AI-powered property portal launches in Bath

A new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered property portal has launched its app with an initial focus on Bath.

The brand, called Jitty, aims to use artificial intelligence to transform the way people find and buy homes.

It has been launched by chief executive Graham Paterson, James Storer and Daniel Cooper - all of whom worked for Deliveroo and also have experience at popular fintechs including Klarna and Freetrade.

All three co-founders have bought homes in the past few years and said they couldn’t believe how bad the search and buying process is at every single stage. 

The property search engine, which had more than 2,500 people on its waiting list prior to launch, is built to enable homebuyers to search and manage the process all in one place. 

Backed by Gradient Ventures, Google’s AI-focused venture fund, Jitty claims to have more coverage of the housing market in Bath than Zoopla, enabling deep-dive search and discovery of homes through a “delightful, fun, and simple user experience.”

Users can collaborate, share information with loved ones, create shortlists and notes on each property they like, and understand even more about the home that is listed and its value before making an appropriate offer. 

Jitty will not charge estate agents fees to list properties or receive enquiries.

The portal will instead use AI to index homes straight from estate agent websites and more cities will be added in the coming months.

The app can be downloaded on Apple and Android devices.

Paterson said: “All three co-founders have bought homes in the last few years, and we couldn’t believe how bad the process is at every single stage. Some parts (like being in a chain or having complex legal issues) are tricky to solve, but just being able to understand the market with a great user experience should be easy. 

"We didn’t understand why booking a holiday, renting an apartment overseas, or buying a book online had better usability than buying a home for several hundred thousand pounds. We’ve set out to give home-buyers, and those who simply love enjoying property content, the fantastic experience they deserve, by giving them a suite of tools to help every step of the way. 

“This is just the start, we are listening to estate agents - our users - at every step of the way and will be sharing some exciting new features throughout 2024.”

The AI-powered search engine uses LLM (large-language model) technologies, as well computer-vision, to read floor plans, and understand photos and descriptions of homes. Because of this, Jitty has the ability to cross-reference information with publicly available databases and third party services, to provide users with an exceptional level of detail. 

A statement from Jitty also included a quote from ex-Zoopla chief operating officer, Doug Monro, who said: “Jitty has huge appeal - it’s a mature market but there’s still room for much better tools with a focus on the buyer. I’ve spent my career building some of the biggest consumer marketplaces like Adzuna, Zoopla, and Gumtree, and Jitty has the opportunity to have a similar major impact.”