The global holiday rentals website airbnb.com has spent the last few years enabling its users in listing and booking properties online via a web browser. However, as people are increasingly using their smart phones for everything from ordering photo prints to booking airline tickets, the company has addressed the on-the-go demand by launching, and consequently frequently updating its iOS and Android apps.

Airbnb noticed that its users tend to reply emails much faster, if they are using a mobile device rather than if they were solely using their PC. The company saw that, although both iOS and Android apps are downloaded, the iOS app overshadows the Android, which according to Airbnb, is only used by 5% of the active hosts.

New Launch At SG, is a new property portal which has just been introduced to Singapore’s online property market; the site was created to help real estate clients make a more informed decision when investing.

The website allows real estate buyers and/or investors to search for homes, condos, lots or offices at special rates. Visitors get a glimpse of the upcoming projects before anyone else can.

New Launch At SG also offers assistance to those individuals who would like to sell their own property, without having to go through the hassle of the transaction process. New Launch At SG has a team of Singapore real estate experts who are capable of coming up with the best price for their client’s property for sale.

The portal provides full details about new properties on their site, as well as new launch and condo launch information. Among the recently launched properties on the site, are the King Albert Park Residence, Corals at Keppel Bay, Jurong Gateway, NeWest at West Coast and many more. Visitors are able to view the details of the residential units, commercial units, the floor plans, the interior, the exterior and locations on the map.

The New Launch At SG site also strives to keep its visitors well informed providing them with useful information on: Singapore Districts, Its Affiliated Partners, a list of Property Developers, a Property Loan Calculator, a Refinance Property Calculator and other  Useful Links.

Australia’s Real Estate Investar, has entered in a strategic partnership with property management experts RUN Property.

This partnership will see Real Estate Investar and RUN Property enter into a marketing relationship that will give customers an even greater opportunity to access revolutionary, real estate investing software and innovative property management services.

Real Estate Investar Managing Director David Hows said:

“We are delighted to have formed this relationship with RUN Property. “

“As a company that focusses on providing intelligent property investing software, resources and solutions to our members, this partnership will give them the opportunity to manage and optimise their portfolios more efficiently, harnessing RUN’s leading-edge, property investment management experience.”

Rob Farmer, CEO of RUN Property, added:

“Our goal is to improve our clients’ returns on their property portfolio and help them make smarter property investment decisions, through an innovative property management service.”

”A partnership with Real Estate Investar will greatly benefit our clients, and assist them to obtain more data and insights into the Australian property market.”

The partnership will see Real Estate Investar and RUN Property offer their customers and members an even wider array of property investing and property management related services, designed to enhance their ability to make more intelligent property investment decisions.

Back in April, Real Estate Investar announced a strategic partnership with property depreciation experts Washington Brown.

The Property Portal Watch Conference is on again on the 9th of July in San Francisco. This full day conference brings together the leaders of property portals from around the world. Already over 70 have signed up for this exciting event. We have attendees from portals including:

• Realtor.com (USA)
• iProperty (SE Asia)
• VivaReal (Brazil)
• Zap (Brazil)
• Juwai (China)
• realestate.co.nz (New Zealand)
• realestate.co.jp (Japan)
• Domain (Australia)
• Indinaidi (Russia)
• Allhomes.com (Australia)
• REW.ca (Canada)
• Hemnet (Sweden)
• realestate.com.vn (Vietnam)
• BuyRentKenya (Kenya)
• and many more …

We also have a range of service providers attending (people who help portals) including:

• Real Estate Investar
• ListGlobally
• Daikrit
• Transparensee
• Street Advisor
• and many more …

So dont miss out.

Sign up before the end of May and pay only US$150 per attendee – a US$100 discount of the rack rate of US$250.

Register Now

Find out more at Property Portal Watch Events or send us an email to events@propertyportalwatch.com.

• Record Revenue of $39.0 million, up 71% over first quarter 2012.
• Record Marketplace Revenue of $31.0 million, up 87% over first quarter 2012.
• Record quarterly and all-time traffic, topping a record 52 million monthly unique users on mobile and Web in April 2013 (up 63% year-over-year), following a record 50 million monthly unique users in March 2013 (up 55% year-over-year).
• Premier Agent count grew 83% year-over-year, adding a record 4,557 quarterly subscribers for a total of 34,030.
• Raises full-year revenue outlook range to $178.0 – $182.0 million.

SEATTLE, May 7, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Zillow, Inc. (Nasdaq:Z), the leading real estate and home-related information marketplace, today announced financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2013.

