While many understand large corporations and online portals to have a stronger degree of resiliency, their presumed armor has succumbed to the weight of the virus as well.

Between March 2nd and 30th:

• U.S. leader Zillow started the month with US$54.62 per share and plummeted to $23.51, and has since crawled back up to a tentative but slowly-sagging $34.31.
• Across the Atlantic, Rightmove fell from US$16.15 to $9.30 before also trudging up to $12.13 again.
• Purplebricks hasn't been so lucky, however: a March premiere of US$.85 has steadily made its way to a tanking $.45 as of this writing.
• Wrapping up the UK's freefall, OnTheMarket also saw its shares halve from GBX 70.50 to 34.35.
• Back in the Americas, major LatinAm e-commerce player Mercado Libre began the month at US$642 per share, falling to $452 at its worst and settling now at $473.

While other markets may not have felt so much of the burn, aftershocks are undoubtedly still yet to come and government response will continue to determine how far the effects will reach players worldwide.

Demand for coordination services peaked in 2019, and with the coronavirus' impact on digitalization and tech-mobility, Transactly has high hopes for its future in terms of popularity.

Company Founder and CEO Bryan Bowles commented: 

“While we're concerned about the effects COVID-19 will have on our industry, we’re not seeing a slowdown in the number of brokers signing up. In fact, we're seeing new opportunities arise for Transactly, as many brokerages are already opting to outsource transaction support to us, rather than commit to dedicated salaries as the crisis unfolds." 

Transactly is competitive through its freely-available tech platform for real estate professionals, and focus on no-error closings, and Bowles highlights that most accounts can be attributed to entire offices and companies partnered with the company. Overall, the price of a salaried position is reduced to successful closings alone - a strong bid at cost improvements.

Platform founder Ben Davis says, however, that it has nothing to do with the recent COVID-19 pandemic - in fact, he suggests the international quarantine measures has actually the boon of boosting social media marketing. Davis admits to wasting time working on hundreds of inquiries from singular investors rather than keeping his eyes on the business itself. 

Now, with new capital from the City, the goal is to see PropertyHeads accelerate from 20,000 users to a whopping 700,000. Currently, the portal's edge relies on offering listings from both estate agents and local home improvement services - a marked difference from competitors like OnTheMarket, Rightmove, and Zoopla.

Davis says this strategy is what will keep them going strong in the industry:

“We are different because our business model isn’t wholly dependent on property transactions and instead we’re creating a local community of engaged home owners, buyers and sellers who keep using us to gain tradespeople recommendations.”

While most agreed upon contracts are still going through, a "rapidly growing proportion" are falling through: last week's numbers were up 60%.

The property portal says - similar to the auto industry - the in-person factor of home showings, guided viewings, and tailored valuations have plummeted from social distancing measures. Currently, the market has not yet reached a standstill, but players are waiting to hear from government officials what measures will be taken to combat future difficulties.

Richard Donnell, Director of Research and Insight at Zoopla, commented:

"We do not expect any immediate impact on prices. Beyond this, the outlook for house prices largely depends upon how the government’s major package of support for business and households reduces the scale of the economic impact. Low mortgage rates mean forbearance will remain the preferred choice for lenders, but further Government support in these unique times cannot be ruled out."

Some countries have outright suspended or froze mortgages and rent amidst COVID, while others like the U.S. haven chosen to rely on stimulus packages and financial injections. How these strategies will truly affect the coming real estate ecosystem remains to be seen.

Based out of Beijing, the firm said that Q4 numbers hit $305.9 million - a year-over-year increase of 113%. Net loss was under $133 million, making shares $2.11 and seeing an increase of 65% compared to 2019. Overall, 2019 finished strong with over one billion in revenues, interest expenses over 116%, and a $190 Series D round that wrapped up in October before its January IPO.

Danke is crediting their string of recent acquisitions for the bolstered revenue, with expansions in Suzhou, Wuxi, Xi'an, and Chongqing contributing 200,000 apartments and now making up almost half of its properties over thirteen cities.

However, the coronavirus has been taken into consideration; authorities suspect that it will freeze China's real estate market, and Danke has plans to cut apartment numbers in the coming quarter.

Sahiqa Bennett, Co-founder and CEO of the AI-powered Searchie recruitment platform based out of the UAE, has witnessed an unprecedented 80% increase in revenue just from the first two weeks of March. She, like others even in the property industry, suggests that the uncertainty the virus has brought has created room for opportunity. 

Rather than jobs disappearing in total, she says that demand has instead rapidly shifted, according to the numbers. Tech professionals are seeing a boost in available roles as companies are forced to rapidly digitize their workforce and processes, and that applies to entire industries. And unsurprisingly, the healthcare sector is hurting for talent more than ever before.

Searchie is trying to stay ahead of the curve, even under these circumstances.  

With patient numbers skyrocketing and medical workers already seeing shortages in many regions across the globe, Searchie offers a platform for those with healthcare-adjacent skills, such as in finances or janitorial work, to find opportunity and help.

Searchie has also launched its own coronavirus relief volunteer initiative to continue supporting affected talent.

Alexander Taub and Michael Schonfeld launched professional social media platform Upstream in late 2019 as a more user-friendly alternative to LinkedIn. The game plan was to remain in beta testing until a tentative launch for the summer of 2020.

COVID-19 changed that.

The intent was to launch publicly this summer - now, the platform has its very own COVID-19 group, and users can post hiring offers, look for work, or simply offer assistance to those who may need it. This streamlined trio of options - the only post categories allowed - are what Taub says separates Upstream from the rest, and bolsters its ease of use. 

Despite the app's original focus on tech workers, the founders are already reporting new members appearing from education backgrounds and small businesses, suggesting how broadly its use value might go as the pandemic continues on.

Property Finder, leading regional portal in UAE, recently launched its own market data analysis sub-firm, known as Data Finder. Now releasing its latest report, figures show that the latest sales and rental numbers as of February 2020 imply a solid balance between the most popular areas searched by both buyers and sellers. Each list is crowned by Dubai Marina's classic skyscrapers, closely followed by the luxury residences of Downtown Dubai.

The Data Finder platform will be available at no cost to real estate professionals for a full month.

Ari Kesisoglu, President of Property Finder, commented:

“Being the market leader means we have access to more data than any other company servicing the emirate’s real estate sector, and we are delighted to share our insights. Our inclusion of asking prices and transaction prices will also help generate better understanding of short term pricing fluctuations – and encourage buyers to put sensible offers in.”

From the current data, it appears that the majority of transaction prices continue to average below the asking prices – sometimes by quite a bit.

Codling is now the CEO of Twindig, an investor-supported service that is “committed to putting trust and transparency back into the property industry" by providing administrative management features and tools that give both agents and developers more room to focus on the client and better service.

“Our research confirmed what you already know, that we lack the trust, confidence and control required in the process buying, selling and managing our homes. Portals are doing nothing to address that – they are simply profiteering.”

And Uma Rajah, CapitalRise CEO, saw how Brexit impacted the luxury real estate market of the country firsthand.

That uncertainty specifically is what has set the tone for the UK - especially London. Rajah says, "Uncertainty causes people to sit on their hands and not transact."

But a general election that brought Conservatives to the majority created a window. To the frequent international, and potential, investors, "London was on sale," Rajah said.

Her takeaway: Brexit's consequences on the pound's value can definitely be a boon for those interested in London property.