Helen Chen, chief executive and co-founder of PropTech start-up Nomad Homes, has always loved real estate.
Growing up on the US west coast in Washington, she would spend her free summers helping her parents fix up rental properties they owned, getting them ready for new tenants.
Unsurprisingly, her first investment was in a real estate asset – a rental property she purchased at the age of 23.
“This is what I love [and] this is what I think about all hours of the day,” says Ms Chen.
So, it was only natural that she zeroed in on a market gap in the real estate sector while pursuing her MBA at Stanford University. With a stint in private equity at Blackstone and at China Investment Corporation, Ms Chen had a keen eye for potential investment opportunities. While digitisation was rapidly transforming many sectors, she noted real estate was lagging.
The opportunity that I saw was to bring the real estate transaction online
Helen Chen,
chief executive and co-founder of Nomad Homes
“Real estate is a $30 trillion industry. It is the largest asset class globally and across the UAE," she says. While there are "over $20 billion transactions every single year ... real estate is still largely offline. The opportunity that I saw was to bring the real estate transactions online”.
Ms Chen and her co-founders – Dan Piehler and Damien Drap – sought to address this particular gap when they launched Nomad Homes, a platform that collates multiple options for users looking to buy or rent homes in Dubai.
Users visiting the platform need to enter in specific details such as the preferred area and the number of bedrooms they require. Nomad Homes will use algorithms to suggest listings that might be suitable for users based on the details provided.
The start-up is not the only one to digitise home listings in the emirate. Portals such as PropertyFinder, Bayut.com and Dubizzle all offer similar services. However, Nomad Homes, Ms Chen argues, goes an additional mile and offers users a customer service agent, who helps co-ordinate viewings and deal with brokers.
“We become their one point of contact so buyers no longer have to deal with 30 different listing agents and they still have access to the entire market,” Ms Chen says.
Nomad Homes partners with property brokers in a bid to offer a wide range of authentic listings. Once a sale goes through, the start-up takes a commission from the deal. The platform also offers buyers a list of financing options, too.
“Our main value proposition is that you can search, transact and finance in one place,” the founder says. The company offers a similar service in Paris.
Real estate marketplaces such as Nomad Homes, Redfin and Zillow are surging in popularity as homebound users increasingly embraced digital channels amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The industry, which once depended on in-person visits, is coming to terms with a more tech-savvy consumer base.
A survey conducted by US-based real estate marketplace Zillow showed that 39 per cent of millennials – those born between 1981 and 1996 – are comfortable buying a home they have seen online. Fifty-nine per cent said they would be ready to put in an offer for a home they only toured online.
Figures for the region are hard to come by but the trend is not so different in the Middle East either. Ms Chen says that Nomad Homes, which launched in June 2020, registered “tens of thousands of users” and has grown 16 times in the first half of this year alone. She declined to disclose the number of transactions on the site.
While she admits the pandemic has proven beneficial for PropTech start-ups like home-buying portals, the shift to digital channels started long before.
“We already saw it starting to happen, but Covid-19 really accelerated this trend of moving online,” Ms Chen says. “More and more people are comfortable with virtual tours and are completing the transactions online.”
Ms Chen did not specify whether they are seeing more sales activity or renting activity.
“Renters are a consistent trend, and that's always growing. But recently there has been a pickup in buyers as well, just given where the market is," she says.
Residential transaction volumes in Dubai were up 76.8 per cent in the first eight months of the year, while secondary market transactions jumped 120.7 per cent and off-plan transactions rose 39 per cent, according to real estate consultancy CBRE.
More and more people are comfortable with virtual tours and are completing the transactions online
Helen Chen
As online home buying picks up pace, Nomad Homes has also garnered investor interest. The company raised $20 million in a Series A funding round that was co-led by 01 Advisors, an investment fund co-founded by Twitter’s former executives Dick Costolo and Adam Bain, in addition to New York-based investment firm The Spruce House Partnership. That followed a $4m investment round earlier this year.
The founders are planning to use the funds to invest further to develop the product and technology, including investing in machine learning, to improve the customer experience.
However, one add-on that Ms Chen hopes to have is an ability of users to secure mortgages through the platform.
“I do believe that all PropTech companies will one day become FinTech companies. So, one of the latest offering we want to include is a FinTech or a finance offering.”
Despite the recent boom in PropTech, Ms Chen and her colleagues have no intention to exit the business immediately.
“I would say right now we're really focused on our markets and [our] focus will be on Paris and Dubai as of now.”
Q&A with Helen Chen, CEO of Nomad Homes
What other successful start-up do you wish you might have started instead of Nomad Home?
I have respect for all entrepreneurs and all start-ups, because I know how hard it is. But Nomad is my favorite start-up, because this is what I love. So I would not start any other start-up, but I have immense respect for every other entrepreneur.
What would you do differently if you had to start over and are there any mistakes that you'd like to correct?
