Searching for property in Australia shouldn’t feel like finding a needle in a haystack. Yet most property seekers spend countless hours filtering through listings that don’t quite match what they need—too far from work, wrong layout, missing that crucial backyard for the kids. What if instead of searching for properties, the right properties found you?
AI-powered property recommendations work differently from traditional search. Rather than relying on basic filters and keyword matching, AI learns your actual preferences—including the ones you didn’t know you had—and automatically surfaces properties that genuinely match what you’re looking for.
Soho’s PropertyMatch™ engine uses machine learning to understand your unique property preferences and deliver personalized recommendations from over 400,000+ Australian listings. Here’s how it works and why it’s changing the way Australians find homes.
The Problem with Traditional Property Search
Traditional property search platforms operate on a simple premise: you enter criteria (location, bedrooms, price), and they show you everything that matches. But this approach has significant limitations:
Generic Filters Miss the Details
Standard search filters can’t capture nuanced preferences like “quiet street but walkable to cafes” or “natural light in the living areas” or “family-friendly neighbourhood with good schools nearby.”
You Don’t Know What You Want Until You See It
Many property seekers discover their preferences through the search process itself. You might think you want a modern apartment until you view a character-filled terrace and realize that’s actually more your style.
Information Overload
In major Australian cities, a basic search can return hundreds or thousands of listings. Sorting through them all is time-consuming and exhausting, leading to decision fatigue.
Static Results
Traditional search results don’t improve over time. You see the same types of properties regardless of which ones you’ve liked or dismissed in the past.
Paid Placement Bias
On many platforms, the properties you see first aren’t necessarily the best matches—they’re the ones agents paid to promote. This means you might scroll past your perfect home because it wasn’t boosted.
How AI Property Recommendations Actually Work
AI property recommendations flip the traditional search model. Instead of you searching for properties, the AI searches for you—continuously learning and improving its understanding of what you want.
Stage 1: Initial Profile Setup
When you first set up PropertyMatch™, you provide basic preferences:
- Budget range
- Number of bedrooms and bathrooms
- Preferred locations or suburbs
- Property type (house, apartment, townhouse)
- Essential features (parking, outdoor space, pet-friendly)
This creates your baseline profile, similar to traditional search filters.
Stage 2: Behavioral Learning
Here’s where AI diverges from traditional search. As you interact with property recommendations—shortlisting some, skipping others, viewing details—the AI observes patterns:
Properties You Shortlist: The AI analyzes what these properties have in common beyond your stated criteria. Maybe they’re all on tree-lined streets, or they all have north-facing living areas, or they’re all within 500m of parks.
Properties You Skip: Equally important, the AI learns what you don’t want. If you consistently skip properties near main roads despite them meeting your other criteria, the AI deprioritizes similar listings.
Time Spent Viewing: Properties where you spend more time viewing photos and details signal stronger interest, helping the AI understand which features matter most to you.
Search Patterns: If you frequently search specific suburbs or repeatedly view properties with certain features, the AI adjusts your profile accordingly.
Stage 3: Preference Refinement
The AI doesn’t just learn from your behavior—it actively refines its understanding through continuous matching:
Pattern Recognition: Machine learning algorithms identify correlations between properties you like. This might reveal preferences you hadn’t explicitly stated, like preferring corner blocks or properties with renovated kitchens.
Contextual Understanding: The AI considers broader context: if you’re searching for family homes, it might prioritize properties near quality schools. If you’re a young professional, it might emphasize proximity to public transport and entertainment precincts.
Negative Signals: The system learns from what you reject. If you skip every property above a certain price despite your stated budget, the AI adjusts your effective budget downward.
Stage 4: Continuous Improvement
Unlike static search results, AI recommendations improve every time you interact with them. The more properties you view, shortlist, or skip, the more accurate your matches become.
This creates a feedback loop: better matches lead to more meaningful interactions, which generate better data, which produces even better matches.
