Lightning Talk: Price Explorer - Bringing Transparency

by Yuri Veremeyenko

In the video "Lightning Talk: Price Explorer - Bringing Transparency," Yuri Veremeyenko discusses the significant issue of price transparency in the real estate market, focusing particularly on Germany. As a representative from HomeDay, a company in the real estate sector, he highlights the challenges that renters and buyers face regarding the adequacy and reasonableness of property prices. Veremeyenko emphasizes the importance of geolocation in determining market prices, illustrating how every real estate agent recognizes that location is a crucial factor.

Key points discussed include:

- Lack of Transparency: Veremeyenko addresses the issue of pricing inadequacy in real estate transactions, particularly among renters and property buyers.

- Geolocation Tool: He introduces the Price Atlas, a tool designed to address this transparency issue by leveraging geocoding and providing price estimates based on geographical coordinates rather than just street addresses.

- Market Pricing Analysis: The presentation touches on analyzing rental prices, citing an example of a non-residential zone where current rental rates are approximately 1,150 euros. He illustrates how historical data shows a general upward trend in prices.

- Visualization of Data: Veremeyenko showcases how the Price Atlas tool allows users to visualize rental and buying options through graphs and color coding to indicate living quality in various areas.

- Technology Stack: The tool is built using Ruby, Python, and JavaScript, emphasizing a combination of robust algorithms and machine learning technologies.

Concluding his talk, Veremeyenko invites attendees to explore the Price Atlas and reassures them of its reliability despite the complexities involved in the algorithms. He encourages open communication for any queries, reinforcing the importance of transparency in the real estate market. Overall, the presentation serves as a valuable resource for those looking to navigate property pricing with greater clarity and understanding.

00:00:06.370 Hello everyone, my name is Yuri Veremeyenko, and I work at a company called HomeDay, which is focused on real estate. During my work, I became aware of a significant issue: the lack of transparency in the market. How many of you are currently renting apartments? Yes, and how many of you have sold or bought property? Great, so how do you feel about the prices you pay? Are they adequate? Do you think they are reasonable? We have been thinking about how to address this and make pricing more reasonable and transparent.

00:00:25.750 Our focus has been on the entire market in Germany. Quickly, I want to touch on something—if you have a property, let’s say an apartment, and you want to find out how much similar properties cost in the area, it’s essential to understand that location is key. Every real estate agent will emphasize that it always comes down to location. To determine the market price for your property, you need to be able to geocode the address and display this information meaningfully. Additionally, you will need estimates of the prices based on relevant data and some kind of algorithm to output a price based on these input parameters.

00:01:10.030 We have developed a tool called Price Atlas. This tool focuses on geolocation, where it deals with addresses. In the end, what truly matters are the geographic coordinates: latitude and longitude—not just the address itself. The tool uses various models and a caching layer for price estimation, along with machine learning algorithms that, although heavy and slow, produce reliable results. Let me show you how it works. Can you see it? Let's take a look at rental prices, as I've worked more with rentals.

00:01:49.840 This is the area we are currently examining, which is a non-residential zone. The current rental price for this area is around 1,150 euros, though I’m not familiar with Hamburg pricing, so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. The graph shows how prices have developed over the past year, indicating a general upward trend. The gray line represents the overall trend for Hamburg, while the orange line specifically reflects the prices in your immediate residential area.

00:02:30.120 You can view the average rental prices and switch to buying options as well. The tool allows you to click around and use color coding to indicate the overall quality of living in each location. Although I don’t know Hamburg extensively, I’ve heard that areas near the lake tend to be quite attractive and desirable places to live.

00:02:45.360 As I zoom out, you can see that some areas are definitely less expensive to rent. Overall, we’ve created a tool that works throughout Germany, built using Ruby, Python, JavaScript, and a touch of love. I encourage you to try it out and feel free to approach me if you have any questions.

00:03:02.900 I appreciate your attention. Thank you very much for listening.