In today’s economic climate, more sellers are asking the same question: Is spending $20,000 to $40,000 on traditional home staging really necessary? For decades, preparing a listing meant renting furniture, hiring photographers and coordinating logistics — just to bring one property to market. Until recently, virtual staging wasn’t a true alternative — it was expensive, slow and often looked artificial. That changed with AI.
Enter Collov AI, a Silicon Valley-based startup that leverages proprietary model training to develop AI-powered tools for real estate professionals. Unlike traditional virtual staging, which often involves outsourcing to overseas designers, Collov AI’s solution delivers instant results with photorealistic quality and interactive editing — all without the friction of manual workflows.
Its AI stages rooms with precision — placing furniture that’s properly scaled and styled — while preserving the original architecture. No fake light fixtures, no awkward edits. Just clean, realistic design that helps buyers see a property’s full potential.
One standout feature is the ability to remove existing furniture. In cases where buyers couldn’t look past a home’s outdated style, Collov AI allowed users to present the same space with a fresh, modern look — completely shifting their perception. With tools like “Chat Edit,” agents can refine images using natural language prompts — swapping furniture styles, adjusting lighting, or changing flooring—all in seconds, no design skills required.
Internal analysis shows that listings staged through Collov AI receive significantly more engagement across digital platforms. In one case, a condo listing that had gone unnoticed saw a 72 percent spike in listing views and a 44 percent increase in qualified leads after virtual staging was applied.
Payton Stiewe, Real Estate Advisor at Engel & Völkers San Francisco, shared, “We’ve used Collov AI on multiple listings and buyer consultations. The turnaround is fast, the cost is a fraction of traditional staging, and in this market, it’s a smart, strategic move.” Samuel Yang, PREC* at Nu Stream Realty, added, “After two months of no offers, I added Collov AI’s stunning virtual staging photos — within one week, two offers came in!”
Collov AI isn’t just catering to agents — it’s also being used by developers, stagers and photographers across residential and commercial sectors. As real estate continues its digital evolution, tools like this are helping professionals move faster, reach wider audiences and tailor visual marketing to today’s buyer expectations.
To learn more about Collov AI and try the platform, visit collov.ai.
Markk Tong is the Founding Marketing and Sales Manager of Collov AI, a Silicon Valley-based startup using artificial intelligence to transform real estate marketing. With a background in design technology and experience working with top brokerages, he focuses on bridging AI innovation with real-world agent needs.
At Inman Connect Las Vegas, July 30-Aug. 1, 2024, the noise and misinformation will be banished, all your big questions will be answered, and new business opportunities will be revealed. Join us.
The theft of trade secrets lawsuit between Move and CoStar Group has taken another turn.
On Tuesday, CoStar revealed it placed former Realtor.com News & Insights editor James Kaminsky on administrative leave “out of an abundance of caution” as both portals battle over Move’s July 19 request that CoStar relinquish Move-owned files and any electronic devices Kaminsky used after moving to CoStar Group in January.
“Mr. Kaminsky does not have any strategic role or input at CoStar beyond the localized content he and his team are generating regarding the New York condominium market,” court documents read. “CoStar has a wholly separate residential real estate data and information team, which is run by a different editor.”
“Out of an abundance of caution, CoStar has also placed Mr. Kaminsky on administrative leave through the continued hearing date so that he can focus on the defense of this case and to further eliminate any credible claim of imminent or irreparable harm during any continuance the Court may grant,” it added.
CoStar’s decision came as Move petitioned the court with an ex-parte request (i.e., the expedition of an order without giving the other party time to oppose) for an Order of Protection preventing the disclosure of confidential and trade secret information during the discovery process. Especially sensitive documents, they said, should only be available to Move’s counsel and CoStar Group’s outside counsel.
Move said the expedited approval is critical to preventing the “further [misappropriation]” of confidential information in the suit, as they fear additional competitive harm beyond Kaminsky’s alleged use of 37 Move-owned files from January to June.
“Move naturally needs a Confidentiality Protective Order that prevents Mr. Kaminsky from seeing Move’s confidential documents yet again, in the context of this litigation,” Move’s filing read. “In addition, if Move were to disclose its trade secrets to Defendants, unredacted, without a protective order in place, that could constitute a failure of Move’s obligation to take reasonable measures to maintain the secrecy of those trade secrets.”
CoStar answered Move’s expedited Order of Protection request with a filing requesting expedited discovery and the rescheduling of the preliminary injunction hearing from Aug. 15 to Sept. 19.
In their filing, CoStar’s counsel said the expedited discovery would allow both parties to access unredacted versions of previous filings and accompanying exhibits so each side can submit a “more fulsome briefing” ahead of the preliminary injunction hearing. They also said that now that Kaminsky is on administrative leave, there shouldn’t be any concern about providing unredacted files during the discovery process.
“Move has flatly rejected Defendants’ proposal to allow for such discovery even though it asked for certain expedited discovery as part of its [preliminary injunction] Motion,” the filing read. “It is telling that Move shows no interest in quickly discovering, in advance of the preliminary injunction hearing, the truth regarding the Defendants’ alleged conduct, and is unwilling to reveal the facts about its own investigation, the timing thereof, the supposed trade secret nature of the documents at issue, and Move’s basis for claiming that such documents were used to compete against it.”
