Spain’s online property market has traditionally been built around listings: buyers search through thousands of properties and contact the agent behind the ones they like. Swedish PropTech company Epicasa is turning that journey around. Instead of starting with the property, Epicasa starts with the buyer — matching people looking to purchase in Spain directly with relevant local real estate agents.
The opportunity is significant. Spain is one of Europe’s largest and most active residential property markets, with more than 650,000 transactions taking place each year. For the thousands of agents competing for buyers, however, finding qualified leads remains a persistent challenge. Epicasa’s approach is to address that gap by putting buyer intent at the centre of the process.
From property-first to buyer-first
The traditional online property journey is familiar. Platforms such as Idealista and Fotocasa begin with the property: buyers browse listings, identify homes they are interested in and then contact the agent behind each listing. Epicasa reverses that sequence.
“We flip this model to be ‘buyer-first’: the buyer specifies where and what they want to buy, and we match them with local agents operating in that specific area. In other words, we don’t match buyers with properties; we match buyers with the right agents.” In other words, we don’t match buyers with properties; we match buyers with the right agents.” Says Sandra Ryman, founder of Epicasa.
The model is straightforward. A prospective buyer provides information about where they want to purchase, their budget and what they are looking for. Epicasa then connects that demand with relevant local agents, who pay for the buyer lead and take over the sales process.
For someone based in Sweden, the UK, Germany or elsewhere, buying a home in Spain can involve navigating thousands of listings while simultaneously trying to identify trustworthy and relevant local agents. Local knowledge, language and differences in how the property market operates can add further complexity.
Epicasa aims to simplify that first step by connecting the buyer with professionals who already operate in the relevant market.
“For international buyers in particular, the Spanish property market can be difficult to navigate, so we at Epicasa want to make it easier for buyers to find the right local professional to help them.” Says Angelica Ljung, Co-founder of Epicasa.
A pivot shaped by user behaviour
The buyer-first model was not the company’s original plan. Epicasa initially launched as a long-term rental marketplace, with the ambition of connecting landlords and tenants directly. But the founders soon observed a pattern that challenged the original business model: users were finding each other through the platform, but completing transactions outside it. Rather than trying to force users to behave differently, the company chose to adapt its model to the way the market already worked. That led to the pivot towards real estate agents and buyer leads. The change also shifted Epicasa’s role in the transaction. Instead of attempting to replace established industry participants, the company could work with them — using technology to improve how buyers and agents find one another. That approach is now beginning to show early signs of traction.
“The concept of generating buyer demand for real estate agents isn’t new — similar models have been proven in the US and elsewhere. What we saw was an opportunity to build a simple, scalable buyer-to-agent matching model specifically for the fragmented Spanish property market.” Says Sandra Ryman, Founder of Epicasa.
Early traction points to improving economics
Since launching the new model in June, Epicasa has generated around 400 buyer and agent leads and sold approximately 120 buyer leads to real estate agents. The company has also attracted paying agents, with early repeat purchases providing an initial indication that agents see value in the leads they receive.
For a young PropTech business, these numbers are still early and should be viewed in that context. But the combination of paying customers, repeat purchases and declining acquisition costs offers an encouraging signal: the proposition is beginning to move from an idea towards a functioning commercial model.
Building a more scalable platform
The next challenge is scale. The company’s focus is shifting towards building a more automated platform that can support a larger number of buyers and agents without a corresponding increase in manual work. A self-service web shop will allow agents to find and purchase relevant buyer leads directly. Epicasa also intends to improve conversion on its website and increase its investment in marketing and customer acquisition. Another potential growth area is seller leads, which could expand the platform’s relevance to agents representing properties as well as those looking to connect with prospective buyers.
Over time, the ambition is broader than simply generating leads. Epicasa wants to become a trusted source of information for people considering buying property in Spain, using content, brand and organic search to build a direct relationship with prospective buyers. Such an approach could gradually reduce the company’s dependence on paid acquisition while strengthening its position in the buyer journey.
A model with potential beyond Spain
Spain is the starting point, but the underlying concept is not necessarily limited to one market. Other property markets with large international buyer segments — including Portugal, France, Italy, Greece and the UAE — could potentially offer similar opportunities. The common denominator is a fragmented market in which buyers, particularly those purchasing from abroad, may struggle to identify the right local professional while agents compete for qualified demand. That is where Epicasa sees its opportunity. Rather than attempting to compete directly with the major property portals for listings, the company is positioning itself one step closer to the transaction: helping buyers identify the right professional before they find the right property. If Epicasa can continue improving its acquisition economics, increase repeat business among agents and successfully automate its marketplace, the buyer-first model could offer a new way of connecting demand and supply in an increasingly international European property market.
For now, the company is still at an early stage. But its initial traction suggests that putting the buyer — rather than the listing — at the centre of the property search may be a promising direction for the next generation of PropTech.
