Property Place, the Facebook app for property sales, says it is recruiting at the rate of ten agents a day.
The firm’s founder, Sohail Rashid, had set out his stall by saying that the Property Place was open to both agents and private sellers and landlords.
But this week, he said that 100% of sales listings were from agents, and 90% of rentals were also supplied by agents.
The firm is currently offering capped rates of £50 per month for unlimited property uploads for the next two years, plus a price guarantee for the next three.
Rashid said: “We’ve had a phenomenal number of independent agents sign up.
“Facebook is a universal platform with over 30m users in the UK, and agents won’t have to employ specialist staff or replace resources to use Property Place as it is built on the globally used and recognised Facebook platform.
“We hope that our five-year guarantee demonstrates our intention of working with agents during what is going to be a tough period for the entire sector.”
Robert Ulph, managing director of Pennington Surveyors, which has signed up, said: “Property Place is the first genuinely viable alternative to the big players.
“Using Facebook’s social media platform is a brilliant idea. Isn’t this what we’ve all been waiting for? Vendors, landlords and tenants all use Facebook and this is the perfect marketing tool for us.”
Graham Kinnear, director at Milton Ashbury, a Kent-based estate agent, said: “The costs for Property Place are significantly less than the property portals are charging yet the potential reach of viewers could equal that of the established platforms.
“We were particularly impressed that you can select the type of buyer that is likely to be interested in the property. This feature is not available on any other internet marketing platform.
“In terms of its effectiveness, Property Place has very much helped with a three-bedroom Ramsgate property. We communicated with the potential buyers through the Facebook messaging service and felt that the process was straightforward.
“We received a response straight away and as a result had three viewings and received an offer of around £115,000 which, subject to proof of funding by the purchaser, will be accepted.”
Comments
This app has just over 100 active monthly users. I feel so sorry for any agent who signed up to this. Kiss that money goodbye.
My cat Timmy has been looking at your page.
"AceofSpades". Yes people will see properties on facebook - on the agents site, but not on a portal within facebook.
My recommendation to agents is spend the money on your own facebook pages and generating awareness for your business, not a portal that is far too generic to benefit any of you. Facebook is a PR tool to attract vendors, not a property search engine.
Actually 'aceofspades' I disagree, it is entirely relevant to ask Rashid to advise us agents what sort of budget he has and where he plans to advertise.
RM and Dig Prop Group announce their million pound TV campaigns, which are needed to generate customers to their websites. The same is true of Property Place in that without a colossal advertising spend it will otherwise be like us paying to advertise on a poster in Rashid's front room (or bedroom). This is a term used in the early days of the web where if you had a website and did not advertise it !
Rashid, tell us you're going to spend £25 on advertising out of every £50 you earn from agents in the first year and we may take notice.
well as I have said before, I'm on there and...
1, I didnt give him permission, Nor did my software provider.
2, I dont pay him a penny.
If you have money to burn. Mr Rashid will be happy to take it off you.
Quickbrit:
Your calcs are based upon a one-off payment. The £50 is a MONTHLY subscription...
Work it out again.
310 x 50 x 12;
280 x 50 x 11; and so on.
BIIIIIIG money...
Jealous? You should be...
10 x £50 x 365 = £182,500
And he gets to hang on Facebook all day? Cake.
Big Ted is right.
There is a right and a wrong way to use Facebook. It is for spreading good (and bad) stuff. Using it wrongly is counterproductive.
The idea is to get people (who are interested) to befriend and follow you. It has a name, permission marketing.
Done right it is very powerful, done wrong it is also very powerful, but in reverse.
I wonder how many agents, that are knocking this, actually have their own Facebook page!!! Nobody will ever look on Facebook for property! Really? I imagine alot of you thought people would never look on a computer for a property.
Lights out. All out. Weekend, welcome.
PAGE IN THE FACEBOOK FEDERATION MUST YOU HAVE.
NOT FOR RESPONSE IS IT. FOR BENEFIT YOUR SEO.
IF PROPERTY PLACES TRACTION FINDS, SHORT NANO-SECONDS FOR THE DEATH STAR TO COPY THEM WITH APPLICATION FROM THE DARK SIDE. THEN ADVANTAGE WHAT WILL HAVE PROPERTY PLACES. NONE, YOUNG PADAWAN. PACK UP YOUR BAGS. WISE FIGHTS ONLY PICK.
NO MATTER. ADVANTAGE NONE IS THERE FOR SETTING PROPERTY SEARCH WITHIN FACEBOOK. SOCIAL ACTIVITY IT IS NOT. CLEAN APPROACH OF THE DEATH STAR MORE EFFICIENT IS IT. WASTE NOT TIME WITTERING.
WISE BIG TED IS.
THE FORCE IS STRONG WITH THE DARK SIDE.
Thinking about it a bit more, this reminds of when the web first appeared. Some agents got themselves a web site. Other agents said 'what do we need a web site for - we advertise in the paper and people ring us up and go on our mailing list etc.' Within, what - 2 years - every agent had a web site.
