Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) recently announced it had acquired REALas, a tech startup that provides pricing predictions for Australian real estate.
Launched in 2011, REALas uses a proprietary price prediction algorithm that was developed in conjunction with data scientists from RMIT University, as well as property buyers and real estate experts.
“The algorithm at the centre of our site was built using the latest data science methods, local market knowledge from property experts and crowd-sourced data from buyers,” said Josh Rowe, CEO of REALas. “Its predictions change in response to the market, which means buyers have access to the latest prediction right up to the time of sale.”
“We’re thrilled that ANZ has recognised the value in what we’ve built over the past six years and we’re looking forward to growing our service and helping people get the information they need to make better decisions when buying or selling property,” Rowe added.
Peter Dalton, ANZ’s managing director, customer experience and digital channels, said his bank saw value in its customers having access to accurate price predictions when buying residential property.
“Purchasing a home is one of the biggest decisions many of our customers will ever make,” he said. “Today buyers find it difficult to know what prices properties will sell for, and they can spend precious time trying to figure out what they can really afford. REALas has a great analytic-led offering, with a unique algorithm that offers the most accurate price predictions to help those in the property market.”
REALas provides predictions for approximately 90% of the properties for sale in Australia; however, it does not provide predictions for land, new builds, or blocks of apartments.
“Nationally, on average we’ve predicted within 5% of the sale price over the 12 month period beginning Sep 16 to Aug 17. And we have not stopped there. Our algorithm continues to adapt as the market changes,” REALas said.
REALas will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of ANZ, the bank confirmed.
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