How can agents get the most out of their property portal in 2017?
· 62% of people factor in portal usage when selecting an agent (Harris Interactive)
· Extra effort with images can generate 54% more leads (Kyero.com)
· 55% of visitors spend under 15 seconds on the websites they visit (Chartbeat)
Property portals are big business. Research by Harris Interactive found that 47% of the UK population used a property search website in the year to April 2016. Not only that, but 62% reported that the portals on which an agent advertises would be a factor in their selection of an agent when selling or letting their home.
Clearly, agents who are smart in their use of property portals stand to gain a great deal of business, both from those selling and letting their properties and from those looking to buy. As such, Spanish property portal Kyero.com, which lists more than 200,000 properties each month, has analysed buyer enquiries in depth in order to produce a list of quick wins for agents using property portals in 2017. The site’s newly updated agent dashboard is transparency in action.
Kyero.com’s Head of Research Richard Speigal comments,
“Agents who maximize their use of portals have a lot to gain. That maximization doesn’t have to be time consuming or difficult – usually it just means adjusting a couple of procedures. For a small investment of time, the benefits can be huge.”
Top tips for getting the most out of your property portal from Kyero.com
1. Presentation is key
According to Chartbeat, 55% of visitors spend under 15 seconds on the websites they visit. That’s not a lot of time for visitors to read detailed property descriptions! It will be a property’s images that initially capture a visitor’s attention, so agents should ensure that corners aren’t cut when it comes to photography. Quite simply, the best looking properties generate the most buyer enquiries. Kyero.com’s research has shown that agents who make the extra effort when it comes to imagery generate 54% more leads. That’s quite a result from paying a little extra attention to a few snaps!
2. Use data to your advantage
Property portals have access to a vast amount of data – on popular locations, buyer trends, average prices and more. Kyero.com invites all agents who list properties on the portal to use that data freely. Head of Research Richard Speigal explains how this is beginning to change the conversation between vendors and agents,
“Transparent, data-based reporting has had some interesting results in Spain. Many Spanish vendors had a difficult time adjusting to the property crash. They became wedded to unrealistically high prices and this cluttered the market with unsellable property. This left agents with a tough dilemma – if they were too honest on (low) pricing, vendors simply went to other agents who were prepared to give a higher valuation. Alternatively, if they priced too high, they were stuck with a stagnant portfolio they couldn’t sell.
“Being able to quote Kyero.com’s numbers about what was selling, in which areas and at what price, meant that all parties could be better informed. This kept negotiations realistic.”
3. Make conversation
Feedback from agents is an essential tool for operating a popular and easy-to-use property portal, according to the team at Kyero.com. Agents who want to get the most out of their portal in 2017 should let the portal know if they encounter any snags when listing properties, or have ideas about how things could work faster. No portal wants to make it difficult for agents to list properties, so agents who raise ideas for improvements are valuable to those who run the portal.
Kyero.com has incorporated user feedback into its newly launched agent interface. The results have been extremely well received thus far, with agents reacting positively to the changes.
4. Be clear and concise
Remembering how little time agents have to capture viewers’ interest online, it’s essential to be clear and concise when listing a property’s details. A good approach is to try and include all the headline features in the first two or three sentences of the description. If those features are exciting enough, the visitor may well read on.
As Kyero.com’s Richard Speigal advises,
“If you have a villa that has a spa, a wine cellar or a cinema room, be sure to shout about it early on in the description. Don’t bury it at the end of the copy or you may well have missed your chance to excite the viewer with that piece of information. Remember, too, that writing for the web should always be in short paragraphs and that bullet points are your friend when it comes to online audiences.”
5. Look at each listing with a buyer’s eyes
Finally, agents are advised to check over their listings with a buyer’s eyes. A surprising number of properties are not listed correctly when it comes to price, amenities, number of bedrooms, property type and so forth. If those details aren’t correct, fewer potential buyers will find that property online. Thus agents need to step into the buyer’s shoes and review their listings critically to ensure that every last detail is perfect.
For further details, visit www.kyero.com.