“The first quarter was a breakout quarter for Zillow, as we reached new heights in traffic and Premier Agent subscriptions, leading to record revenue and exceeding our own expectations, as well as further extending our category leadership on mobile and Web,” said Spencer Rascoff, CEO of Zillow, Inc. “We are extremely excited about the massive market opportunity in front of us, and about growing our audience, our Premier Agent business, and our emerging marketplaces. We are stepping on the gas in a number of areas, playing the long game and making calculated investments in products, people and marketing that will allow us to create a massive, enduring brand.”

First Quarter 2013 Financial Highlights and Revenue Outlook

• Revenue increased 71% to a record $39.0 million from $22.8 million in the first quarter of 2012.

• Marketplace Revenue increased 87% to a record $31.0 million from $16.6 million in the first quarter of 2012.
• Display Revenue increased 27% to $7.9 million from $6.2 million in the first quarter of 2012.

• Zillow is raising its revenue outlook for the full year 2013. Revenue for full-year 2013 is expected to be in the range of approximately $178.0 to $182.0 million. This represents a 54% year-over-year growth rate over 2012 full year revenue of $116.9 million at the midpoint of the outlook range. Additional outlook details will be discussed in Zillow’s conference call today at 2 p.m. PDT (5 p.m. EDT).
• Due to previously announced increased investment in marketing and operating costs associated with acquisitions made at the end of 2012, as well as an increase in non-cash expenses, including share-based compensation expense and depreciation and amortization expense, GAAP net loss was $3.7 million in the first quarter of 2013, compared to GAAP net income of $1.7 million in the first quarter of 2012.
• Adjusted EBITDA was $5.1 million, or 13% of revenue, which was a decrease from $5.4 million in the first quarter of 2012, or 24% of revenue, driven primarily by increased investment in marketing and operating costs associated with acquisitions made at the end of 2012.
• Basic and diluted loss per share was $0.11, compared to basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.06 in the same period last year.

Operating and Business Highlights

• Traffic growth is accelerating, with a record 52 million monthly unique users on mobile and Web in April 2013 (up 63% year-over-year), following a record 50 million monthly unique users in March 2013 (up 55% year-over-year). Average monthly unique users during the first quarter of 2013 was a record 46.7 million (up 47% year-over-year).
• More than 241 million homes were viewed on Zillow via a mobile device in April 2013, or 93 homes per second. Today, 55% of visits to Zillow occur on a mobile device, jumping to more than 60% on weekends. Zillow operates 24 apps across seven platforms.
• Premier Agent subscribers increased by a record 4,557 in the first quarter of 2013, and totaled 34,030 on March 31, 2013, up 83% year-over-year. Average monthly revenue per subscriber in the first quarter of 2013 was $259, which declined slightly year-over-year and sequentially due primarily to the record additions of new subscribers, as new Premier Agents typically start at lower levels of impressions than longer-term subscribers. Premier Agent revenue is reported as part of Marketplace Revenue.
• Zillow added several significant distribution partnerships during the first quarter that expose Zillow to more consumers, and add value for professionals. In February, Zillow announced a partnership with HGTV’s FrontDoor and Zillow now powers FrontDoor.com’s real estate search. Also during the quarter, Google selected Zillow as a launch partner for its new predictive-search experience on Android phones, Google Now. In April, Zillow began powering real estate information and search on AOL’s Patch, a network of more than 900 community news and information sites.
• Also in February, Zillow launched its home improvement marketplace, Zillow Digs™, on the Web atwww.zillow.com/digs and on iPad®, as an important complement to the company’s existing real estate, mortgage and rental marketplaces, adding another valuable service to help consumers through every meaningful lifecycle of the home. Since the launch of Zillow Digs, Zillow has seen terrific uptake in engagement and user generated content, with more than 76,000 photos added by our community of users, and 80,000 content boards created.
• During the first quarter, Zillow Mortgage Marketplace processed a record 4.5 million loan requests, up 74% year-over year. Also during the quarter, Zillow Mortgage Marketplace was integrated into all Zillow mobile real estate apps, making it even easier for Zillow users to shop for mortgages while home shopping.
• In April, Zillow added its Twitter and Facebook accounts (www.twitter.com/zillow andwww.facebook.com/zillow) and the Zillow Blog (http://www.zillowblog.com/) as designated channels to disclose material information. Zillow also announced executives will consider questions submitted via Twitter and Facebook during its first quarter earnings call, with the hashtag #ZEarnings.
• In April, Zillow held a successful forum on the future of the housing market in Washington D.C. More than 250 attended the half-day event to hear from Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries; keynote speakers Sen. Johnny Isakson and Sen. Jeff Merkley; and a group of the brightest minds in housing including Realogy Chairman, CEO and President Richard Smith, PIMCO Managing Director Scott Simon, and real estate journalists Nick Timiraos of The Wall Street Journal and Diana Olick of CNBC.

