Property portals: aren’t they all the same?
The Big Four – Rightmove, Zoopla, OnTheMarket and Boomin’ – are excellent at delivering properties for sale and to rent but you’d be wide of the mark to think they’re all the same. As well as displaying different properties, they offer a variety of resources to both home movers and agents. Here are some points worth exploring:
Boomin: owning the social space
The newcomer to the portal scene is definitely not old hat when it comes to digital marketing and brand exposure. As well as an aggressive TV advertising campaign, Boomin is embracing all online channels in its quest to own the social media space. The portal says it is already pulling ahead when it comes to YouTube, moving the estate agency sector outside its comfort zone with the help of celebrities and influencers.
Of course, traffic to its main website is the ultimate aim but in terms of building a brand, Boomin’s 26,000 YouTube subscribers is reportedly double the number of ‘all the other property portals combined’. The figure is being helped along by a number of collaborative property videos – ‘Inside Behzinga’s New Dream House’ has more than 1.6 million views alone. There’s also a ‘play’ tab on Boomin’s website, which takes browsers to an Instagram-inspired gallery of home and interior images for added value.
Rightmove: love it? List it
As well as being the leading portal for home movers and the publisher of highly anticipated asking price indexes, Rightmove has introduced a new feature within its MyRightmove account facility. The new ‘list’ function is designed to help potential buyers and renters organise their saved properties – a godsend if numerous homes are hard to keep track of.
Registered users are now able to create and name multiple lists, and save properties to where it’s most appropriate directly from the search page. Phase two of the new function will allow lists to be created by more than one person, so multiple people can review, edit and shortlist properties.
Satisfying curiosity at Zoopla
Knowing what your home is worth is a national obsession and while all of the major portals can provide people with an estimated (but informed) valuation, nothing is more accurate than a boots on the ground visit from a local estate agent, which can take time if staff are not immediately available.
Zoopla, however, provides rough instant valuations with nothing more than a property address. Simply input the details, press a button and you’re given an [often wide] price range within seconds. There is a data capture form to populate if you want to see a more accurate estimate, but the price range is usually enough to whet the appetite of those thinking of selling up (and the plain nosey).
Appealing to the tech savvy at OnTheMarket
Sellers who choose agents listing with OnTheMarket will have access to a fresh take on one of the industry’s oldest ways of promoting property. The portal has signed an exclusive deal with Kremer Signs, so OnTheMarket’s full-paying agents received 15 free QR code slips per branch for their ‘for sale’ signs, as well as a hefty discount on additional slips ordered.
Incorporating a digital lead generator into an item of printed marketing collateral dials into consumers’ confidence in QR codes. Having been a default way to check in to venues during the pandemic, the digital technology that was on the periphery more than a decade ago has become mainstream. Passers-by who scan the board’s QR code are taken directly to the OnTheMarket listing, so there’s no need to physically search for a property or filter large volumes of results.
If you enjoy property natter and market round ups, contact the Viewber HQ team. As experts in our field, we’re only too happy to chat about the latest industry news, proptech developments and ways of making everyday agency life more efficient and enjoyable.
