Realestate.com.au has put the foot down on real estate agents that do not place images with listings telling them that on Monday, April 4th 2005 it will become mandatory to have at least one image with every type of listing.
Here is a comment received by email:
“We are encouraging agents to use our site more effectively and essentially improve the content and usefulness of the site to our visitors and in turn drive more enquiry to their properties”.
Douglas McNestrie
Agent Content Specialist
This should be viewed as a great thing. Forcing agents to do this will also help agents to understand the growing demands of consumers.
Case in point: During December 2004 I was looking for a new apartment to live (rental) in & around Bondi Beach in Sydney NSW.
Going to sites to search for these listings was an absolute pain in the backside. I not only found that many listings had no photos. Even when I went to the agents own website, hoping for more information there were no images to be found. Not good enough and makes everything so much more time consuming.
Here is a response from one agent: “Peter, thank you for your enquiry, we do not have any images for this property, but I can arrange a time to meet with you to show you through if you like, regards…….
Now this was not good, this is the Internet age and I want relevant information, why waste my time and just as importantly staff time showing properties to people that may hate the property as soon as they walk in the front door?
The best way to do this is to provide as much information as possible, that will generate interest for the property and lead to better quality leads. That is the way to advertise online in the Internet age.
If you provide all the relevant information then your enquiries will look more like this: “Property looks great, can you please arrange a time that suits and I will meet you there, you can call me on …….”
Now that is a high quality lead.
Rental Notes: This is the one area that is dramatically short on images. My advice to agents is that if you cannot get inside the property, get an outside shot and store it for future reference.
Summary: If having the power to do this (realestate.com.au) results in better quality listings then this is a good thing. I would encourage realestate.com.au in the future to take this further. Possibly house and land size, feature lists!
Cautionary Note: Many agents will simply upload logos, but there is a way that software could be written that would recognise this and these could end up being rejected.
Peter,
Great news from http://www.realestate.com.au asking for images for all advertise4d properties.
However as a customer or prospective purchaser looking for properties to buy and using the realestate.com.au site as my main searching place I am still totally frustrated by the practice that is still allowed where sunject properties have no price and no full address and legal description to identify the property.
I am a shopper with little time to waste. Before I even get interested in a property I need to know what price is asked and the location of it!
I do not want to waste my time ringing or emailing Land Agencies to fine out this imporatant information.
Jenman Agents especially use this tact! Totally frustrating to the point that I do not bother these properties advertised as such.
Full disclosure (eg price & address) in internet advertising needs to be a standard implemented ASAP. I emailed realestate.com.au asking these direct questions. Their reply was the customer eg Land Agencies advertising have the right to include or exlude asking price & address.
Well what the customers who are buyers???
What realestate.com.au needs to realise is if the prospective purchaser customer who ends up buying a property from say a realestate.com.au internet advert is getting frustrated by agents who are simply after names & contact details from enquries generated from these priceless & addressless adverts and really not advertsing the subject property properly on behalf of the vendor. A total scam I say.
Vendors need to wise up quickly to this practice and realestate.com.au needs to indroduce better advertsing standards for all customers concerned.
May be if agents continue this practice it could be a revenue spinner for realestate.com.au by charging more for these types of fishing adverts placed with subject properties having no price and no full address.
Wake up realestate.com.au!?
John, I can empathise with you. I am sure all portals would like this to be implemented.
Trouble is each state governs the laws by which agents have to abide. Some agents believe that by not advertising addresses and prices, you will be forced to contact them. I am with you and see this as a frustration.
Some do not advertise this information at the wishes of the vendor.
My advice is to push your local representative to take some action if you feel strongly enough.