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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchShort answer: do not build a Homegate.ch scraper for collecting, combining, republishing, or exporting listing data unless SMG Swiss Marketplace Group Ltd. gives you written authorization. SMG’s real-estate marketplace GTC, version 1 July 2026, expressly prohibit systematically selecting marketplace content, including “by scraping,” and prohibit copying, publishing, reproducing, or linking that content with data outside the marketplaces.
You may browse listings for personal consumption, but that is not the same as automated extraction. The practical, compliant path is to describe your project to SMG and obtain a written agreement covering access, fields, geography, retention, refreshes, redistribution, and privacy responsibilities.
What Homegate’s current terms say
Homegate is named in SMG’s general terms and conditions for its real-estate marketplaces. The document is marked version 01.07.2026. Product-specific service descriptions, insertion rules, and an individual customer agreement can add to or override the general terms, so the contract attached to your service matters.
Systematic selection and scraping are expressly prohibited
Section 7 states: “In particular, it is prohibited to systematically select the Content available on the Marketplaces (e.g. by scraping), to copy, publish or otherwise reproduce it (e.g. on the Internet) in any form or to link it with other data.” This is the central rule for a proposed crawler, scraper, listing database, price-monitoring feed, or research export.
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Browsing is different from republication
Homegate’s English disclaimer says information may be used without charge for browsing for personal consumption, while republication in any medium requires prior written consent. That older disclaimer was last updated 5 October 2010, so use it for the explicit browsing-versus-republication distinction; give greater weight to the newer 2026 GTC for systematic collection.
“Technical interface” does not prove a public API
The GTC refer to technical interfaces that customers may use to connect to the marketplaces and assign responsibility for maintaining those interfaces when technical changes occur. That wording describes possible contractual arrangements. It does not establish a public, self-serve listing API, a downloadable feed, or permission for an independent developer to export marketplace content.
Decide whether your project needs permission
Classify the intended activity before writing code. The following examples are not legal advice; they are practical interpretations of the published terms.
| Activity | How to treat it |
|---|---|
| Opening individual listings manually for your own home search | Personal browsing is described as free use in the disclaimer. |
| Running a crawler over search results or listing pages | Systematic selection is expressly prohibited by Section 7 unless an agreement authorizes it. |
| Copying descriptions, photos, addresses, prices, or agent details into your own database | Obtain written permission and confirm rights for every field. |
| Combining Homegate data with another dataset, map, valuation model, or public dashboard | Section 7 specifically prohibits linking marketplace content with other data outside the marketplaces without authorization. |
| Publishing an analysis, feed, app, or alert service based on listings | Ask for explicit republication, redistribution, and commercial-use rights before collecting anything. |
A permission-first workflow for legitimate research or business use
- Write a precise project brief. State whether the use is personal, academic, internal business, or commercial; identify the countries and cantons; list the exact fields; explain update frequency, storage duration, users, and any planned publication.
- Contact SMG/Homegate before automated access. Ask whether an API, feed, partner service, or customer interface is currently available for your use case. Do not assume one exists because the GTC mention interfaces.
- Request written scope. Your agreement should identify the permitted access method, URL or endpoint, fields and geographic coverage, rate limits, authentication, retention and deletion rules, refresh schedule, fees and contract term, support contact, and what happens when the site changes.
- Clarify reuse rights. Ask separately whether you may copy, transform, combine, publish, display, sublicense, or redistribute each category of data. Listing text, photographs, floor plans, logos, and contact details may have different rights holders.
- Resolve privacy obligations. The GTC require customers processing personal data to comply with applicable data-protection law, collect it lawfully, and ensure they may transmit it. Public visibility of a phone number or name does not by itself remove privacy duties.
- Build controls that match the agreement. Enforce approved fields, rate limits, retention periods, deletion requests, access logs, and an emergency stop. Keep a copy of the authorization and its version with the job configuration.
- Validate before relying on results. SMG disclaims warranties about truthfulness, accuracy, completeness, and currentness. Record capture timestamps, detect stale or withdrawn listings, and independently verify material facts before making decisions.
What not to do
- Do not use rotating proxies, CAPTCHA-solving, account workarounds, stealth browser settings, or other techniques intended to evade access controls.
- Do not treat a robots.txt file, a visible page, or a successful HTTP response as a license to collect or republish content.
- Do not copy images or descriptions into a public product, even if your crawler only accesses pages that load without a login.
- Do not infer that a customer interface grants export rights; ask what the contract permits.
