

Larger agents may also be able to access a similar scheme based on the same qualification criteria, but this will also be dependent on their existing agreement.

SOURCE Rightmove
Edited by Gordana Davila

PropertyGuru Finance is promising to offer the best mortgage rates, digital tools that will help property buyers make smart financing decisions, and independent, personalized advisory for better long-term benefits. 

Although Singapore is one of the most property savvy markets in Southeast Asia, a study conducted by the company indicates that while 70% of Singaporeans will ‘start saving before looking for a home to buy’, only 18% are ‘very familiar with the home loan process’, nearly 50% are not familiar with the paperwork required to apply for a home loan, and 2 in 5 Singaporeans are not aware that they can refinance their home loan consequently saving and save on monthly costs.

“Over the years, we have learned that the excitement of finding one’s dream home, is often lost when it comes to financing it. The mortgage journey is full of uncertainty, doubt, and inefficiency," said Bjorn Sprengers, Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Fintech.

"Our aspiration is to enable Singapore’s first digital straight-through mortgage application by 2022 and the first fully digital property transaction by 2025,’’ added Sprengers.

PropertyGuru’s entry into home finance is a key milestone in the company’s strategic evolution from a property marketplace to becoming a ‘trust platform’ in Southeast Asia. 

Working with relevant industry stakeholders, the company will offer digital home financing services such as instant in-principle approval, instant offers, refinance checks, to enable property buyers to consume home financing services conveniently, securely and instantly online.  

Paul Wee, Managing Director of Fintech, explains, “Because we are independent from financial institutions, we can offer unbiased, personalised, in-person advice during and after office opening hours. Our loan advisors collectively have more than 100 years of experience.’’ 

He adds, “PropertyGuru’s technology allows us to uniquely offer a range of smart tools for every step of the home finance journey, from understanding loan eligibility and comparing loans to easily applying for multiple loans online. We use PropertyGuru’s proprietary data to constantly monitor home valuations and interest rates to help property owners optimally time moments of refinance and enjoy full benefit from capital gains.’’ 

With PropertyGuru Finance, the company extends its partnership with its clients (real estate agents). PropertyGuru will act as an agent’s ‘personal mortgage assistant’ enabling them to offer their clients (property seekers) convenient access to all best available properties and home finance options under a single roof. 

SOURCE PropertyGuru
Edited by Gordana Davila

Zumper’s CEO and Co-Founder Anthemos Georgiades said the funds will be used to continue expanding the company’s footprint in the US, increasing its engineering team and investing in its ability to process rental payments online.

E.ventures led the Series D funding, with investors including Axel Springer, Greycroft, and Kleiner Perkins, including real estate players the Blackstone Group, Divco West and Marcus & Millichap.

The San Francisco-based startup’s mission is to make renting an apartment as easy as booking a hotel room by seamlessly connecting renters and landlords through their rental journey from search to close.

"Zumper's progress so far is striking, and it has quickly become the leading independent company focused on the rental market," said Mathias Schilling, Co-Founder and Managing Partner with e.ventures. "We believe that Zumper is well positioned because of its focus on providing an exceptional product for renters and great value for landlords and multi-family properties."

Zumper claims to be the first end-to-end marketplace for renters and landlords, offering renters the ability to find, apply for and then book their next apartment, as well as digitally pay their landlord their rent, all in one place.

Anthemos Georgiades, CEO and Co-Founder of Zumper said, "This fundraise helps us pull ahead of the competition in delivering this vision. Renting an apartment should be as easy as walking into an open house, leaving a deposit for the apartment, then paying your rent to the landlord, all through the same platform. This is what we have built, and now it's about scaling it."

The portal was founded in 2012, and since its launch it has grown very quickly; over 80 million people use Zumper each year to find, list, and rent properties in the US and Canada. The company has experienced 100% year-over-year revenue growth and has offices in San Francisco, Scottsdale, New York, Chicago, and Rhode Island. Zumper has also become a standard industry resource for residential rental data across the US and Canada with more than one million listings advertised and analyzed every month.

In 2016, Zumper acquired New York-based PadMapper in a deal worth nearly $10 million. At the time, both companies said that the move created the largest rental startup in the US which was due to take on Zillow.

Last year, the company introduced home rental listings on Facebook Marketplace, making it possible for US renters to filter and browse properties listed by landlords and brokers with Zumper, click to view up-to-date details such as price, square footage and pet restrictions, and send an immediate message to set up a tour or start an application.

Campbell is responsible for leading CoStar Group’s legal team and overseeing legal affairs. She joined CoStar Group in 2013 and has held various positions in CoStar Group’s legal department, most recently, Head of Litigation.

Prior to joining CoStar Group, Campbell practiced at the law firm Drinker, Biddle & Reath, where she specialized in intellectual property and technology law. She received her Juris Doctor degree from The George Washington University Law School and holds a bachelor’s degree in foreign service from Georgetown University.

Of Campbell’s accomplishments at CoStar Group, she is most proud of the team she has helped build to meet the needs of a company that is still growing. Campbell describes her team as “talented, hard-working, and diverse” – a mix of talent from inside CoStar Group, attorneys from law firms, and lawyers from other in-house roles.

