Increase in real estate competition sparks boom in online property advertising

This shift is bringing new revenue to Dubai's most popular real estate website, www.propertyfinder.ae and its parent, the REA Group.

According to U.S-based classified advertising expert Peter Zollman, executive editor of the Real Estate Advertising Report, a similar shift is taking place in the U.S in light of increased real estate brokerage competition.

"Real estate agents and real estate advertising are in transition. Online will be a substantial winner and daily newspaper print is going to be a significant loser," he said.

Michael Lahyani, CEO of propertyfinder.ae concurs:

"In an up market, the internet allows an agent to promote their agency and their listings to the largest single audience. Five years ago brokers in Dubai would not have had any choice but to stick to print advertisements. Today the average cost per lead generated by advertising in newspapers is $25 whereas this drops to $3.4 per lead when advertising online. Therefore agents can still invest in growing their business at a reasonable cost."

"Previously real estate agents didn't understand why a portal would be more effective at driving leads to them than their own website would. However, with sites such as propertyfinder.ae offering agents and developers access to a potential global audience of 8.4 million unique browsers, the benefits of online advertising is evident," concluded Michael Lahyani.

UAE real estate industry leaders echo this view. Roy Saker, Associate Director for Colliers International, one of Dubai's largest real estate agents, said, "At Colliers International, we increasingly use online advertising to introduce the properties we represent to the affluent, connected, overseas buyers who invest in Dubai properties. propertyfinder.ae is the first strong option we have seen for doing this."