Story & photo by Jacqueline Salvador-Marvida
PROPERTY24 is a real-estate portal business under the Naspers Group, which provides buyers powerful online search tools with large selection of real estate available locally. The portal helps companies and licensed individuals in the business of selling or leasing residential properties. Property24 connects with serious buyers looking for realty investments or searching for the perfect home. Present in 10 countries with their headquarters in Cape Town in South Africa, Property24 is a key player in the industry and it has been two years in the Philippine market.
The growth was significant, with the help of a nonprofit organization like Pareb (Philippine Association Real Estate Board),comprises of consultants, appraisers, assessors, brokers and salespersons and Re/Max Capital that focus on developing brokers/agents who are adept on the local market demands. With all the essentials available, the Property24 portal is a very effective platform for the buyers to look for legitimate properties in the market.
On the other hand, OLX (Originally stood for “Online Exchange”) is the most popular online and mobile classified company, which is also under the Naspers Group. OLX empowers people across the globe to connect and share goods, services through its free, fast and vibrant buy-and-sell platform, available in more than 45 countries. It connects local people to buy, sell exchange used goods and services for anyone to post a listing through their mobile phone or on the Web. OLX is an online marketplace that has a wide array of products and services available to the consumer that updates real time.
The power of two
Property24, top property portal and OLX, the country’s leading classifieds platform, merging means taking it to the next level with their efforts to establish a premier real-estate access that promises to be the most effective avenue for buyers and sellers to achieve their real-estate needs. The collaboration between the two means that Property24 listings are now searchable on OLX.
For property sellers, the partnership means unparalleled reach, as their market widens—giving them a stronger online presence in the real-estate market, for property buyers and renters, this means access to more options as they search for a property that suits their preference. Buyers will be able to identify Property24 listings through a badge. In this way, the partnership offers their communities the benefits of the “Power of Two”.
“Even if Property24 is a global brand, we’ve always made sure that our local initiatives are context-sensitive. This sync is beneficial to both since it will strengthen the real-estate industry in the country,” Property24 General Manager Leon Van Onselen said.
“This synergy is definitely a step in the right direction,” confirmed Property24 Country Manager Steve Santos. “Our data show a dramatic increase in our online community since we launched Property24 in 2014. This is reflective of the positive trend that the local real-estate sector has continued to experience, and we are optimistic that this will continue in the next few years.”
“We’re constantly looking for innovative ways to make communication better between buyers and sellers on Property24. This is definitely a good start and we will continue to improve the user experience on our portal,” Santos added.
Giancarlo Bonsel, OLX general manager, said, “People who go to OLX usually have clear intentions to purchase. As property is one of the biggest commodities found on our platform, the synergy can help property agents and developers generate stronger leads that can help them meet their business needs. Through this, we’re giving breadth and security to both buyers and sellers and, in return, we enhance the OLX business, making it a win-win exchange. Its synergy definitely exceeds the sum of its parts. Your dream home is just one click away!”
Image credits: Jacqueline Salvador-Marvida