Factors for Realtors to Consider when Using Online Property Searches

Suddenly, there’s an influx of property websites that’s bursting in the scene lately; (Yes and you’ll even get phone calls from operators to paste your listing in their website, let’s not mention names). The competition is that stiff.

Is there an exact winner to all the Realtor’s marketing needs? Just one that fits all? Currently in Singapore, there are a few that are vying for the top spot with one another. Some aren’t even just doing real estate (sites like ST701, Mocca), but they’re being really aggressive in promoting their viewer ship and advertisers with them.

Indefinitely, there’ll be one ultimate winner that will be charging for listing any properties with them. What’s my concern when I pick a website to list my listings? Before we begin the shootout reviews for the properties site, let’s take a look at some of the factors we’re considering.

Ease of Listing

The steps needed to list my property. The steps should be pretty self explanatory and we shouldn’t need to refer to their FAQ to add my listing in. Standard procedures like registration, email validation and then adding the property should be easy.

Additional steps or validation from operators before use is wasting of precious time.

Cost of Placing Advertisement

Currently most of the property sites allow advertising to be free as most are trying to boost their readership/ viewer ship and traffic. Once the dogfight ends between the sites, I’ll like to know would it be expensive to put in ads to push my properties.

With such competition at this moment, Realtors should take this advantage to try out all the sites and see which is effective for their marketing needs.

Functions and Aesthetics

Are there extra functions in the property search site? Say maybe after I add my listing, it displays a map and shows the location, shows the nearest MRT, restaurants and amenities nearby. Or maybe even an sms function for you to contact the Owner or Agent of the prospective property? These are bonus functions that a listing site could have.

Also important is the aesthetics of the website, whether is it attractive and ergonomically easy for people to browse and find what they want.

Traffic/ Viewer ship

This, everyone would agree would be the most important element to anything else. Sure you could argue that if you use every property search websites available to list, you’ll get the maximum exposure. I’d say as long as you have good viewership and have a niche over any other property search website, you stand to gain the most market share, just like SgCarmart for used cars in Singapore.

We’ll review to see which is topping up the traffic chart in the shootout issues that I have in mind.

Authenticity of Target Audience

Ah, please don’t get some people to call us when we list somewhere. No names, but I’ve heard of cases where Realtors actually paid for some online listings, and towards the expiry of the list, the company actually got someone to give them a call to ‘generate interest’.

The authenticity of the general target is important.

Speed / Server Load

If a site loads slow, it’ll be out of the question to use them if the database is massive. Though this is really a secondary issue, we’d generally prefer a fast loading site.

Support

Is there a number for us to call if we face account issues? Email support? Ticket support? How about when we list something wrongly and would like to edit them? Is it easy? Or is there someone waiting to solve any of our problems?

We’ll begin the shootout with Myoochi, a Singapore Property Search site.

Myoochi, How will you Fair?
Myoochi, how will you fair? ;)

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