• Bright Spaces and InteRo introduce their new Standardized Client Protection Protocol for InteRo’s properties in Romania
• The innovation is the partners’ response to the increased demand for transparency and additional security from local clients
• The introduction of the Protocol illustrates the steady progress of the Romanian real estate sector and proptech

This October, InteRo Property Development – one of Romania’s leading residential real estate developers – and Bright Spaces – the famous Romanian proptech – have announced the integration of their new Standardized Client Protection Protocol. The goal is to enhance transparency and safeguard the interests of end customers.

The Partners in Recap

Started in 2019 by Bogdan Nicoară (a guest on one of ITKeyMedia’s podcasts) and his team, Bright Spaces initially focused on 3D visualization for commercial real estate, enabling virtual property tours. This service became especially valuable during COVID, minimizing in-person interactions. The company has since expanded both geographically, with offices in London and Dubai, and across new sectors, including residential and industrial properties. Recently, Bright Spaces entered the Polish market through a partnership with Adventum Group.

Founded by the Topolinski family, InteRo Property Development has operated in Romania for over 15 years. They have significantly influenced the local real estate market, setting higher standards and emphasizing corporate social responsibility (CSR). The company focuses on high-quality urban living spaces that integrate modern design and energy-efficient solutions. InteRo’s portfolio includes large-scale residential complexes in key areas of Bucharest, targeting both local and international buyers. InteRo’s ultimate focus on the buyer’s experience for driving sales.

Bright Spaces’ 2.5 Years in the Residential Sector

Originally focusing exclusively on office properties, Bright Spaces entered the residential sector by teaming up with InteRo in 2022. Expanding to a new sector presented some challenges for Bright Spaces, such as adapting the platform for residential use required building a new library specifically for this sector. For example, in the residential vertical, the floor view with all available apartments is required, whereas in the office sector, one goes directly from the building view to the desired space view.

‘The home-buying experience is also more personalized compared to leasing an office space, so we customized the user journey to reflect that. This customisation, in fact, later influenced our offerings in the office sector as well, allowing us to enrich the client experience across multiple real estate types,’ Bright Spaces’ head of sales EU Catalin Dragutoiu specifies.

Since Bright Spaces partnered with InteRo Property Development roughly two and a half years ago, our collaboration has consistently evolved. It began by launching digital twins for New Confort City and Northlight Residence projects, both of which are now sold out, and moved forward together as InteRo expanded its portfolio, launching new projects like the luxury Pajurei 3 Residence.

InteRoVerse, the 3D digital twin platform that Bright Spaces built for Intero, has grown into an irreplaceable tool for InteRo’s sales representatives in every client interaction. It allows potential buyers to visualize their future homes and explore buildings before construction is even complete, ultimately shortening sales cycles and enhancing customer engagement.

‘Bright Spaces is working with InteRo Property Development to enhance InteRoVerse by integrating features that give clients access to live project updates, accurate pricing, available units and more. By leveraging technology to provide these insights, we aim to set a new standard for clarity and trust in the real estate market,’ Mr Nicoară states.

Recently the platform was further developed to provide additional security measures for our clients by incorporating:

• 24/7 Live Stream Cameras of the Construction Sites;
• Private Provisional Land Registry for InteRo developments utilized throughout the construction process.

The Bright Spaces team sees its expansion into the residential space as a positive experience, but the proptech company is still actively testing this area. Even though we’ve seen successful launches of other residential projects, Bright Spaces’ core focus remains on the office sector, and more recently, the industrial sector.

‘The demand for residential solutions came to us rather than us pursuing it aggressively, but it’s been a valuable growth opportunity that we’re continuing to explore,’ Mr Dragutoiu notes.

Timely Response to the Arisen Security Challenge

Two and a half years into the partnership, Bright Spaces and InteRo came up with the Standardized Client Protection Protocol to enhance transparency and safeguard the interests of end customers. It is designed to give clients a clear view of real-time project progress and assurance in the sales process.

This feature is especially timely given recent challenges in the Romanian residential market, where consumer trust has been impacted by incidents involving certain developers. Namely, there was an unfortunate situation in Bucharest recently with one of the largest developers on the market, Nordis. Reportedly, this developer conducted fraudulent activities that resulted in severe damages to their clients. This unfortunate event has opened the discussion for legislative changes to be put in place to provide greater security measures for clients.

Prioritizing Sustainable Trust

‘Protecting clients has been and will continue to be a key mission here at InteRo. Being a family-based real estate development organization, our intention is to continue developing real estate projects for generations to come. Delivering results and protecting our clients are necessities to execute this vision. We are focused on long term business and it is evident in the measures we have taken, and will continue to take, to provide exceptional customer experiences throughout the customer journey, and top-of-market transparency and security in top-class projects. In our opinion, any organization that is focused on long term business must take action today to prepare for the future,’ InteRo’s partner and head of sales and innovation Michael Topolinski IV tells ITKeyMedia.

‘All our partnerships are built on trust, and we are fully transparent with all our projects,’ InteRo’s partner, head of marketing & branding and sustainability lead Ashton Topolinski adds.

As such, InteRo decided to take proactive steps for its clients without waiting for the new legislative measures to be enacted. The team audited its security mechanisms and resources at its disposal for clients. Looking at InteRoVerse, they saw an apparent opportunity to add these security features to provide top and transparency to clients.

‘Our team then got on the phone with the CEO of Bright Spaces, Bogdan Nicoară, discussed the additions and his team executed these measures in an extremely diligent timeframe,’ Mr Topolinski recalls.

In light of the issues that arose, Bright Spaces, in turn, felt the necessity to offer clients an additional layer of security, ensuring they can trust they’re purchasing a home that hasn’t already been sold. The new Standardized Client Protection Protocol marks an important step toward building greater trust and transparency in the residential sector.

InteRo’s Standardized Client Protection Protocol guarantees buyers transparency by offering accurate updates on developments and real-time construction tracking. Through the InteRoVerse platform, users can access the Private Provisional Land Register to view sale statuses, contract numbers, signing dates, and client initials. Additionally, independent law firm S.C.A. Ionescu Stoica & Asociații will perform monthly checks of apartment inventories, validating sold units and confirming available ones. These verifications, signed by the law firm, will be published on InteRoVerse, ensuring accountability and enabling clients to stay informed at every step of the process.

A Step Forward for Romanian Proptech and RE

The introduction of the Protocol marks another milestone in the digital transformation in Romania’s real estate sector.

‘We’re seeing increased interest from the market as more industry players recognise the benefits of enhancing the client experience and empowering customers to make informed decisions. More and more often, potential clients approach us with a solid understanding of the value 3D digital solutions can bring to their businesses, driven in part by their own clients’ expectations for a more interactive and transparent buying or leasing process,’ Mr Dragutoiu states.

Bright Spaces’ team observes clear signals from the market indicating a growing demand for such innovations as theirs. This trend is reflected at major events like the SEE Property Forum, which, for the first time, included a PropTech category in its awards gala, in which Bright Spaces became the first winner. The appetite for digital transformation is apparently growing as Romania’s real estate sector reveals an increasing openness to integrating new technologies to create value for both businesses and end customers.

‘The actual real estate projects themselves are now incorporating more technologies to raise the living standards for residents and improve sustainability of real estate projects. When we look at the customer experience, there have been steps taken to utilize to improve customer experiences during the buying cycles. However, I would argue that there is much more work to be done here in general and we take on the challenge to be market leaders in this respect,’ Mr Topolinski concludes.