“We're the legal team that helps CoStar Group get to 'yes' in business matters,” Campbell said. “We have a track record of identifying legal cases to bring forward to protect CoStar content for customers, shareholders, and our employees who have invested in that content.”

Campbell's work at CoStar Group led to a half-billion dollar judgment in the company's favor, the largest judgment for infringement of copyrighted images in history. "The case had spectacular twists and turns," Campbell said, including her team unearthing evidence that ultimately was used to indict a third party on criminal charges related to child sex trafficking. "When I left private practice in 2013," Campbell said, "I would have laughed if you said that in my role at CoStar, I would train the FBI on how to process terabytes of electronic evidence."

As for the legal team's future challenges, Campbell believes CoStar Group is "at a size and scale where we need to focus on risk management, and there is no one better to lead that effort than Jeannette [Koonce].”

Koonce joined the CoStar Group team in January 2006 as Deputy General Counsel. She oversees and makes recommendations with respect to risk management and corporate governance.

Prior to joining CoStar Group, Koonce was an associate at Venable LLP, where she practiced securities, mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate law. Koonce received her Juris Doctor from the College of William and Mary and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Boston College. Koonce is a graduate of the KPMG Executive Leadership Institute for Women, a year-long program that provided her with a comprehensive understanding of the principles and practical skills necessary to be an excellent leader.

Over the past 14 years, Koonce has played an active role in CoStar Group’s robust mergers and acquisitions activity, completing more than 25 domestic and international acquisitions, including the company’s acquisition of Apartments.com, which introduced CoStar Group to the apartments listings business. During her tenure, CoStar Group’s market cap has increased from approximately $750 million to over $25 billion. Koonce also handles CoStar Group’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including equity offerings and periodic reports.

During her time at CoStar Group, Koonce has also been a valuable contributor and advisor to the company's philanthropic arm, CoStar Group Builds, for nearly five years and previously served on the board of Mentors, Inc., one of the organizations CoStar Group Builds supports, for more than four years. Koonce was instrumental in guiding the merger of Mentors, Inc. with Kid Power in July 2019.

“I look forward to overseeing CoStar Group’s international risk management and corporate governance in my new role,” Koonce said. She will continue to be involved with the company’s mergers and acquisitions growth strategy.

“Both Jaye and Jeannette possess remarkable expertise and leadership that is invaluable to the continued growth and success of our organization,” said Founder and CEO Andrew Florance. “We are incredibly proud of their accomplishments and appreciate the dedication and commitment they bring to their new roles. I know they will continue to play an integral role in the company’s achievements.”

Founded in 1987 and headquartered in Washington, DC, CoStar conducts expansive, ongoing research to produce and maintain one of the largest and most comprehensive databases of commercial real estate information. Its suite of online services enables clients to analyze, interpret and gain unmatched insight on commercial property values, market conditions and current availabilities.

CoStar maintains offices throughout the U.S. and in Europe, Canada and Asia with a staff of over 4,300 worldwide, including the industry’s largest professional research organization.

SOURCE CoStar
Edited by Gordana Davila

The corporate alumni management platform from IntraWorlds integrates with SAP® SuccessFactors® solutions and enables clients to strategically engage with former employees.

“Engaging talent for life has huge benefits for businesses,” said Stephan Herrlich, founder and Co-CEO, IntraWorlds. “Our alumni management solution enables clients to improve business outcomes and hire highly qualified talent by strategically engaging former employees.”

With IntraWorlds Alumni Platform, clients can maintain lifelong relationships with alumni to achieve business results. Benefits include raising brand awareness and preference by building brand ambassadors, driving business development through targeting and reducing hiring costs.

Earlier this year, IntraWorlds and Conenza joined forces to help organizations take talent engagement to the next level. By merging resources, experience and vision, the combined company will drive valuable insights and outcomes for clients seeking to build and maintain lifelong connections with employees.

At SAP App Center, businesses can discover approximately 1,800 innovative partner solutions that integrate with and extend SAP solutions. The solutions are SAP-validated and can be sorted by SAP product line, industry, solution type and use-case scenario, creating a seemingly endless supply of opportunities. Find, try, buy and manage SAP partner solutions digitally at http://www.sapappcenter.com.

As an SAP partner in SAP PartnerEdge, IntraWorlds is empowered to build, market and sell software applications on top of market-leading technology platforms from SAP. The end-to-end program provides the enablement tools, benefits and support to facilitate building high-quality, disruptive applications focused on specific business needs – quickly and cost-effectively. The program provides access to all relevant SAP technologies in one simplified framework under a single, global contract, including the ability to bundle licenses of SAP Cloud Platform with partner applications.

IntraWorlds is a global SaaS provider for Talent Relationship Management software, enabling companies to engage talent for life to achieve compelling strategic and financial outcomes. On January 1, 2020, IntraWorlds and Conenza joined forces to help clients take talent engagement to the next level. The combined company will foster talent engagement across the entire career lifecycle – from candidates and employees to alumni and retirees.
 