In an emailed statement to Inman, CoStar Group General Counsel Gene Boxer once again called Move’s lawsuit a “PR stunt” while questioning Move’s legal strategy.
“Move took a month to file a complaint without ever approaching CoStar, and six weeks to seek an injunction,” he said. “It has offered not a single fact in support of its core claim that CoStar used Move’s information to compete against Move. And now—stunningly—it is trying to block early discovery and a brief extension of the preliminary injunction hearing to allow for such discovery.”
“Any company with a real trade secret concern wants to uncover the facts, and fast. Move is instead trying to hide the truth,” he added. “Its request for the Court to enter an overly restrictive protective order is more of the same. Move’s efforts to conceal the truth speaks volumes. By contrast, CoStar is seeking discovery, including about Move’s delays, and is doing so on the fastest possible track.”
He continued, “We call upon Move to drop its opposition and let the truth be known. What is Move scared of?… They have not a shred of evidence to support [their claims]. The press should be asking Move a direct question: ‘What’s your proof that CoStar used Move’s trade secrets to compete against Move?’”
A Realtor.com spokesperson said the company “doesn’t comment on pending litigation,” however they addressed Move’s claims that the suit is a stunt.
“We also don’t take action like this frivolously and have only had one similar case in the last decade,” they told Inman in an emailed statement. “We’re confident in the merits of our action, and out of respect for the judicial system, we will litigate in the courts, not the media.”
These filings are the latest chapter in Move and CoStar Group’s battle over which residential portal can rightfully claim the second-place spot during a pivotal point in a years-long portal war.
Both companies have publicly battled over traffic claims, with Move putting pressure on CoStar throughout July through an advertising challenge with the Better Business Bureau National Programs’ National Advertising Division, which recommended that CoStar stop using “Homes.com just reached 156M monthly unique visitors” and “Homes.com now has DOUBLE Realtor.com’s traffic” in its ads as both claims are based on traffic for the Homes.com Network.
CoStar Group acquiesced to NAD’s recommendations, with recent advertising highlighting Homes.com’s 100 million monthly unique visitors. The company can still highlight traffic numbers for the Homes.com Network if they “explicitly disclose it in the body of its advertisements.”
There’s no specific timeline on when the judge will answer CoStar and Move’s ex-parte requests.
In today’s real estate market, mergers and acquisitions have become increasingly valued and important for brokerage leaders. Whether you’re a longtime franchisee thinking about the next chapter of your journey or a savvy entrepreneur looking to drive growth, there are fundamental shifts happening in the industry to keep in mind should you be considering going down this route. Let’s break a few of these down.
Aging ownership
Throughout my nearly 30 years in this business, I have marveled at the incredible entrepreneurs I have met along the way. So many have been in the industry for 30, 40 and even 50 years, having built their companies from scratch. While much of that time was spent building market share and empowering agents to provide their clients with the dream of homeownership, now may be the time that many look toward their next phase in life.
If you’re one of those looking ahead to what’s next, stepping completely away from real estate may not be what you want. Finding the right merger and acquisition for your company can provide that unique opportunity to stay involved by moving from a leadership role to a practitioner role while keeping your business and legacy intact.
A new growth-focused generation
As we see one generation of broker/owners looking to wind down their businesses, we also have the next one coming along with different views on brokerage operations. These new leaders are not only looking at how they can quickly increase local market share but also how they can expand their footprint by acquiring companies in a new, non-contiguous market. They are seeing the industry as almost borderless – a new phenomenon for many.
Much of this cross-market success can now be achieved largely because of the technology you have at your disposal. By creating a hub and spoke model with back-office services based in one location, you are able to potentially eliminate excess overhead in that new market and actually, in many cases, provide better services for those agents.
It’s all about scale now because companies with the right technology and great operating structures may be able to service 100 agents or 1000 without adding expenses. The greater the scale, the more potentially profitable you can be.
Fewer mid-sized brokerages
That brings us to the third major shift — consolidation is big, and it’s real. In real estate today, it’s very difficult to be a middle-of-the-road independent company like we had for generations. Instead, we’re seeing more success for companies that are either looking to be really big or those who are focused on remaining small and niche. It’s very challenging to play in the middle. Why? Primarily because of the cost of technology, compliance and continuing education issues. The real estate landscape is changing every day, and companies are struggling to keep up. Profit margins have also become extremely tight. Those in the middle often can’t compete with larger players who have the ability and resources to scale up and benefit from reduced overhead.
Is a merger and acquisition the right move for you?
Merger and acquisition support is a part of our brand’s value proposition. We can assist you by helping to navigate the process. You should always have a trusted financial and legal advisor in your corner, as many transactions are very complex.
A typical merger and acquisition will take anywhere from nine to 15 months to get done, so you want to start the conversations about two years in advance. When looking at a potential company, you need to take a deep dive into the numbers, a company’s structure, and the entirety of both operations. In addition to dollars and cents, cultural fit is a major component of the vetting process. You’ll want the right team to guide you through this process.
From my perspective, there is no greater joy than working with a company to fuel future exponential growth.
