Tech Bytes: AI powers new tools from Zillow, CubiCasa, CoreLogic  

Editor's note: Technology is a driving force in real estate. From startups to established players, tech companies are constantly innovating, growing and forging partnerships. Here we highlight some of the latest news about the companies that help power the industry. 

Zillow acquisition adds to its suite of listing tools

Zillow Group's latest acquisition supports its ongoing investment in creating more "immersive" experiences for buyers looking at homes on its platform.

The portal giant announced on Oct. 7 that it had acquired Virtual Staging AI, an app that adds virtual furniture to room photos "with one click." The technology will allow home sellers and agents to digitally stage a listing with virtual images that are hard to distinguish from traditionally staged listings, Zillow said in a news release. 

To create a virtually staged image, an agent or photographer uploads a photo of a room and selects a room type and furniture style. In seconds, the AI-powered tool creates images of the room decorated in the chosen style, Zillow said in a news release. 

Currently, agents can use the tools through VSAI's website, but Zillow plans to integrate the tool into its Showcase product which rolled out nationally in February.

According to Zillow's 2024 Consumer Housing Trends Report, 71% of sellers say they're more likely to hire an agent who includes virtual tours and/or interactive floor plans in their services.

CubiCasa enters the virtual tour business

CubiCasa, known for its floor-plan creation app, is offering a new tool called CubiCasa Tour. CubiCasa says clients can use the same 5-minute scans they currently make with the floor plans tool to generate an AI-powered virtual tour.

The process has three steps:

• Scan the home with CubiCasa's app as usual.

• Upload video and listing photos to CubiCasa, and the magic of AI automatically generates a virtual tour.

• CubiCasa Tour sends the agent a hosted URL to the tour, which can be embedded in listings.

Company leaders stress that no special equipment is required. "You no longer need expensive 360-degree cameras, tripods or cumbersome subscriptions to create a virtual tour," CubiCasa President Jeff Allen said in a news release, adding that the company is "excited about how this will enhance property listings, … as well as what professionals can bring to the table for potential home buyers and sellers."

The product received good feedback from beta testers, the company noted. In describing his experience with the tool, Ian Peters of ICP Marketing stated, "The CubiCasa Tour allows me to provide a virtual tour, but not at the higher cost as other offerings. And I don't have to go through the trouble of taking all of the 360 photos throughout the house."

CoreLogic's new analytical tool brings data sources together

Real estate data company CoreLogic has announced a new property intelligence platform, Araya. The platform provides data and Al-enabled analytics for professionals across the real estate industry, including loan officers, appraisers, mortgage originators, servicers, insurance underwriters, developers, agents, brokers, lawyers and housing regulators.

The tool is built on a database that covers 99.9% of U.S. properties, according to a CoreLogic news release, encompassing property intelligence, market intelligence, precision marketing, climate risk analytics and more.

Araya combines multiple data sources, enabling clients to make decisions faster on a daily basis, CoreLogic says, and aid in their long-term planning with historical data, comprehensive market trends and property specifics.

"Araya reflects [CoreLogic's] vision to make an impact, delivering the critical property, portfolio and market insights," said Devi Mateti, CoreLogic's president of enterprise digital solutions.

"We understand the need for trusted, top-tier data, AI technology and industry-leading solutions that keep pace with a dynamic real estate landscape," Mateti added.

Propy + Inspectify partnership aims to streamline home inspections

Onchain real estate transaction platform Propy has entered a partnership to enhance and streamline the property inspection process. Propy says the partnership with Inspectify will make it easier for homebuyers and agents to order inspections, view inspection reports and extract data from them.

There are four key benefits, Propy says:  

• One-click ordering: Buyers can order an inspection directly through the Propy platform.

• Automatic data transfer: All the property information is sent to Inspectify automatically, saving time and reducing errors.

• Seamless payment: Payments for inspections can be made directly on Inspectify's site, which is integrated with Propy's closing platform.

• Instant and lifelong access to reports: Completed inspection reports are uploaded automatically to Propy's platform. Buyers and agents can access them immediately and get an AI-generated summary. Data remains available after the closing in secure document storage.

The Inspectify integration is now live on Propy. Future features will include remote notary scheduling, Propy said in a news release.