Homes.com is sponsoring the live webinar series, Secrets of Top Selling Agents, featuring RE/MAX‘s co-founder and chairman, Dave Liniger. The live webinar will be held on Wednesday, May 22, at 1 p.m. Eastern time, 10 a.m. Pacific time, and will cover information on the latest housing trends and reveal strategies to grow businesses in a low-inventory seller’s market.

In this rare webinar appearance, Dave Liniger will share insights tied to his ongoing recovery from a life-threatening illness, also chronicled in his bestselling book, My Next Step: An Extraordinary Journey of Healing and Hope. The webinar, entitled The Changing Marketplace: Dealing with a Sellers Market, will discuss how to adapt and adjust to ever-changing business conditions, relating directly to challenges faced both in real estate and in the everyday business arena.

Webinar participants will also have the unique opportunity to ask questions and have them answered by Mr. Liniger live.

Secrets of Top Selling Agents Webinars are free and available to all real estate professionals. Previous guest speakers include: Founder and Chairman of the Board of Keller Williams Realty Gary Keller; co-host of the hit TV series “Shark Tank,” Barbara Corcoran; author and noted real estate educator Michael Maher; top producing residential real estate broker nationwide Alan Domb; Star Power founder and real estate visionary Howard Brinton; Master Keller Williams Trainer Brad Korn; and top Keller Williams agent Linda McKissack. Over 70 recorded webinars are available for viewing on demand.

Twitter is a valuable information network rather than how many people describe it as a social network. It is also well recognised that “the news breaks first on Twitter”. So when it comes to property portals the question is how relevant is Twitter? and who is leading the way in building a reputation?.

I propose to address the first of these questions in an upcoming article on social media in the property portal space; but whilst constructing that article I noticed that Zoopla had created a Top 100 agents on Twitter list. I was impressed by both the concept and the mechanic. So, motivated  by their initiative I found a service called PeerGroups and have created a list of Top Property Portals. I have assessed 35 from a variety of locations around the world. If you find a glaring omission let me know in a comment below and I will add them.

Update #1 The total now sits at 37 portals: The top 5 remain the same – I guess in someways the “usual suspects”, impressive though is the performance of iProperty at #6 and Magic bricks just outside the Top 10. The application clearly though has some limitations as the bottom 20 all score a 11 out of 100.

Update #2 The number of portals now totals 41 with some significant additions that have changed the Top 10 quite markedly! The Italian portal of Idealista has come in at #1 with the Spanish Idealista taking second spot, this has pushed down the leading US portals. The German portal of Immofux shows a very strong social media influence through Twitter ranking at #8.

For reference the number beside each portal ‘PI’ relates to Peer Index and ‘TPI’ relates to Topical Peer Index – these are the assessments made by PeerGroups

		Name	PI	TPI	Twitter
1		idealista.it	85		@idealista_it
2		idealista	75		@idealista
3		realtor.com	74		@realtordotcom
4		Zillow	74	64	@zillow
5		funda	72		@funda
6		realestate.com.au	72		@realestate_au
7		Rightmove	71	89	@rightmove
8		IMMOFUX Makler	67		@immofux
9		Trulia	58		@trulia
10		iProperty Singapore	54		@iproperty_sg
11		Zoopla	50		@zoopla
12		ImmobilienScout24	48		@immobilienscout
13		fotocasa.es	48		@fotocasa
14		magicbricks	44		@magicbricks
15		MyProperty	43		@mypropertysa
16		iProperty.com M’sia	39		@iproperty_com
17		PrimeLocation	30	90	@primelocation
18		Realestate.co.nz	22	81	@realestateconz
19		Hemnet	21		@hemnet
20		Boligsiden.dk	15		@boligsiden
21		搜房网	11		@soufun
22		Daft.ie	11		@daft_ie
23		Immobilien – Portal	11		@immovm
24		Boliga.dk	11		@boliga
25		Portalinmobiliario	11		@portal_inmob
26		ZonaProp.com	11		@zonaprop
27		Domain	11		@domaincomau
28		immowelt.de	11		@immowelt
29		Property Guru	11		@hdb_singapore
30		immoweb_fr	11		@immoweb_fr
31		Trade Me Property	11		@trademeproperty
32		atHome portail immo	11		@athomegroup
33		Imovelweb	11		@imovelweb
34		CasaSapo	11		@casasapo
35		MyHome.ie	11		@myhomeproperty
36		propertyfinder.ae	11		@property_finder
37		Logic-immo.com	11		@logicimmo
38		realestateview	11		@realestateview
39		Property24	11		@property24
40		Casa.it	11		@casapuntoit
41		metroscubicos.com	11	20	@metros_cubicos

Realtor.com, the leader in online real estate operated by Move, Inc., is upgrading its listings database to a new technology that tracks data at a property level (instead of a listing level) giving a more comprehensive view of a specific property’s history, such as price drops and previous times it has been listed for sale.  Additionally, this new database processes aggregate data more frequently (instead of merely at month end) allowing realtor.com to be more nimble and proactive with its insights into the housing market.

