The property market is getting some new players. Not only have there been recent talks about Amazon joining the market, there are now also talks of social media platforms swooping in to challenge existing portals. Facebook dominated the social media sphere so who’s to say it cannot have the same impact on the property market? The introduction of social media platforms to the industry will disrupt the property market as we know it, but they aren’t willing to give up on what has been called a $27bn sleeping giant.
The shift has not yet taken place in the UK, but looking at trends from the US it but in the States three possible models emerged in a matter of days as social media wakes up to what has been called Facebook launched a trial of Dynamic Ads for Real Estate.
Get-to-know your neighbours website Nextdoor – better known for people in local communities to swap stuff, advertise school fundraising events and for local restaurants to advertise – has also launched into the market, and a platform called Punchbowl has released its Modern Stamp product.
This all happened last week.
The flurry of interest has happened after researchers said US realtors spend £26.8bn on advertising a year. So far, almost all of it is going the way of giant portals Zillow and Trulia.
Facebook’s Dynamic ads for Real Estate target Facebook and Instagram users who have already searched for properties on a realtor’s website.
Nextdoor is allowing realtors to create business pages on its platform.
Punchbowl’s Modern Stamp lets agents send messages intended to drive interest and engagement.
However, none of the models sounds quite right for the UK market.
However, Facebook has a strong presence in the UK, while Nextdoor merged with UK equivalent Streetlife earlier this year – and could be the one to watch.
In the States, Nextdoor has launched a dedicated section for people to list their property, while also allowing agents to advertise on business pages.
For the time being, it would seem that Zillow and Trulia (not to mention Rightmove, Zoopla and OnTheMarket) need not feel unduly troubled.
Guest post by Naomi Grant of Property Technology. Property Technology Ltd was founded in March 2016 to provide market leading estate agents with the best technology.
