The business of Private Property

You'd expect a website advertising property listings to include all the features of the home. It should definitely mention pricing. At the very least to offer an image of the abode in question. But introducing virtual tours, right from the comfort of your PC? And detailed information on neighbourhoods, including video, in partnership with the Sunday Times' weekly print Neighbourhood feature? This ties in nicely with Private Property's revamped 'On Show' show day feature, which lets you view properties that are on show this weekend in your area of interest. That's just one way Private Property stands out from the crowd.

A screenshot from Private Property's 'Neighbourhoods' section

Another is having on board a team that truly cares about your property needs. That's what you get from the co-founder/managers Justin and Sue Clarke - she's also the marketing manager.

I sat down with Sue to find out more about the intricacies of running such a business...

Justin started out the business with a friend back in 2008. As a property developer at the time, he had a keen understanding of the market and wished to sell the developments directly to the public instead of going the usual commission route.

The concept was fresh as they wanted to put it online. Things took off, resulting in about 28 franchises around the country. While this sounds like a good thing, the result is that they were functioning more like real estate agents than a property portal in terms of guiding people through the process. At this stage they realised the model wasn't working as intended as they wanted to become a pure advertising portal. And so, they got investors in, bought all the franchises back and started a new model.

Realty reinvention

While it had been a private portal, the doors were then opened to everyone - developers, banks, real estate agents, private sellers and more.

Unsurprisingly, they use online marketing the most to spread the word about the portal, with a keen focus on all things related to SEO (search engine optimisation) or search. The brand was launched on radio, many years ago, which they found very effective. Now, they're mainly on TV, not as ads but rather as property educational shows - that's where the 'Win a Home' competition comes in. A TV show that takes people through the whole process of building and designing a home. An effective strategy? Their double-digit growth suggests so.

Little wonder then that, amongst other awards, Private Property was named best ecommerce platform for five years running at the newly named uAfrica ecommerce awards, until they decided to rather focus on transactional sites like Takealot and Yuppiechef where money passes hands virtually through the platform. Private Property doesn't sell houses as such, it's purely about advertising property.

For more on Private Property, visit their website or view all the helpful facts posted to their Twitter feed and Facebook page. That's how you successfully advertise an ecommerce site!