SOURCE IntraWorlds
Edited by Gordana Davila

Industry-leading analyst, Josh Bersin, will deliver the current state of HR and “world of work” alongside those working to create truly agile workforces in their organization – the agenda features Allied Irish Bank (AIB), Travelodge, Blue Prism, Symphony RetailAI, Ericsson and Josh Bersin.

Fuel50 is aware of the potential impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and is taking all necessary precautions and measures to protect attendees at its signature event, FuelX.

A representative of Fuel50 stated, “We have minimized the international factor to only one overseas speaker – Josh Bersin, whom we are in regular contact with,” whilst also disclosing that the attendees are local, coming entirely from the UK with three people from New Zealand via Los Angeles, one of the least affected countries to date, and one from Sweden, also similarly unaffected.

Fuel50 will be sending out communications to all those attending, ensuring that a ‘anti-handshake’ environment is encouraged and, should anyone not feel they are at full health, to then stay home and self-isolate as recommended by local health authorities.

“FuelX will be livestreamed on our website for all those who have registered,” said Fuel50’s CEO and Founder Anne Fulton. “We will be doing everything possible to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our guests and speakers, and will be monitoring the coronavirus status in the United Kingdom and surrounding areas should we feel it necessary to change plans.”

Hand sanitizer, tissues and other hygiene support will be supplied at the event. To all those planning to attend, please monitor any official event communications by email, social media or Fuel50’s official website.

Registration is still open for FuelX London. 

SOURCE Fuel50
Edited by Gordana Davila

KKR & Co. Inc., the American global investment firm that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, among others, is behind StepStone's increased exposure. Last year, the US investor acquired a 42.5 percent stake in the Axel Springer media group whose 100 percent subsidiary is StepStone.

Although brands such as Bild and Welt are undergoing drastic revamping, StepStone as well as other digital classifieds, are winners amongst the new ownership structure, since KKR does not want to only save, but also invest. "This year we are spending a high double-digit million amount on advertising," said Sebastian Dettmers, Head of StepStone, the Handelsblatt Group. "According to recent research, every other employee in Germany is dissatisfied with their job. StepStone places approximately one million candidates in new jobs every year," added Dettmers.

Many vacancies

Before becoming Head of StepStone, Dettmer held the Managing Director position for eight years at the company. His predecessor Ralf Baumann transferred to the Aviv Group within the Springer Group, where the digital real estate portals are located. There are plans to expand both segments in the future.

StepStone employs around 3,600 people worldwide, including 700 in Düsseldorf. The jobs portal not only wants to help other companies find talent, but also needs support in filling vacancies.

When North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister of Economic Affairs Andreas Pinkwart (FDP) visited StepStone's headquarters earlier this week, Dettmers campaigned for a better location policy. "We want more attention for the region," he said. Many young tech experts would still rather go to Berlin than stay in the Rhineland.

"StepStone uses tech with artificial intelligence for job placement. A thousand employees work in the field of big data and machine learning alone. StepStone shows how A.I. can be used efficiently to get the right people in the right places," said Pinkwart.

Over 60 thousand companies successfully use StepStone job boards to recruit qualified specialists and executive staff. Founded in 1996, StepStone is one of the most successful online job board businesses today. The company operates over 10 top brands and claims to have 72 million visits and nearly 9 million jobs per month.

HiringSolved's industry-leading Talent Intelligence platform transforms hiring by eliminating the overhead and busy-work involved in the talent acquisition process. HiringSolved works with a company's existing systems, data, and workflow, enabling recruiters and managers to instantly target and engage talent, automatically score and prioritize job applicants, and understand their talent pool through integrated talent analytics.

To win the award, HiringSolved submitted multiple customer case studies which detail how HiringSolved Talent Intelligence technology enables large increases in recruiter productivity and hiring performance. The feature case study details how Lowe's used the HiringSolved platform to hire more than 70,000 people in 90 days through an advanced applicant re-targeting campaign.

"Winners of Excellence in Technology Awards are at the forefront of technology innovation. Our program evaluates not just the solution itself, but the benefit to the human capital management function, the business and the customer. That is the ultimate differentiator – whether the technology has a positive business impact. Technology Award winners pass that test with flying colors," said Rachel Cooke, Chief Operating Officer of Brandon Hall Group and head of the awards program.

"Talent is the most important resource for any company but most companies are overlooking their greatest talent assets," said Shon Burton, CEO of HiringSolved. "Most companies have rich talent pools just waiting to be engaged. These are the best people to hire because they already want to work for you, but traditional HR software makes this difficult and time-consuming. HiringSolved changes this by making the best candidates easy to target and engage. Lowe's hired an amazing 70,000 people in 90 days using our platform, and we're excited to accept this award along with Lowe's to recognize this advancement in Talent Acquisition Technology."

HiringSolved develops Talent Intelligence software which enables increased hiring productivity and decreased cost by eliminating the busy-work involved in hiring and enabling powerful new hiring workflows. HiringSolved seeks to make hiring better by making software smarter. 

SOURCE HiringSolved
Edited by Gordana Davila