NAEA portal set to launch next Tuesday

I guess both sides of the debate on the naea website are correct. For those who are already naea members the new portal will indeed be free, but for those who are not it cannot be said to be free. We found a portal called PropertyFoyer.com that is truly free. It is a very basic, no-frills website but it has all the search and other functionality that one needs. We have been getting some leads from PropertyFoyer.com, not a deluge, just a few. We have been noticing more and more agents appearing on it so I guess the leads can only increase. It may appeal to other small independents who are not naea members, or indeed it may even be worthwhile for naea members to register and upload a few properties just as an insurance police to keep the naea honest and on the straight and narrow.

• 12 October 2008 10:30 AM

I really hope Property Live is fully supported by Agents and forces Rightmove to stop ripping off the smaller independent agents with their rediculous fees! BUT the only way it will really compete with the likes of Rightmove, Primelocation etc is if serious money is spent by the NAEA on promoting it nationally in press/tv etc to Joe Public! We agents need to promote it but the NAEA must not solely rely on Agents as unfortunately promotion by Agents alone doesn't really work (Homelink being a classic example)

• 10 October 2008 05:44 AM

I think it's important that everyone note that 'free' websites that do not have a business model will not survive. So sure, everyone likes to have their cake and eat it too, but in order to really create value for advertisers there must be a solid return from the spend.

Part of the problem we have at Zoomf, and it is a similar problem at the other Web 2.0 players, is that agents do not have proper tracking in place. The majority of the tangible value we provide to agents is click thru from a user looking at a particular property. So the question becomes, 'what happens after the click thru?' It's something we've tried to discuss on our blog and something we try to push forward with the software vendors and the agents themselves. If you cannot track what happens to clicks you get from various sources (google, zoomf, nestoria, globrix, etc) then you are completely in the dark as to the real return for your spend. I think it's time that agents also take some responsibility for getting your reporting in place. The internet is the most trackable media ever created, you should be using that to your advantage. And if your response to 'tracking' is a big question mark, you should lean on your technical resources to assist you with how you can measure your return. The rest of the 3.5 billion pound industry that is online advertising in the UK relies heavily on tracking, and so should the property sector.

• 10 October 2008 12:38 PM

Some know of my public withdrawl from Rightmove 30 Sept.Underhandedly,three times they 'hid'a 60% hike in fees if I rejoined after a brief business-saving payment holiday.'Leaving meeting' followed - they tried to pass off later version contract as the one I had signed.They waived my notice period (see D21) then reneged next day. They claimed no knowledge of a 'reconnection' fee (E 9)shifty! trevor@trevorkent.com

• 10 October 2008 11:48 AM

As a President Elect of the NAEA, chairman of HomeLink but, as an estate agent with my own estate agency business first and foremost; I am delighted that property professionals now have a free, cutting edge portal to advertise their customers’ properties on and, that will link back to their own companies’ website. I am also delighted that HomeLink, the UK's longest established and largest referral network for professional agents is to be made free to all NAEA and ARLA members. It's a tough market out there but as Nick Salmon so rightly says above, we need to grab opportunities and make the most of them when they arise. See you all on PropertyLive.co.uk and in HomeLink soon?!

• 10 October 2008 10:58 AM

Don't get too excited. Homelink was a damp squib - this one is going to be a white elephant!

• 10 October 2008 10:48 AM

Hi All, At INEA we have now got one if not of the best subbing systems out there. There are a few free places left. Our software now flys allowing you to market your listings, for sub agents to pick them up and drop them into their templates. New updates came through from software yesterday and its brillient. Weve also been talking to Globrix and aim to live feed to them shorty. INEA must now be the ultimate in subbing software. So for all of you older agents who valued the power of subbing out, weve replicated it to perfection. Weve also yesterday had auto slides added to tyhe site which also has music to its background. www.inea.co.uk

• 10 October 2008 10:43 AM

thebusiness.com is delighted to support PropertyLive, being the only product offering agents automatic uploading of all their properties to all the main portals including PropertyLive from next week. To activate your free account visit www.thebu2iness.com

• 10 October 2008 10:39 AM

ALL AGENTS. You don't have to immediately pull off Rightmove or any other portal but get behind Property Live and you'll be on a portal that is owned by professional agents for professional agents. Stop promoting the paid-for portals, tell clients and applicants that Property Live is THE portal to be on, put the Property Live logo in your windows and on your advertising - and we'll create an independent, powerful, free advertising media that is not concerned with returns to shareholders, only in giving value to its customer base. This is a fantastic opportunity for the industry. GRAB IT!

• 10 October 2008 09:43 AM