A new web site powered by Google advertising homes for rent and sale is aimed at taking business away from the property portals.>
thebigpropertylist.co.uk has just gone live and displays all Google’s properties as a listing rather than on a map.
Home hunters can search by postcode, property type, price or number of bedrooms.The site is the first to list properties from Google in the style of other property portals, like Rightmove – and the big difference for letting agents is price.
Agents can add properties for free by listing with Google.
thebigpropertylist.co.uk also accepts direct listings from sellers or landlords for £24.99.
“Estate agents fork out millions of pounds a year to advertise on nationwide sites,” says James Cole, the web site’s managing director.
“There will be no reason to do this anymore, with thebigpropertylist.co.uk and Google providing the same service, in a familiar style, for free.
“At thebigpropertylist.co.uk we do not have to justify how we have to charge the fees normally paid by estate agents to a portal, allowing us to focus totally on what the consumer wants.
“If we help people find the property they want, this results in better quality enquiries for estate agents. So what benefits the consumer benefits the agent.”
The web site gigves the industry the first litmus test to see what consumers want – to browse through listings or or map.
Commentators have talked down Google’s property service by claiming home hunters did not like the format.
Now portals like Rightmove and primelocation are toe-to-toe for the same business with thebigpropertylist – and the winner is likely to be the firm with the deepest pockets and biggest appetite for marketing to users.
The winners are likely to be consumers and agents – who will benefit from falling marketing costs.
Property News 24/7
If you have something to say about the residential lettings sector, tell us.