Which Website Should I Use to List and Sell My Property?
There was a little controversy stirred up by my recent blog on whether Newspaper Advertising is a Dead Duck, well Nielsen Online reports that in 2009 traffic to real estate websites increased by 40-50%. The big losers were the newspapers. If your agent is relying on newspaper advertising to bring you all the buyers they are making a mistake. You must make sure your property is promoted in the newspapers but if your North Shore home is not listed on one of the major property websites it is not on the market!
So which websites should you list your North Shore home on? Well before we start, here’s a tip; Real estate companies are constantly upgrading their websites, so make sure you are running the latest version of your internet browser! So here’s my opinion on which websites to list and sell your home! Click on the links to view these websites before making your decision.
The Top 6 websites are
trademe.co.nz, with over 1,000,000 visitors each month;
realestate.co.nz, with 437,000
harcourts.co.nz, with 192,000 visitors
open2view.co.nz, with 120000 visitors each month.
barfoot.co.nz and bayleys.co.nz with 100000 each.
If your property is being marketed on another website, one not listed above, your property is likely getting little if any on line traffic.
Some agents will tell you they can list your property many websites or all of the websites. The right strategy is to be on the right websites. Here is another really interesting article on choosing the right website!
Trademe.co.nz:
This is the website that gets the most buyers, and the one the smaller agents and private sellers list property on.
It gets much less international traffic than the other websites, as trademe.co.nz is not so well known outside New Zealand.
The opening or “landing” page has no properties advertised and no pictures, and personally, I don’t think it is very attractive and user friendly.
To get to the property listings you need to search around first and get past a lot of advertising for associated property services, like mortgages, banks and insurance companies.
It is expensive, as it costs $249 to advertise.
It is a very popular place for private sellers to advertise.
There are two real issues for me, firstly it is not maintained well, frequently you will find the same property being advertised several times, sometimes at different prices. These duplicates are confusing and result from the listers usually being less professional than those working for larger companies.
Secondly, Trademe default lists by the most recent listing, and publishes the date the property was listed. This means it is easy to find the oldest listings, and astute buyers quickly understand how long the property has been on the market. In a quick look I found dozens of properties listed over 12 months ago, these listings are stale and are devaluing not only the listed property but other listings as well.
I do not recommend that sellers advertise on trademe, but it is a good place to find a bargain!
Realestate.co.nz
This is the most comprehensive site, and lists most, if not all, the licensed agents properties in New Zealand, and almost 450000 people visit each month.
It is a clean, well organised site and related party advertising does not intrude. Property advertising takes centre stage,
The site is well maintained, with few duplications, and it is freeeeee. Sellers can promote their property with featured property advertising for $250.00, which will multiply the number of visitors sometimes up to 10x!
It is exclusively for homes for sale, business and rural properties are on different websites
The big advantage is the number of offshore buyers looking at New Zealand property on realestate.co.nz, and this is because of realestate.co.nz’s “Search Engine Optimisation” which is very effective. This means that an astute agent, using the right keywords on your realestate.co.nz property listing, can ensure that your property features on the front page of a Google search in your suburb or property category. If your agent does not know about realestate.co.nz, keywords and Google searches, they don’t know how to market your property online; don’t employ them to sell your property.
OPen2View
Open2View is amazing. Their Opening page is, in my opinion is a little ordinary, but features property for sale and nothing else. Hopefully they will smarten up their landing page soon! There are no advertisements for any other services, just property. They have 120000 visitors a month and have strong links to Australia and the United States where this little kiwi winner has established many photography franchises.
Open2View specialises in real estate photography and uploads them to their website which has a strong following. Their front page features virtual tours, and interactive house plans, along with links to Australia, so there is plenty of opportunity for your property to be seen. With combined photography, a great website, easy search-ability on Google with links to the major property websites, Open2View is great value.
The major real estate company websites are Harcourts, Barfoot and Thompson and Bayleys. If your property is listed with any other company, especially a small boutique agency, it has a greatly reduced chance of being found on the internet. Some of the very small agencies have no websites or very limited web presence, and it is possible your property is not to be found on the internet at all. There should be no cost for listing your property on a company owned website.
Harcourts is the largest of the company owned websites with 200000 visitors a month, from all over the planet. With offices throughout New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, you know that when you list with Harcourts you can be assured your property is getting great exposure on the internet. The Harcourts website is, in my opinion, the cleanest looking with property taking centrestage. You can choose to feature your property on the front page of the website and you can also add a customised website for your property.
The biggest issue with Barfoot and Thompson, is that their website is not well known outside Auckland. If you want exposure outside the Auckland area and overseas then Barfoot and Thompson may not be your best choice.
Bayleys are better known around New Zealand and overseas, but with only 100000 visitors each month you might be better choosing a bigger company and getting more exposure. When you open their site you see an advertisement for a bank, and not a property, which is not great.
Harcourts Luxury Portfolio is a specialist website for luxury homes around the world. If your home is a cut above the rest and you need world wide exposure, then the Luxury Portfolio Fine Property Collection® is the answer. Luxury Portfolio’s award-winning website was launched in 2005 and in its first year featured more $1 million-plus residences than other luxury real estate organizations and has grown to over 15,000 of the world’s most remarkable homes and attracts over 1.2 million high-net-worth visitors a year.
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2 comments
Tony,
An excellent and very detailed analysis. I just want to be clear on one thing as the CEO of Realestate.co.nz website. It is not actually Free!
The business model for Realestate.co.nz is we charge each licensed real estate office $200 + GST per month to use the site for unlimited listings. The majority of offices and companies chose to not on-charge this cost to their clients. That is their choice, however I think it is really important for people to understand that the costs for the service of the website have to be paid in some form – nothing comes for free. Well great referrals do come for free and for that a big thanks!!
Thanks Alistair, what great value!
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