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Can Google steal the UK's property search business?
All the chatter, today, is about this... reports of Google cozying up to UK estate agents with a view to launching property search in the UK. Could it happen? It's happened in Australia, so yes. Should Rightmove, Primelocation et al panic? No. Google knows the search game better than anybody else, sure, but property search is a very specialised business, subtly culturally different from country to country (and particularly culturally "different" here in the UK). For it to work, it needs the support of the larger estate agents, and it's hard to imagine UK agents - having waited out an agonizing slump and ready to capitalize on what might turn out to be a recovery - pulling their listings off tried-and-tested high-traffic portals to get behind newcomers-in-cargo-pants. That's certainly not what's happened in Australia.
Technorati Tags: property, real estate, Web, Web2, web2.0 Comments
"and it's hard to imagine..." No its not, Google could do it for free and make the money on ads.
We are in the position where the market leader still cannot display property on a map for the majority of the uk, and has a web site that looks more than a little 1990's. You only have to look at a newcomer like globrix to see where the future is. Rightmove has sat on its heels basking in glory for far too long.
Posted by steve at
December 3, 2009 8:03 PM
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Posted by clare at
December 4, 2009 8:10 AM
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We are www.propertyportalwatch.com have been watching the move of Google into the Australian market closely. Since entering the market in July, there has been alot of noise but not much substance. Yes the maps.google.com.au site has listings on it however it is not going close to challenging the market leader realestate.com.au.
In fact, since the Google launch, realestate.com.au has increased traffic from 4.6m to 5.4m unique visitors as well as increasing its share price by 50+%.
For more information, check out our thoughts at www.propertyportalwatch.com.
Posted by Simon at
December 4, 2009 8:27 AM
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I think it is a good thing for UK estate agents who don't like to do 80% of their business with expensive property portals. It is good to have a free alternative but I think it will take a couple of year before we see something really happening
http://www.sextantproperties.com
Posted by Matthieu at
December 6, 2009 9:40 PM
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I have played with the Australian version, and I honestly think it is a game changer.
It is free, it is open to both estate agent and private sellers, and in time, Google will work it into their mobile platform, general searches - you name it.
Oh, and PropertyPortalWatch - in the area I searched, almost all the major agents were there and listed.
Right Move would be right to be nervous.
Posted by Clive at
December 7, 2009 11:44 AM
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Agents will love it and it'll take time for the public to know about it and use it sufficiently to make a dent in Rightmove's figures. But over time Google will gradually will be a, if not, the major player in the property market.
http://www.wheresmyproperty.com
Posted by Mark at
December 9, 2009 2:56 PM
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