Australia | Sep 11 2006
By Rudi Filapek-Vandyck
Online news service Crikey reports that internet job classifieds market leader Seek (SEK) will launch a new portal to make its entrance into the online real estate classifieds sector in early October. The new portal is to be called PropertySeek.com.au.
If one tries to look up the destination on the internet, a static webpage will reveal the site is soon to become operational, but also that initial work on it dates back to 2004 already. Crikey has repeatedly reported about the property plans of Seek in the past.
What is interesting is that, according to today’s report, the new service can count on the active support of four real estate franchise groups at a corporate level: LJ Hooker, Century 21, Elders and Raine & Horne NSW (not national).
The report states these four groups approached Publishing and Broadcasting (PBL) “about launching another real estate portal, after the relative failure of their earlier attempts; propertypage.com.au and homehound.com.au.” PBL is a major financer and shareholder of Seek.
The report also states “it is believed that the Franchise Heads/Corporate want to make the new website exclusive ie. force the individual franchisees within their groups to advertise on the new site and stop advertising anywhere else online.”