Global Trends Influence Update of # 1 Real Estate Website
New Zealand’s most visited real estate group website, http://www.harcourts.co.nz/ this week launched its latest update in line with global trends observed by Harcourts International Ltd’s Chief
Information Officer, Jason Wills.
On his return from an international internet real estate conference held in the US late last year, Mr Wills noted
several global trends which Harcourts was integrating as part of its online strategy. He said a panel of leading CEOs
predicted online advertising was due to exceed print spend by 2009, and also noted that 70 percent of buyers were now
visiting websites first to search for properties, versus 30 percent using traditional mediums.
As well as a new ‘look’ to www.harcourts.co.nz, new features such as expanded search options were a response to a survey
of 10,000 Harcourts clients in late 2004 which found around 50 percent of visitors were searching for property to buy,
around 25 percent were searching for comparative property value information, and around 25 percent for searching for
offices/consultants to contact. Other issues of importance to website visitors were including as much information as
possible on property listings, a full service real estate company, and an easy to use site.
With consistently now over 500,000 visitors a month to www.harcourts.co.nz, and around 50 percent of those from
overseas, the site also provided a ‘change language’ option on the front page with eight of the most common languages
based on site visitor origins.
Mr Wills noted that the public’s well-known “love affair with property” also meant providing more industry information
in order for them to confidently make well-informed property decisions. This was particularly important for overseas
buyers who were keen to learn as much as possible about the local market. As a result Harcourts’ popular online
‘Newsroom’ which included news releases and specialist market and client newsletters was now accessible from the front
page of the website.
Mr Wills said as well as considering the implication of coming trends, the focus was still on delivering an exceptional
experience to website visitors in order to better meet increasingly sophisticated needs and wants of today’s time-poor
consumers.
more…
Global Trends Influence Update of # 1 Real Estate Website cont…
Harcourts' ongoing lead in the highly competitive 'e-real estate' revolution has seen it retain its number one spot as
the most visited real estate group website in the country for a number of years. With a long-term commitment to leading
edge industry technology, Harcourts was also the first major real estate group in the country to launch a property
website in 1996.
Mr Wills said previous research visits to the United States and Australia found visitors wanted to complete most of
their real estate research online before picking up the phone or inspecting property. Four years ago, Harcourts expanded
its site to include additional information such as street address, rates, interior/exterior features, and up to six
photos of the property, which then evolved to 12 photos.
Mr Wills said the latest innovations continued to be a win-win for both sellers and buyers, with sellers knowing their
property was listed on a top website, and buyers enjoying extensive information on each listing.
"The days of driving around in a car viewing house after house are gone. When people are ready to actually go out and
visit a property now, they already know it will suit their needs having researched a number of options online.”
…ends