Framing the Problem

Movoto is a top five real estate portal in the U.S., reaching millions of visitors every month. But the business was volume-driven: buyers came once to browse listings, then disappeared. There was no meaningful product for homeowners after purchase, and no way to build ongoing engagement or long-term value.

The challenge: how do we transform a transactional real estate portal into a platform homeowners return to and one that creates both retention and new revenue?

Approach

As Principal Product Designer leading two other Senior Designers, I led the design of Movoto Homeowner - an app that turned static ownership into a dynamic experience. We started by reframing what homeowners actually need day-to-day: not just listings, but clarity, insight, and actionable tools.

• Research & Insight

  • Conducted surveys and interviews with homeowners to map their biggest ongoing frustrations: uncertainty about equity, confusion around mortgage health, and lack of tools for maintaining and improving their homes.

  • Identified the opportunity to position Movoto not only as a portal, but as a trusted long-term partner in homeownership.

  • Leveraged existing data partnerships and analytics to uncover insights regarding current homeowners on the platform.

• Design Principles

  • Transparency builds trust - provide real-time, personalized data homeowners can’t get elsewhere.

  • From static to dynamic - treat the home as a living asset, not a closed transaction.

  • Actionable clarity - surface insights in ways homeowners can act on, not just observe.

Leveraging Existing Research

At Digs, just before the OJO + Movoto acquisition, we ran a full research study with CoreLogic and other data partners to better understand the needs of current homeowners. Through a pilot program with AAA, we were able to connect homeowner behavior with real financial markers - interest rates, equity position, and ownership stage - giving us a clear view of when and why people consider refinancing, renovating, or moving.

By pairing these insights with qualitative homeowner interviews, we built a richer picture of the homeowner journey than Movoto had ever had access to. The study not only validated the opportunity to engage existing homeowners more deeply, but also became a key input in shaping Movoto’s transition from a pure search portal into a homeowner engagement platform.

A few insights are outlined below, and you can read through the complete study here.

Product Rollout & Evolution

Movoto Homeowner launched with three core pillars, each designed to create daily and monthly engagement touchpoints:

1. Real-Time Valuation & Equity Tracking

   • Designed a dashboard giving homeowners instant visibility into their home’s current equity.

   • Built flows that connected valuation data with actionable refinancing or selling options.

2. Mortgage Health Insights

   • Created a clear, visual way to understand mortgage performance, payment progress, and opportunities to save money.

   • Positioned Movoto as a proactive financial partner rather than a static listings site.

3. Maintenance & Value Growth

   • Introduced tools that tracked maintenance needs, reminders, and opportunities to improve property value.

   • Designed experiences that connected upkeep with long-term equity building, closing the loop from action to financial reward.

Outcomes

The impact was immediate and measurable:

• 1M+ new monthly active users drawn in by the Homeowner product, extending Movoto’s reach beyond listings.

• $1.12M in added yearly revenue generated by new engagement-driven services.

• Early LTV traction demonstrated, proving that retaining and serving homeowners creates durable business value.

These outcomes validated our hypothesis: turning ownership into a dynamic, data-driven, and actionable experience creates both deeper user trust and sustainable business growth.

Reflection

Movoto Homeowner was a turning point. Not just for the company, but for how I think about product design in real estate. It was proof that design can shift an industry from transactional to relational. By embedding insight, clarity, and action into a product homeowners touched regularly, we unlocked long-term engagement and new monetization paths for Movoto.

For me, this case study shows my ability to:

• Reframe business models through design thinking.

• Lead research that surfaces unarticulated user needs.

• Execute at scale across financial, data, and lifestyle experiences.

• Deliver results that resonate both with users (clarity, trust, empowerment) and the business (MAU growth, revenue, retention).