Hemnet: Product Strategy

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{audio:00:03:46] I'm interested to know what the platform was like when you joined and how the product evolved during your tenure. I would like to understand the major product initiatives you worked on. I'm also curious about the team's focus under private equity ownership and how that transitioned into the public markets. I would like to know how your view of the product evolved alongside these changes.

{audio:00:04:21] Let's start with probably the most peculiar aspect of Hemnet in the real estate classifieds space, which is its business model involving private sellers paying for listings. Currently, there are only about three and a half classified platforms globally that operate this way. These include Hemnet in Sweden, REA in Australia, and platforms in New Zealand and Ireland that are transitioning to this model.

This is a snippet of the transcript.Contact Salesto get full access.

{audio:00:03:46] I'm interested to know what the platform was like when you joined and how the product evolved during your tenure. I would like to understand the major product initiatives you worked on. I'm also curious about the team's focus under private equity ownership and how that transitioned into the public markets. I would like to know how your view of the product evolved alongside these changes.

This model was essentially established by brokers. The rationale behind it was to avoid cutting into their commission. In Sweden, broker commissions are relatively low, ranging between 1.5% and 2%. Since the platform was originally created by brokers for their own use, they decided it was a good idea for property sellers to directly cover the cost of online listing visibility, sparing brokers from additional expenses.

This is a snippet of the transcript.Contact Salesto get full access.

{audio:00:10:09] Can you talk about what's next for them from a product perspective? Have they already addressed all the low-hanging fruit, or how do you view future product development and the opportunities ahead? The service today is relatively basic, without many add-on services for brokers, such as those you might find in REA. So, how do you think about the next steps in terms of product evolution and the potential opportunities?

The other lever that Hemnet has, which REA doesn't, is broker recommendation. I'm not sure how familiar you are with that aspect of the business model. But what happens is that Hemnet is the only property portal in the world that is revenue-centered and not a call center for the broker. The broker offices, not the brokers themselves, get back some money for every listing they post on Hemnet. That is a percentage that is based on the listing for administrative purposes. Then there's essentially a commission if they recommend higher tiers. The combination of converting up and working with recommendations will be the two levers that I think about for the listing business.

This is a snippet of the transcript.Contact Salesto get full access.