Same will be true with Facebook. At the very least you will have a Facebook presence within 2 years.
And, as I said, one central Facebook based property portal makes perfect sense.
@Industry Observer
I'm about the same age as you - you're about to buy your first laptop - I've been working with computers from mainframes and terminals in the 70s.
But, in a sense, that isn't really relevant. I work in technology and I feel (I know) I'm being left behind.
My adult children think lap tops are so old fashioned - if they can't access on an iphone they are just not interested. I can't get interested in Facebook but it looks as though I going to have to - in technology you have to keep up.
It's easy to underestimate the sheer effectiveness of the 'connectedness' of social networks. I wouldn't be surprised to see Property Place (or whatever it is called) really gain traction over the next few years. I realise the portals have phone apps and they will move with the times - at the moment they spend a fortune on advertising to try to become the brand leader. Social networking will, to some extent, negate this and level the playing field. Then the industry wide resentment of paying such high fees may come home to roost with a mass exodus and a move to another platform.
My adult kids do everything on facebook - find about gigs and buy tickets, find out about clothes and buy them - there is the massive 'have you seen this' ... 'check this out' thing going on - with links to Facebook pages. Even major brands now advertise on the box and point people to their page on Facebook, not to their own web site.
In a way it was inevitable - it's all slowly consolidating ... one search engine - Google - one place to buy consumer goods - Amazon - one place to find information - Wikipedia - and one place to do everything else - Facebook. And Facebook are muscling in on all the other areas - fast.
It's not much of a leap from every Estate Agent having a Facebook page (you do have one?) and every agent having a Facebook page that points to one Property Portal. Dead efficient - fraction of the costs of other portals outside Facebook. It all seems inevitable to me.
It is not how people use Facebook. They don't go on it to search for property (or cars, or insurance or double glazing etc).
They go on there for "social" reasons and, if you pester them with commercial bumpf, watch how quick they unfriend you and spread that message.
You need followers not punters to punt to.
Get Real - Why? PP are under no obligation to publicly release their marketing budget to every man and his dog.
If you were GENUINELY interested, I believe you would have spoken to them already and asked where they will be advertising (not how much cash - thats none of your business). I suspect you're not interested, so your purpose now comes down to just trying to kick up a fuss.
I have never heard of an instance where the subject matter MUST respond to a (consequence-free) ultimatum, or else people will stop debating them. You, and everyone else, have chosen to write on here today.
Shipside's Amphitheatre:
Nice to see that your quality of comment is flying as low on the mast as usual...
@ Industry Observer & PeeBee :
Get a room FFS.
We never did get an answer from Rashid (the founder of PropertyPlace) on the following.....
Ok lets give him the founder of Property Place one last chance to convince us to spend anymore time on debating the worth or worthlessness of his portal.
Please answer this one question;
How much money are you spending this calendar year on consumer advertising?
Please list by budget per medium, eg online (inc paid for facebook ads), press, TV, Radio, PR (oops).
Agents can then make their own minds up about whether this is a place to be listed on.
@PeeBee
Must admit I have tended to focus more on LAT as my interest as confessed previously is as a specialist lettings only merchant.
But I did also have an email problem making receipt of the two circulars tricky for a few weeks.
Nice to exchange again. I have to say I am eternally grateful to dave as people used to criticise me usually for being too negative (your goodself excepted Sir!) but now whenever he sticks his head above the parapet he draws fire nicely!!!
Is this the Rashid bloke that said he hates Estate agents.
Industry Observer: "...where have you been this year so far? Extended world cruise I trust and not serious illness or family problems?"
Well hello to you also, Siree! None of the above - in fact I have been more 'vocal' on the site since the New Year arrived than probably at any time since I first posted some four years ago, I seem to recall... See Mr Hendry's last 'blog' entry and you'll see what I mean...
You just obviously ain't reading my posts anymore, sniff, sniff... :'o(
That said, I DID threaten to never again darken the threshold of the site a few days ago. Posts (and posters) are becoming a pitifully unfunny joke. WWIII would bring less hostility, methinks.
I'm still on the fence. I'm almost thinking that those who want this to be 'Agents Only' should get their wish. If that be the case, I'd still read the site daily - I just wouldn't be able to comment. A fair trade, I reckon.
We will see.
In the meantime, look forward to our continued agreement; disagreement - but nevertheless amicable bantering! ;o)
@PeeBee
Nice to see you back old friend where have you been this year so far? Extended world cruise I trust and not serious illness or family problems?
@POTW
Forgive me this comment and I only make it because I detected what I thought was exasperation in your post, but I feel sorry for you it must be terrible to have a family so Facebook obsessed.
As you will gather I just don't get it and 140 characters or whatever on Twitter would never do me either!! I lost any remote interest I had in it the day 200,000 followed Stephen Fry being stuck in a lift!!