Technical design questions to settle with SMG
Access method and coverage
Ask whether the authorized channel is an API, a scheduled feed, an authenticated customer interface, or another service; then document which listings, languages, cantons, and historical records it covers. The reviewed official material supplies no verified values for these dimensions.
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Refresh, retention, and deletion
Define how quickly changes and removals must appear in your system, how long raw and derived data may be retained, and how you will honor takedown or correction requests.
Combining and publishing
Get an explicit answer for maps, price models, newsletters, public search pages, internal dashboards, machine-learning training, and onward transfer. “Analysis” is not automatically exempt from the prohibition on linking content with outside data.
Reliability and support
Ask about rate limits, planned maintenance, schema changes, error responses, service availability, and a technical contact. The GTC’s interface language places maintenance responsibilities on customers, so plan for changes rather than hard-coding undocumented pages.
How to document a compliant data pipeline
Keep an inventory with the source, field name, purpose, legal basis or contract permission, retention period, and publication status for every attribute. Separate raw listing content from derived statistics. Hash or otherwise identify records so updates and deletions can be traced without retaining unnecessary personal data. Log authorization checks before each job, and make the job fail closed when credentials, scope, or consent metadata is missing.
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“I found an endpoint in the browser developer tools.”
A browser request is not proof that the endpoint is public or licensed for export. Stop automated use and ask SMG whether that endpoint is an approved interface and what data rights attach to it.
“The pages are public, so can I archive them?”
Public visibility and permission are separate questions. The disclaimer permits personal browsing and requires prior written consent for republication; Section 7 addresses systematic selection directly.
“My dataset contains stale prices or removed homes.”
SMG does not guarantee accuracy, completeness, reliability, or currentness. Use capture timestamps, revalidation rules, and a removal process; do not present unverified values as current market facts.
“The project includes agent names and phone numbers.”
Apply data-protection requirements, minimize collection, restrict access, document lawful collection and transmission, and ask SMG what contractual controls are required.
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“SMG has not answered my API question.”
Do not substitute scraping. Pause collection, send a concise written brief, and request confirmation of the authorized interface, fields, retention, and reuse scope before proceeding.
Or skip the browser setup:
If your lawful task is to capture a page you are authorized to access—for example, documenting your own listing or an approved research view—ScreenshotNeo can return an image or PDF with one request. It accepts consent banners before capture and removes more than 60 known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets; those steps can be disabled individually. Bot checks, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits are not billed, and response headers identify the page verdict and billing result. Its MCP server provides take_screenshot, get_page_info, and capture_pdf tools for Claude, Cursor, and other MCP clients.
Read the ScreenshotNeo documentation for request options and authorization requirements. Example:
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://homegate.ch -o shot.webpimport requests
r = requests.get("https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot", params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://homegate.ch"}, timeout=90)
open("shot.webp", "wb").write(r.content)const q = new URLSearchParams({ access_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY', url: 'https://homegate.ch' });
const res = await fetch(`https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot?${q}`);The Free plan includes 1,000 screenshots per month with no card. Paid plans start at $5 for 3,000 shots, and every feature is included on every plan. Use it only within the permission and reuse limits that apply to the Homegate content. Create a free ScreenshotNeo account.
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Cost and operational planning
Budget for authorization, contract review, data validation, storage, privacy controls, monitoring, and support—not just HTTP requests. A cheaper crawler is not a compliant substitute for a licensed feed. If SMG offers a contracted interface, compare its fees and obligations with the cost of building and maintaining your own controls.
Source and date note
This explanation is based on SMG’s real-estate marketplace GTC, version 1 July 2026, the Homegate English disclaimer last updated 5 October 2010, and Homegate’s legal-information material. Terms and pages can change without notice; check the current documents and your contract before starting a project. Swiss law governs the contractual relationship between SMG and its customers under the GTC. This article describes the published terms, not how a court would decide every fact pattern.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Homegate publish a public listing API?
The reviewed official material mentions contractual technical interfaces but does not establish a public third-party listing API or an independent developer feed. Ask SMG for current availability and written scope.
Can I scrape Homegate for a university project?
Academic purpose does not itself override Section 7. Obtain written authorization that covers the fields, access method, retention, combination with other data, and publication.
Can ScreenshotNeo authorize me to reuse Homegate listings?
No. ScreenshotNeo captures pages; it does not grant rights to Homegate content. You still need permission from SMG and any other rights holders.
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