The real estate portal imóvel.pt, launched with the objective to simplify many of the time-consuming aspects associated with the real estate process and create a more streamlined user experience.

The CEO and co-founder of imóvel.pt, Dário Juniór, spoke with The Portugal News about the concept and history behind the company, and why he believes this platform and its tools hold the potential to revolutionise the real estate industry in Portugal.

Simplifying real estate

Imóvel.pt originated as a blog, dedicated to publishing articles about complex areas of the real estate process and industry. Its purpose was to simplify these topics for its readers, and it did just that, quickly attracting a large number of visitors.

The real estate portal has gathered a lot of interest from national and international investors, benefiting from an initial investment from Konstantin Koos, a strategic consultant and experienced investor with a track record in multiple companies and tech projects. This partnership strengthened the platform, enabling it to leverage AI's potential. Currently there are over 30,000 users already active on the platform.

Transforming the real estate business

Dário spoke about the amount of bureaucracy involved in the real estate process in Portugal compared with other countries like the United Kingdom and Switzerland, and how this can lead to unnecessary delays and frustration.

“If you look at more traditional real estate platforms, there is a lot of bureaucracy. It can take so much time to list properties, subscribe to a plan and there is often a need to call, email and follow up on issues experienced.”

Dário shared: “Our goal is to de-bureaucratise the market and increase transparency and efficiency, with the help from artificial intelligence.”

The role of AI

AI has gained a huge amount of traction recently, with tools being implemented across various industries. The AI tools being utilised on imóvel.pt focus on tasks such as generating detailed property descriptions based on information provided by users, helping to take care of one of the most important, yet time-consuming, tasks involved with listing a property. These tools also aid in the search process for those looking for a place to purchase or lease.

Dario explained how “Most platforms have features you can select when you are looking for a property, but the technology we use will allow users to search using descriptions. For example, you can type that you are searching for a house that fits a family of four with a dog or cat, that has a pool, and the portal will list all the properties that match those criteria.”

This search data is also analysed to help the platform present better and more relevant properties based on its users’ preferences. Whilst these tools are in the beta phase at the moment, they are showing promising results.

What’s currently offered by imóvel.pt?

At present, users can list two properties for free. Beyond this, there is the option to either subscribe to the platform or pay for individual properties to be listed on the portal for a specified time period. This offers users a greater amount of flexibility, especially if they don’t want to subscribe to a monthly plan.

For professionals within the real estate industry including agents, constructors and developers, imóvel.pt is currently offering strategic partnerships, allowing full use of the platform, including all its current features. This trial period will allow users to fully test the platform up until the end of November this year.