As a start-up, you always want to move faster. I wish we could iterate faster. We could test more frequently, and this is something that we are always working on. For us it's always about testing. It makes all the difference.
What skills have you learned from setting up your business?
I would say the biggest skill I've learned is to actually convince people to join your team early on. Having the best team is the most important piece of building your start-up and what I've learned is how to convince people to join you. This is largely because of the mission and the vision that we have and the team that we've built at Nomad Homes.
What is the one quality that an entrepreneur should have?
Determination. You have to believe that you can solve a problem and you need to convince everyone around you that you can do it and then you have to do it.
What advice would you give upcoming entrepreneurs who struggle?
If you love what you do and you're solving a problem that's meaningful to you, you will figure it out.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Nomad Homes
Year started: June 2020
Based: Dubai, Paris and US
Employees: 34
Amount raised: $24m
Investors: 01 Advisors (former Twitter executives), Spruce House, Goodwater Capital, HighSage Ventures, Abstract Ventures, Partech, Class 5 Global, Precursor Ventures, Alta Park Capital, and an undisclosed multibillion-dollar crossover fund, among others. Angel investors such as co-founder and former chief executive of Zillow and Pacaso Spencer Rascoff also participated in the round through his firm 75 & Sunny, along with Opendoor chief executive Eric Wu and former Compass COO/CFO David Snider.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
57%20Seconds
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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%3Cp%3EThe%20influx%20of%20talented%20young%20Afghan%20players%20to%20UAE%20cricket%20could%20have%20a%20big%20impact%20on%20the%20fortunes%20of%20both%20countries.%20Here%20are%20three%20Emirates-based%20players%20to%20watch%20out%20for.%0D%3Cbr%3E%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EHassan%20Khan%20Eisakhil%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EMohammed%20Nabi%20is%20still%20proving%20his%20worth%20at%20the%20top%20level%20but%20there%20is%20another%20reason%20he%20is%20raging%20against%20the%20idea%20of%20retirement.%20If%20the%20allrounder%20hangs%20on%20a%20little%20bit%20longer%2C%20he%20might%20be%20able%20to%20play%20in%20the%20same%20team%20as%20his%20son%2C%20Hassan%20Khan.%20The%20family%20live%20in%20Ajman%20and%20train%20in%20Sharjah.%0D%3Cbr%3E%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMasood%20Gurbaz%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EThe%20opening%20batter%2C%20who%20trains%20at%20Sharjah%20Cricket%20Academy%2C%20is%20another%20player%20who%20is%20a%20part%20of%20a%20famous%20family.%20His%20brother%2C%20Rahmanullah%2C%20was%20an%20IPL%20winner%20with%20Kolkata%20Knight%20Riders%2C%20and%20opens%20the%20batting%20with%20distinction%20for%20Afghanistan.%0D%3Cbr%3E%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOmid%20Rahman%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EThe%20fast%20bowler%20became%20a%20pioneer%20earlier%20this%20year%20when%20he%20became%20the%20first%20Afghan%20to%20represent%20the%20UAE.%20He%20showed%20great%20promise%20in%20doing%20so%2C%20too%2C%20playing%20a%20key%20role%20in%20the%20senior%20team%E2%80%99s%20qualification%20for%20the%20Asia%20Cup%20in%20Muscat%20recently.%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Quick%20facts
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If you go
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Luang Prabang via Bangkok, with a return flight from Chiang Rai via Bangkok for about Dh3,000, including taxes. Emirates and Thai Airways cover the same route, also via Bangkok in both directions, from about Dh2,700.
The cruise
The Gypsy by Mekong Kingdoms has two cruising options: a three-night, four-day trip upstream cruise or a two-night, three-day downstream journey, from US$5,940 (Dh21,814), including meals, selected drinks, excursions and transfers.
The hotels
Accommodation is available in Luang Prabang at the Avani, from $290 (Dh1,065) per night, and at Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort from $1,080 (Dh3,967) per night, including meals, an activity and transfers.
GRAN%20TURISMO
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RESULT
Al Hilal 4 Persepolis 0
Khribin (31', 54', 89'), Al Shahrani 40'
Red card: Otayf (Al Hilal, 49')
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Alaan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Parthi%20Duraisamy%20and%20Karun%20Kurien%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%247%20million%20raised%20in%20total%20%E2%80%94%20%242.5%20million%20in%20a%20seed%20round%20and%20%244.5%20million%20in%20a%20pre-series%20A%20round%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Getting%20there%20
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Four-day collections of TOH
Day Indian Rs (Dh)
Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)
Friday 280.25m (14.12m)
Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)
Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)
Total 1.19bn (59.15m)
(Figures in millions, approximate)
MATCH INFO
Jersey 147 (20 overs)
UAE 112 (19.2 overs)
Jersey win by 35 runs
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
Best Foreign Language Film nominees
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
