When Lauritz and I started Spacefinder in August 2024, we had one clear observation: the market for commercial real estate rentals in Norway was fragmented, lacked transparency, and was built for landlords rather than tenants. You had to deal with multiple websites and various brokers, interpret vague "starting prices," and navigate a jungle of listings without knowing what actually suited your needs best.
In late April 2026, we launched Spacefinder 2.0. This isn't just a makeover. It’s a completely new platform, built from the ground up with new technology, new tools, and an expanded vision. Here’s a brief look at what’s new, why we built it, and the road ahead.
Why we built 2.0
Version 1 of Spacefinder was a validation. We wanted to prove there was a genuine need for an independent marketplace where tenants get a full overview in one place, and where advisory services are free. It worked.
But 1.0 was also an MVP, and it taught us more than we expected. Through a year of A/B testing, various search architectures, and close dialogue with both tenants and landlords, we gathered concrete data on where people drop off, what they look for when the search bar doesn't provide answers, and which questions actually determine whether a viewing is booked. This insight forms the foundation of 2.0.
Two things became clear. First, a leasing process doesn’t begin when someone opens a search page. It starts months earlier, when a company first notices they are outgrowing their space or their contract is nearing its end. That is the phase we are now designing for. Second, tenants don’t want more information—they want the right information at the right time. This means structured data instead of free-text descriptions, actual price estimates instead of "price upon request," and a gradual introduction to smarter tools rather than a whole new logic to learn.
Landlords, for their part, need a platform that makes it easy to keep their portfolio updated and reach serious tenants. And the entire market needs someone who dares to be transparent about pricing instead of hiding behind vague phrasing.
That is what 2.0 delivers.
New technology under the hood
The new platform is built on a modern stack with a headless CMS in the backend. It sounds dry, but it means something concrete: listings update faster, searches are snappier, and the site loads in half a second rather than several. For you as a tenant, it means less waiting and a better overview. For us, it means we can roll out new features as we learn what the market actually needs, rather than on a quarterly basis.
The platform itself is built around the tenant’s user journey, but what we’ve done on the backend is just as important. In 2.0, we have automated large parts of our internal processes. We now spend less time on things like manual data entry and more time on what we’re actually good at: understanding needs and finding the right match. The dialogue with our landlord partners is streamlined, so available spaces are listed faster and changes are captured without us having to chase them manually. It’s not spectacular to talk about in a launch, but it enables us to handle a significantly larger volume of tenants without losing the quality of our advice.
On top of this sits an editorial engine that allows us to publish and quality-assure thousands of listings without losing the soul of the process. Every listing is still reviewed by a human before it goes live.
New design that puts the tenant first
While the old 1.0 borrowed its structure from how the real estate industry has always operated, 2.0 is designed around how a tenant actually thinks.
The design is clean, dark by default, and intentionally understated. We’ve chosen a typography (the Roboto family) and a color palette (warm orange as a signature color against deep, neutral surfaces) intended to signal competence without shouting. Photos of actual buildings and areas take center stage, not stock photos of smiling people in open-plan offices.
The most important choice is perhaps the simplest: we show specific units with specific prices. Where others show "200 to 800 m²," we show the individual rental unit with updated price estimates. Where others write "price upon request," we write the number.
New tools that actually help
The marketplace is the foundation, but 2.0 introduces four tools that are just as vital:
- Needs Analysis: A guided wizard that takes you through the questions a good advisor would ask during the first phone call. The result is a solid needs analysis we can work with further, or that tenants can share internally before taking the next step.
- Office Calculator: A tool that allows tenants to get an overview of the cost level for a new office based on needs and preferences. In addition to providing a detailed breakdown of the total cost—not just the rent—the tool also compares traditional offices with serviced offices/coworking.
- KPI Calculator: A dedicated tool for understanding what index adjustments actually do to rent over time, based on Statistics Norway’s consumer price index (CPI). This is a tool we want all parties to be able to use, whether it’s the tenant, the property owner, or brokers.
- Off-market Request: A feature that allows tenants to send their requirements directly to all relevant landlords who do not actively advertise on Spacefinder or show all their available options. Many of the best opportunities in the market are never advertised. With 2.0, you get access to that segment as well through a single request.
All four tools are free, no login required, no strings attached.
From offices to the entire commercial market
In 1.0, we were essentially an office marketplace with some warehouse listings on the side. In 2.0, we are going significantly broader. Three equal verticals now sit on the front page:
- Office space
- Warehouse and logistics
- Retail and hospitality
Each vertical has its own search criteria, its own market dynamics, and its own typical tenants. We’ve built the platform so it can adapt without losing the big picture. A café founder looking for space in Grünerløkka shouldn’t be confused by a flow designed for a law firm at Aker Brygge.
The road ahead
This is the start of the next chapter. Here is some of what we are working on moving forward:
- AI tools for finding tenants: In parallel with 2.0, we have developed an internal AI tool that we are continuously refining, which we call Leadfinder. The idea is simple: the earlier we enter a dialogue with a tenant, the better advice we can provide. We’ve consciously chosen to build this as an internal tool, not a product we sell. The value lies in helping the tenant find the right space, and it is still us matching needs against the market.
- More partners, better recommendations: The more listings we have, the better we can help tenants.
- Deeper collaboration with landlords: We want to be even easier to partner with. This means better tools for keeping portfolios updated, faster feedback on inquiries, and clearer reporting on what actually drives results.
- Spacefinder 3.0. 😉
Our vision is simple
Norway deserves a commercial real estate marketplace that is as transparent and user-friendly as what we expect from other digital services. With Spacefinder 2.0, we are closer than we were yesterday, and we have a clear plan to get even closer tomorrow.
That doesn’t mean we’ve solved everything. We are still just two people, we still make mistakes, and we still have a lot to learn. But the direction is clear: one marketplace, full overview, supported by advisors, always free for the tenant.
We look forward to showing you what we’ve built, and we always appreciate feedback.
// Simen & Lauritz
Spacefinder is the marketplace for commercial rentals in Norway. The service is always free for tenants. Visit spacefinder.no to see available spaces or try our tools.
