Amsterdam Court rules in favour of funda

Amsterdam, 21 March 2018

Today, the Amsterdam court reached its verdict in the lawsuit which VBO Estate Agents filed against funda in 2012. The court dismissed the claims made by VBO.  After a period of 6 years, this verdict brings the case to a close. Funda welcomes the verdict.

In 2017, after a thorough investigation, independent experts, appointed by the Amsterdam Court during the trial, submitted their report. Partly on the basis of this expert report, the Amsterdam Court concluded, in a detailed verdict, that funda had not abused its dominant position in the market.

Constant innovation

Funda is pleased with this outcome, which puts an end to this case after a period of six years. As the most famous and most popular housing platform in the Netherlands, funda has not stood still during this period. Funda must constantly innovate in order to optimally serve the consumer and to stay ahead of the competition from home and abroad, and from other unexpected sources. This is something funda has done since its creation.

In the first few years, funda's focus was on making the market transparent and providing 24/7 access to the entire property offering. In doing so, consumer demands have increasingly taken priority, and funda has started to focus more on quality and completeness of information and maximum user friendliness. Since the launch of the new platform in October 2015, funda changes constantly. Every day new releases are made and new or improved functionalities are launched. All to continue to meet user expectations.

Evert Brugman, interim CEO of funda: "We are working daily on a new future for funda. A future in which we can be of service to the consumer across the entire living cycle. The first results of this transformation are, for example, the content platform funda Thuis and our new address change service."

Online playing field

Funda must constantly fight for its position in a fierce competition for the attention of the visitor. Online companies can quickly transform themselves and enter new markets. In the digital world, markets are no longer restricted to sectors or countries. "Funda therefore continues to invest in technology that makes it possible to innovate quickly, while paying attention to the international online world and the changing demands of the consumer. Only by focusing on these things can we best serve our users and all brokers, "says Brugman.

About funda

Funda was founded in 2001 by the NVM to make advertising and viewing property as easy as possible. Today, with over 44 million visits every month, funda is the online real estate platform in the Netherlands. Funda distinguishes itself as an online platform by offering the most up-to-date, reliable and complete information about homes and commercial real estate. Funda is currently developing from being a supply-and-demand website for residential properties to being a platform for the total living cycle.

Timeline funda

Please find below an overview of funda's innovations since the start of the organization in 2001:

February 2018 - Introduction of change of address service [link]

October 2017 - Launch of content platform for the total living cycle [link]

October 2017 - Funda renews the apps

July 2017 - All brokers (even without trade association membership) get full access to funda [link]

February 2017 - Introduction of virtual viewing on funda with card board [link]

January 2017 - Presentation funda House, designed with big data [link]

December 2016 - Funda renews funda in business

October 2016 - Funda renews New Build

May 2016 - Funda renews Rental

October 2015 - Start 'funda renews' (Purchase), result list by relevance [link]

June 2015 - Unaffiliated rental brokers get access to rental platform [link]

April 2015 - Introduction of virtual viewing with Oculus Rift [link]

March 2015 - Launch of the Object Score functionality

December 2014 - Introduction of the Chromecast App for brokers

April 2014 - Launch of the “Market Explorer” for NVM brokers [link]

February 2014 - Publication of the Windows 8 app and Windows Phone app

September 2013 - Introduction Presentation Package

May 2013 - Introduction of Promo label for promotion of objects

April 2013 - Introduction Home Swap via funda [link]

October 2012 - Launch of Real Estate Agent Ratings [link]

May 2012 - Funda launches Android app

March 2011 - Land registry cards on funda

January 2011 - Introduction of improved 360-degree photos

April 2010 - Funda launches the iPhone app [link]   

June 2009 - Funda joins the augmented reality project from Layar [link]

May 2009 - Launch of interactive 3D maps on funda [link]

April 2009 - Maps on funda extended with Google Streetview

March 2009 - Housing offer from LMV and VBO Broker directly on funda [link]

September 2007 - Introduction of non-NVM housing offer on funda

February 2006 - Introduction of 21 million neighborhood photos on funda.nl [link]

September 2003 - Monthly charges per property on funda [link]

March 2002 - Introduction funda mobile

January 2001 - Official start of the organization and funda.nl goes live

Not for publication:

For further information, please contact funda's spokes person: