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VivaReal

eCommerce & Marketplaces · São Paulo, Brazil · Founded 2009

VivaReal established itself as a significant player in the Brazilian online real estate marketplace. Founded in 2009 by Brian Requarth and Thomas Floracks, the company was created to bring more transparency and efficiency to the process of renting, buying, and selling properties in Brazil. Requarth, an American entrepreneur who had moved to Colombia, experienced firsthand the difficulties of finding real estate in Latin America, which served as the impetus for creating the platform. His journey began after co-founding the real estate company Imovel Troit in Colombia, which later expanded and rebranded into VivaReal, moving its focus to the larger Brazilian market. The platform functions as a digital classifieds portal, connecting real estate agents, brokers, and property developers with a vast audience of potential buyers and renters. Its primary clients are real estate professionals and companies who pay to list their properties and gain exposure to a wide user base. The business model is centered on charging for these listings and offering premium advertising packages that provide greater visibility for properties on the site. For users searching for a home, the service is free, offering detailed search filters, high-quality images, and direct contact information for the listers. The portal covers a wide range of property types, from residential apartments and houses to commercial real estate. A pivotal moment in VivaReal's history was its merger with its main competitor, ZAP Imóveis, in 2017. This created a dominant entity in the Brazilian proptech market. Later, in November 2020, the combined company, known as Zap+ (formerly Grupo ZAP), was acquired by OLX Brazil for approximately R$2.9 billion. This acquisition solidified OLX's position in the country's real estate vertical, integrating VivaReal's extensive inventory and user base into its broader classifieds ecosystem. Keywords: real estate marketplace, online classifieds, property listings, proptech, Brazilian market, property rental, home sales, real estate advertising, digital portal, property search