Zrch is behind a Norwegian housing site launched in 2024, and the company now wants to establish itself in Sweden. Chris Svensson says they see potential customers among "passive housing seekers".
Hemnet is a platform where people look for homes, which is their strength. We have reversed the model by actually letting the homes find the buyers.
Awaiting cooperation
The real estate agency's CEO Ulrica Hedman does not close the door to future collaboration.
"There is a lot of excitement in their approach, but at the moment we have chosen to wait and see before advertising there. We will monitor developments and make a decision on whether we want to join later," she says.
Svensk Fastighetsförmedling's CEO Erik Wikander notes that it is tough for new players to enter the Swedish housing market.
"Hemnet has about four to five times the traffic of Booli. If we then look at Boneo, which was started by a number of brokerage companies, it has extremely limited traffic. The conditions for entering the market are tough," he says.
Can find a niche
Wikander believes the new player could find a niche in the market, thanks to its use of advertising on social media.
"They need to have a brand and content that is stronger than what Hemnet and Booli have, and that's where the challenges lie. I think what they've done in Norway is a nice site."
Ulrica Hedman at Fastighetsbyrån sees a market with rising advertising prices, where more and more of the agency's clients are opting out of external sites. She is not entirely convinced that there is room for more players.
"Now there are many housing sites, and then the question becomes: how many sites can there be?"
