Property hunters increasing use of mobile devices

Media Release

Property hunters increasing use of mobile devices to search for real estate online

AUCKLAND, 24 August, 2011 –

Kiwi homebuyers who search for property online are also turning to their mobile devices to track down homes for sale, says a real estate industry survey released today.

The Neilsen Real Estate Market Report, based on a survey sponsored by Realestate.co.nz is into its sixth year, and aims to understand how the ability to search for homes and investment properties online plays a major part in the way the real estate industry does business.

Questions about accessing online property information via mobile devices were added to the survey for the first time this year. The Report found that nearly a third of New Zealanders with Internet-enabled mobile devices who research property online have accessed property information web sites from their device.

The Report also discovered that real estate researchers online were much more likely than the national population to own an Internet-enabled phone or device, with 48 percent compared to 34 percent of the overall population.*

Alistair Helm, CEO of Realestate.co.nz, says that the Report confirms that the huge growth in smartphone usage by New Zealanders is changing the way consumers look for property to buy and rent, and how the real estate industry will need to market properties into the future.

“The options for researching property via mobile devices that have become available to consumers in the last year are making the home buying process more immediate and dynamic,” says Mr Helm.

“Mobile phone users with Internet access don’t tend to do frivolous browsing for property. They are more likely to be serious home hunters looking to buy or rent.”

Mr Helm says that the Report findings are backed up by the fact that Realestate.co.nz’s iPhone app has been downloaded more than 35,000 times since launching late last year.

“The app is location-aware and lets users discover properties available for viewing and sale in their immediate vicinity – usually a one kilometre radius – in real time.”

Mr Helm says that of the estimated 200,000 iPhones in New Zealand, one in six have the Realestate.co.nz app, which is also in the top 100 downloaded apps of all kinds available in New Zealand.

“Use of the Realestate.co.nz iPhone app always surges on weekends, when people have time to go out and look for property to buy in their preferred locations.”

The Nielsen Real Estate Market Report is based on a site-intercept survey on New Zealand real estate web sites conducted during May to June 2011 with a sample size of 1,219 respondents and a margin of error of 2.86 percent.

Realestate.co.nz is the country’s most comprehensive property listing website profiling listings of licensed real estate agents with more than 107,000 real estate listings covering residential, commercial, business and farms for sale.

Further analysis of the findings of the Nielsen Real Estate Market Report, and the New Zealand property market in general can be found on www.unconditional.co.nz, the news and information website for New Zealand real estate.

* Nielsen Consumer and Media Insights, Q2 2010 – Q1 2011

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