You can’t sell a secret

There is no doubt about it – the cost of property advertising has changed. A listing upgrade on one of Australia’s two dominant property portals, Domain and realestate.com.au (REA), would have set you back around $200.00* per portal just 10 years ago. Today, that same upgrade costs around $1,200 per portal, and to many working-class families, this is a lot of money to contribute to a marketing campaign. My counter argument is always – can you afford to not be leveraging these mediums?

Whilst it is clear that the cost of these advertising platforms has increased over the last decade, so too has your bang for buck. Once upon a time, these sites would brag about audience numbers in the hundreds of thousands per month. Now, we’re talking millions. What used to be a desktop search is now predominantly App based. When it comes to Apps, consumers are moving towards brand loyalty, and don’t often duplicate category apps. In Layman’s terms, that means that a property seeker won’t have both Domain and REA apps on their smartphone, tablet or smart watch, they’ll have one or the other. Their personal preference based on functionality, design and user experience.

Like anything, personal preference is… well… personal. The job of these portals is to encourage downloads, as well as increase traffic and engagement whilst continually generating new audiences for your property. This is where the increase in cost comes from; their focus on growth.

Drive down the M2 and you’ll see both companies vying for your attention via digital signboards. Go and see a Sydney Swans game and you might be sitting in REA’s ‘Front Yard Footy’ section of the Sydney Cricket Ground. If you’re a fan of Channel 9’s reality television series ‘The Block’ (I know a really handsome auctioneer who was on that! Lives in Kellyville, great guy. Humble, too.) you’d be blind if you didn’t hear or see Domain being name dropped throughout the filming and also during the ad breaks, as one of the programs major sponsors. Domain will also have naming rights to this Summer’s Ashes cricket test versus England, whilst fans of Three Birds Renovations will be familiar with their REA sponsored and wildly popular property renovation web series.

We’re also talking about technology, so the evolution is infinite, and happening in real time. Their apps and websites are updates almost hourly with new code, functionality improvements, bug fixes, new operating system preferences… heck, whilst I’ve been writing this Apple has released 2 new iPhone models. These business work closely with the giants of tech and social, namely Apple, Google, and Facebook, to continually operate at the forefront of trend. Not just reacting, but predicting.

Why do I mention all of this? How do YOU find property? What’s YOUR preference? It’s probably different to mine. Our preferences are probably different to the 120 people we want to get through your home before auction day. Spread the net as far and as wide as you can get. A decent agent and auctioneer *cough* combo will get you back every dollar you spend advertising your home. Think of that money as a very short-term investment. This is money you’ll see again, hopefully tenfold, in just a few weeks. Shout it from the rooftops, from device to device! You can’t sell a secret.

*based on Hills District prices