Additionally, this upgrade quickens the process and consolidation of data that is received from more than 800 Multiple Listing Services (MLSs), increasing the granularity by which we can see changes in the markets helping to increase the accuracy of the snapshot of the current housing market. With these insights into the broader state of the national housing industry, realtor.com helps consumers stay informed on the real estate market as they evaluate future home buying decisions.

“Realtor.com’s relationship with over 800 MLSs has made us a source for reliable real estate listings data for over 17 years. We also have Find software agreements with many of them that give us increased access to more data,” said Steve Berkowitz, chief executive officer of Move. “Now, with this database upgrade and regular aggregation at a property level, we can provide an even more precise snapshot of market trends that allows consumers to make smart and informed decisions.”

Approximately 90 percent of listings on realtor.com’s mobile apps and website are updated every 15 minutes, with the remaining listings updated at least daily. In that 15-minute window, Realtor.com adds new listings, removes duplicates, and updates pending and sold properties.

Supporting Resources

• Read more about realtor.com
• Follow @realtordotcom on Twitter
• Like realtor.com on Facebook

The global holiday rentals website airbnb.com has unveiled Airbnb Verified ID, or as the company refers to it, the next step for trust at Airbnb.

In a recent post on their blog, Airbnb stated that, trust is key, and they do not see a reason for anonymity in a trusted community such as theirs; this is why Airbnb strives to provide its users with the best decision-making tools possible.

With the right technology the company feels that it can assist in laying the foundation for trust in other people. Airbnb boasts about its committed to innovation in the trust arena, with features like its secure payment structure, 24/7 customer service, sophisticated messaging tools, and $1,000,000 Host Guarantee.

Verified ID provides a connection between the online and offline spaces. Airbnb users can earn a “Verified ID” badge on their profile by providing their online identity (via existing Airbnb reviews, LinkedIn, or Facebook) and matching it to offline ID documentation, such as confirming personal information or scanning a photo ID. The name provided by both channels must match for verification to succeed.

Airbnb will require a random 25% of users in the USA to go through the Verified ID process. Soon expanding this requirement to users around the world, in hopes that hosts and guests worldwide will see the benefits of interacting with users who complete Verified ID. The company’s goal is for all Airbnb members to have Verified ID eventually.

Any Airbnb host can now require their prospective guests to obtain Verified IDs before booking. Trust runs in both directions, so any host who requests this condition must also get verified.

In 2011, Aribnb was faced with a PR nightmare after one user had her apartment misused and vandalised by the people who stayed at her property. Soon after the incident, the company launched its Host Guarantee program, which provided $50,000 of coverage to home owners “should the unexpected happen.”Along with the guarantee, airbnb.com also rolled out 40 new “trust and safety” features such as video profiles and advanced fraud algorithms.

The company has been dedicated to making all of its users’ experiences as positive and as safe as possible, and Airbnb Verified ID promises to cement the trust element in its community even further.

According to a comparison of page view statistics on Australia’s No. 1 property portal, realestate.com.au, and on the No. 1 Chinese international property portal, Juwai.com, some Aussie luxury properties are receiving more views in China than in Australia.

Gold Coast super-luxury agent Dominique Corbett of Corbett & Co. says her vendors increasingly ask her to list their properties valued at AU$6 to AU$15 million or more on Juwai.com.

“Vendors believe the Chinese have the money for these properties right now, while Australians don’t,” she says.

Some high-end clients prefer not to list their properties in Australia at all. They only list in China on Juwai.com. As a result, in Australia they enjoy the privacy of not having their property publicly listed. Yet, they still manage to reach a huge pool of potential buyers.

Ms. Corbett says the number of property views she receives on the two portals suggests where the most buyers are.

For example, her $2.85 million listing at 29 Norseman Court, Paradise Waters, has had 3,834 views on Juwai.com, nearly eight times more than the 484 views it has had on realestate.com.au.

The number of views is as of time of writing and according to publicly available analytics on realestate.com.au and analytics available to customers on Juwai.com.

Ms Corbett is asking $2 million for her penthouse listing in the Q1 building in Surfers Paradise, with its extraordinary 51-square-meter outdoor balcony. On Juwai.com, the penthouse has been viewed 3,857 times. On realestate.com.au, it has been viewed less than one-third as many times, 1,107.

Ms. Corbett’s 4 Ocean Isles penthouse on Main Beach, with its incredible northeastern outlook, has had 4,629 views on Juwai.com, more than four times more than the 980 views it has had on realestate.com.au.