But the point on numbers and people using Facebook is interesting and though this old dog never will (just about to buy my first laptop at 61 years young!!) it is the obsession with it that maybe, just maybe poses a small threat to Right Move.
I've never seen the point of Facebook and to a degree always thought it dangerous in terms of reliance on it by users and the details displayed (not to mention the apparent impossibility almost of getting stuff you now regret removed).
But if it does for RM then I'm a convert!!
For a large city close by, Property Place appears to have listings for only two agents. With thousands of properties currently available, PP has less than 150
One of those agents ceased trading over two years ago, so the chances of any of those listed being current properties seems remote, to say the least..
eddie: ' Be honest who will ever look for a property on Facebook.'
There speaks the most out of touch person in the estate agency business.
A significant number of people live their lives on Facebook - and it's not just kids. My wife, my wife's sisters, my 63 year old brother ... half the people I know spend their lives with a netbook or laptop in front of them with Facebook open.
Does anyone know a way of getting these PP pratts to stop emailing and phoning me? How many times do we have to say "No!" ?
Talk about overkill....
It's. a. stupid. idea.
Give it up.
WRONG ARE THOSE THAT SAY BUYERS OR TENANTS ARE NOT ON FACEBOOK. WHOLE WORLD ON FACEBOOK IS SOON, CHANGING ARE FORCES ON INTERNET.
BUT WRONG ALSO ARE THOSE THAT CONFUSE FACEBOOK FOR RESPONSE ENVIRONMENT. NOT IT IS. ENVIRONMENT FOR SHARING, CHATTING, PHOTOS, GOSSIP AND FRIENDS IS IT. COMMERCE OR PROPERTY SEARCH ACTIVITIES NOT STRONG THIS MEDIUM IN.
BUYING AND RENTING INHERENTLY SOCIAL ACTIVITIES ARE NOT. MATTERS VERY PRIVATE ARE THEY, BAD FIT HENCE IS THIS.
OVER THE RIGHTMOVE DEATH STAR, WHERE ALL PROPERTIES ARE LISTED IN EASIER ENVIRONMENT TO SEARCH, NOTHING THIS PROPOSITION ADDS. MUCH LESS IT HAS INDEED. DOOMED IS IT.
WISE ACE OF SPADES IS. SIZE OF THE FACEBOOK FEDERATION ISSUE IS NOT. DISCOVERABILITY OF DISTANT PROPERTY PLACE STAR WITHIN LARGE GALAXY THE CRUX IS.
PR ADVICE IN LAST WEEKS THIS YOUNG JEDI HAS NOW TAKEN WELL. CAREFUL CHANGE IN HIS POSITIONING AND PROMOTION OF AGENTS NOT PRIVATE LISTINGS NOTICE.
THE FORCE IS WEAK.
My cat Timmy has a facebook account.
Glasgow, Do not, for God's sake, do NOT think this is going to tackle Rightmove, it's not.
Others have much more financial backing (and an ACTUAL presence amongst their target audience) and have been unable to take a lead on RM.
If you are using this for that reason, then you had better smell the coffee sooner rather than later.
I know for a fact that the majority of the properties they are advertising on the site in my areas were sold ages ago. Moreover many of the agents who are on there have NOT instructed PP to market on their behalf. What they display is for the most part NOT available to purchase, it is misleading and could be viewed poorly by trading standards. When PP called me requesting I join them I gave them a piece of my mind. How dare they set up a site falsely using material that was not supplied to them contractualy and more importantly riding on the hard work of all agents concerned. They have since removed all my properties as requested and I suggest others ishould check the site and if your experience is like mine insist they take down the sold stock without delay.
So you are all happy for Rightmove to screw you and put your prices up every 6 months???
This could be a real shift away from Rightmove, we have signed up and are getting some good valuations from it. Hopefully we can say F8ck off to Rightmove soon !!!
It's a bit backwards to assume that 'Facebook users' are not serious buyers. The concept is good. I bet the average time spent per person on Facebook per day must be quite staggering.
If someone is offering a decent property service within Facebook, it will get hits. My concern is that the Facebook public that they bang on about, simply do not know it exists.
I have seen no marketing of this through agents, public or Facebook itself. Nothing. In fact, EAT is my only means of keeping informed of this app. That's pretty poor.
But, still, it is naive to assume that just because this exists within Facebook, it won't work. Long term, I think it's actually going to be the opposite. There is so much more to Facebook now; imagine what will change in a years time.
I agree with eddie - what house buying member of the general public is a serious facebook user? Or possible the opposite question is more important - what facebook user is a serious buyer?
And FTB has a major point - facebook requires that you have friends. Estate Agents do not have friends.
(makes a sound like Zoidberg) wup wup wup wup wup
Wildest estimates are that there are 14,000 estate agents in the UK.
So at 10 a day this should keep them going for about 4 more years!!
Never work for agents, you need friends.
Yet another advertising feature disguised as news.
they offered me this at £100 per month then £75 a Month now its £50 a month, real car sales tactics. Be honest who will ever look for a property on Facebook.