PropertyMatch™: Preference-Based Ranking That Actually Works
Soho’s PropertyMatch™ engine was built specifically for the Australian property market with one core principle: properties should be ranked by how well they match your preferences, not by how much agents pay for placement.
How PropertyMatch™ Differs from Traditional Search
Traditional Search Platforms:
- Show properties based on keyword matching and paid placement
- Results remain static regardless of your behavior
- No learning or improvement over time
- Same results for everyone with similar filters
PropertyMatch™:
- Ranks properties by genuine match quality
- Results personalize based on your interactions
- Continuously learns and improves accuracy
- Unique recommendations tailored to your preferences
The Swipe Interface: Teaching AI Through Interaction
PropertyMatch™ uses a swipe interface similar to dating apps—but for finding your home. This intuitive interaction method serves two purposes:
For You: Quick, easy way to sort through properties. Swipe right to shortlist properties you like, left to pass on ones that don’t fit.
For the AI: Each swipe provides valuable training data. The AI learns from thousands of micro-decisions, building an increasingly accurate picture of your preferences.
Real-Time Alerts for New Matches
Once PropertyMatch™ understands your preferences, it continuously monitors new listings. When a property matching your criteria becomes available, you receive an instant alert—often before it appears on other platforms.
This is particularly valuable in competitive markets where desirable properties receive multiple applications within hours of listing.
What PropertyMatch™ Learns About You
The AI develops a sophisticated understanding of your property preferences across multiple dimensions:
Location Preferences
Beyond suburb names, the AI learns location characteristics you prefer:
- Proximity to specific amenities (schools, parks, shopping, public transport)
- Neighbourhood characteristics (quiet residential vs. urban buzz)
- Street types (tree-lined, cul-de-sac, main road)
- Distance tolerances (how far you’ll travel for work, family, lifestyle)
Property Characteristics
The AI identifies which physical features matter most to you:
- Architectural style (modern, period, contemporary)
- Layout preferences (open-plan, separate living areas)
- Outdoor space (large backyard, courtyard, balcony)
- Natural light and aspect (north-facing, corner position)
- Condition (move-in ready vs. renovation potential)
Lifestyle Factors
The system understands how properties fit your lifestyle:
- Family-friendly features (multiple bathrooms, playroom, safe street)
- Work-from-home suitability (home office space, quiet environment)
- Entertainment capacity (large living areas, outdoor entertaining)
- Pet accommodation (fenced yard, pet-friendly building)
Deal-Breakers and Must-Haves
The AI learns your non-negotiables:
- Features you always shortlist (parking, air conditioning)
- Characteristics you consistently reject (ground floor, busy street)
- Price sensitivity and value expectations
- Compromise patterns (what you’ll sacrifice for other features)
Example Success Stories: How AI Recommendations Found Perfect Matches
Emma & David, Sydney “We spent three months using traditional search, viewing dozens of properties that looked good online but didn’t feel right in person. Within two weeks of using PropertyMatch™, we found our home in Newtown. The AI picked up that we preferred character homes on quiet streets near cafes—something we hadn’t explicitly searched for but realized was exactly what we wanted.”
Michael, Melbourne “As a first-time buyer, I didn’t really know what I was looking for. PropertyMatch™ helped me discover my preferences through the process. After swiping through about 30 properties, the recommendations became incredibly accurate. I found my apartment in Richmond—perfect location, right price, exactly the style I didn’t know I wanted.”
Rachel, Brisbane “The AI learned I was willing to go slightly above my stated budget for properties with specific features—large backyard, renovated kitchen, near good schools. It recommended a property in Paddington that I would have filtered out based on price alone. We viewed it, loved it, and made it work financially. Best decision we made.”
How to Maximize AI Property Recommendations
Be Honest About Your Budget
Set a realistic budget range. The AI will learn if you consistently view properties above or below your stated range and adjust accordingly.
Interact Consistently
The more properties you swipe through, the better the AI understands your preferences. Aim to interact with at least 20-30 properties to establish clear patterns.
Update Your Profile as Preferences Change
If your circumstances or preferences change (budget increases, willing to consider different suburbs), update your profile so the AI can adjust your matches.
