Internet factor in house sales

"While the effective marketing of homes incorporates a broad spectrum of media and methods including print advertising, exhibitions and of course personal interaction through agents, the electronic media are rapidly increasing in popularity among consumers. This is particularly evident as more and more people have access to the Internet via computers and cell phones,” he says.

"We are seeing a steadily increasing number of enquiries originating via our website, which currently sees over 200 000 visits every month. This reflects an increase of 25% in just over a year, while the number of unique visitors has increased by 60% over the same period (January 2009 to March 2010). Approximately 40% of these are new visitors to the website each month and generally we see that visitors to the website are spending an average of nine minutes viewing homes, comparing properties and researching areas of their choice - an indication of high levels of buyer interest."

Monday's the day…

Cheridan Inglis, the group's new media manager adds, "As we increase our advertising spend in various targeted online media segments globally the number of visits per month will increase substantially. Since we recently launched the company's first mobile site, which offers a service whereby buyers can access details regarding all houses on show in an area via cellphone, we have noticed a further upturn in Internet enquiries in general.

“Interestingly there's always a spike in enquiries on our website on Mondays, probably due to the fact that potential buyers tend to browse the Internet after the weekend, having seen press advertisements and visited show houses."

According to leading global research company, alexa.com, the group's website is ranked 222 in South Africa, ahead of its nearest competitor at 319. This ranking is based on average daily visits and page views over the last three months. At any one time the group showcases over 36 000 properties for sale on its website, accessed directly or via various search engines including Google.