Month: March 2013

QR Codes, what are they and are you using them?

/ David Crombie / Leave a comment

Quick Response or QR codes are a perfect example of using an offline system to quickly and easily access information from your mobile and tablet devices.

New technology is being introduced every day to allow you to be able to do more and more from your mobile and tablet devices. Today the off-line world is more about taking the consumer to on-line world where you can connect and engage with them. QR codes are a perfect example of using an off-line system to achieve this.

If you use QR codes on your marketing material you need to make sure that the page you send the consumer to is the source of the information that they are looking for and that it is mobile friendly . For example if you include a QR code on your print advertising for a listing take the consumer to the details for that actual property. In some cases I have seen agents using a QR code to take the consumer to the home page of their web site and this provides a very poor consumer experience.

Just some of the uses of QR codes include:

  • Signboards
  • Newspaper Advertising
  • Your Blog
  • Videos including testimonials and virtual tours
  • Print Advertising
  • Business Cards
  • Promotional Material

A QR code can be used to direct the consumer to your web site, social media pages, videos, virtual tours, special offers, event page, email address, or a page on your web site with more details and content.

So how do you create these QR codes? There are several sites, two that I have used in the past include qrstuff.com and qrcode.kaywa.com. QR Codes have developed over time and today you can even customise a QR Code and include your logo or other branding.

So how do you read these QR codes? If you want to read a QR code you will need to get a QR code scanner for your mobile device. For the iPhone you can try QR Reader for iPhone, i-nigma QR Code Reader or QR Code Scanner. For Android you can try ScanLife Barcode & QR Reader, Scan or Barcode Scanner.

Want to test out how QR code work then here is one that will take you to this Blog Post.

Scan this QR Code to be taken to this Blog Post.

Estate Agents Co-operative (EAC) Partners With Nestoria

/ David Crombie / Leave a comment

eac_and_nestoria

Estate Agents Co-operative (EAC) today announced a relationship with major property
search engine, Nestoria (Nestoria.com.au). This synergy will further enhance exposure
for Pro and Elite package customers advertising their property listings on the
Co-operative’s real estate portal, realestateworld.com.au.

The collaboration between Estate Agents Co-operative, one of the largest independent
real estate organisations in Australia responsible for launching the
realestateworld.com.au brand in June 2008, and Nestoria will involve a selected ‘listings
display’ arrangement on the Nestoria search engine.

“We are constantly looking at ways to value add to our offerings and we will be
uploading to Nestoria the listings for all real estate offices that are on our portal’s Pro
and Elite packages,” commented David Crombie, EAC Chief Executive Officer. “This will
provide an enhanced level of consumer exposure for their office and listings on
realestateworld.com.au by piggy backing off the Nestoria search engine”.

The relationship has been driven by Simon Baker, the former CEO and Managing
Director of the REA Group (realestate.com.au).

“Australia is a global leader in using the internet to search for property. There are around
25 property portals and franchise group sites serving the market. These sites are our
partners. They provide the listings and pay for clicks at a fraction of the cost they pay on
Google. We are an entry point for real estate consumers and property portals are the
destination” said Simon Baker.

Government Action Required on Housing Affordability

/ David Crombie / Leave a comment

A new report by the National Housing Supply Council clearly identifies the need for a concerted approach by Governments to address housing affordability, particularly for first home buyers, according to the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA).

“The Housing Supply and Affordability Issues 2012–13 report shows that it now seems certain the aggregate rate of home ownership in Australia will drop from around the rate of 70 per cent that it has been for the last three decades,” says REIA President, Peter Bushby.

“Affordability is identified as the main reason for this change.”

“Exacerbating the difficulty for first home buyers is that during 2012, the Governments of Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia announced that they would only provide the First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) to purchasers of new property and not to those buying established housing.”

“The actions of the state governments ignore the evidence that first home buyers have a clear preference for established houses. Only 18 per cent of Australian first home buyers are buying new homes with 82 per cent purchasing established dwellings,” says Mr Bushby.

“In its Pre Budget Submission, REIA has urged the Government to address the plight of first home buyers.”

“As part of a package of measures to address the affordability problem, REIA proposes that the Commonwealth Government should establish a scheme to encourage young Australians to contribute to voluntary superannuation by allowing access to these resources for the purposes of raising a deposit for a first home.” “A good example of how this can work is provided by a Singapore where home ownership is at 87.2 per cent.”

“The issue of first home buyers and affordability is a major issue for both sides of politics to address in this election year,” concluded Mr Bushby.

Source: Real Estate Institute of Australia Media Release 4 March 2013

Estate Agents Co-operative Ltd is an Affiliate Member of the REIA.