Trust the Learning Process
Initial matches might not be perfect, but they improve rapidly. Give the AI time to learn from your interactions before dismissing the approach.
Provide Clear Signals
If you love a property, shortlist it. If it’s not right, skip it. Clear, consistent signals help the AI learn faster than tentative interactions.
Use the Notes Feature
Some AI platforms let you add notes about why you liked or didn’t like a property. This qualitative feedback helps the AI understand nuanced preferences.
Privacy and Data: How Your Information Is Used
A common concern with AI recommendations is data privacy. Here’s what you should know about how PropertyMatch™ handles your information:
What Data Is Collected
- Property interactions (shortlists, skips, views)
- Stated preferences (budget, location, features)
- Search patterns and behavior
- Device and usage information
How Data Is Used
- To improve match accuracy for your account
- To train the AI model (anonymized and aggregated)
- To send relevant property alerts
- To improve the platform for all users
What Data Is NOT Shared
- Your personal information is never sold to third parties
- Individual property preferences aren’t shared with agents
- Your search history remains private
- Agents only see your contact information if you choose to inquire about their listing
The Future of AI Property Recommendations
AI property matching is still evolving. Future developments will likely include:
Predictive Matching
AI that predicts which properties will come on the market based on historical patterns, alerting you before they’re officially listed.
Lifestyle Integration
Deeper integration with lifestyle data—understanding your commute patterns, favorite cafes, exercise habits—to recommend properties that fit your actual daily life.
Virtual Viewing Intelligence
AI that learns which properties are worth viewing in person based on how well virtual tours match your preferences.
Market Timing Insights
Recommendations that consider not just which property matches your preferences, but when the best time to buy or rent might be based on market conditions.
Why Preference-Based Ranking Matters
The fundamental difference between AI recommendations and traditional search comes down to ranking methodology:
Traditional Platforms: Properties are ranked by recency, paid placement, or basic filter matching. The “best” properties are those agents paid to promote.
PropertyMatch™: Properties are ranked by how well they match your unique preferences. The “best” properties are those that genuinely fit what you’re looking for.
This shift from paid placement to preference-based ranking benefits property seekers by ensuring you see the most relevant properties first, regardless of advertising budgets.
Getting Started with AI Property Recommendations
Ready to experience property search that learns what you’re looking for? Here’s how to get started:
Download the Soho App
Available on iOS and Android, the Soho app gives you access to PropertyMatch™ and over 400,000+ Australian property listings.
Set Up Your Profile
Spend 5-10 minutes creating your initial profile with basic preferences. Be honest about budget, location, and must-have features.
Start Swiping
Begin interacting with property recommendations. Swipe right on properties you like, left on those you don’t. The AI learns from each interaction.
Enable Notifications
Turn on push notifications to receive instant alerts when new properties matching your preferences become available.
Refine and Discover
As the AI learns, you’ll notice recommendations becoming more accurate. You might also discover preferences you didn’t know you had.
The Bottom Line
AI property recommendations represent a fundamental shift in how Australians find homes. Instead of spending hours searching through irrelevant listings, you can let AI do the heavy lifting—learning your preferences, monitoring new listings, and alerting you to properties that genuinely match what you’re looking for.
PropertyMatch™ makes property search personal, efficient, and actually enjoyable. Because finding your home shouldn’t feel like work—it should feel like discovering exactly what you’ve been looking for.
About Soho
Soho is Australia’s AI-powered real estate platform, founded by Jonathan Lui, co-founder of Airtasker. Launched in 2018, Soho uses the PropertyMatch™ engine to deliver personalized property recommendations from over 400,000+ listings across Australia. Unlike traditional platforms that prioritize paid placement, Soho ranks properties based purely on how well they match your preferences.
Download the Soho app today:
- Available on iOS and Android
- Free for all property seekers
- AI-powered recommendations that learn and improve
- Instant alerts for new matches
Don’t waste time searching for a home. Let our AI do the work.
