The campaign has exceeded realestate.com.au’s expectations and reached its target in just two weeks of going live, with thousands of Australians taking part in the integrated corporate social responsibility campaign.

The campaign has been a joint partnership with Habitat for Humanity Australia, which is the world’s number one provider of housing for low income families in need.

Spokesperson for realestate.com.au Joanne Whyte indicated that support for the cause has been overwhelming, with many online users embracing the concept since the campaign went live in early October.

“Deciding to integrate Facebook into the campaign was a clever way to engage consumers who want to help make a difference in this world.  We are really pleased to see the general public get behind this cause and embrace the Fresh Start Project,” said Joanne.

“As part of our ongoing commitment to making a difference, realestate.com.au has contributed $130,000 to Habitat for Humanity Australia that will go towards building a house for a low income family, with construction commencing on 8 November 2010,” she said.

Two thousand three hundred fans have had their photos published on a ‘supporters wall’ sharing Fresh Start Project with family and friends.

Established in the United States in 1976, Habitat for Humanity is a global not-for-profit organisation with a presence in over 90 countries and has changed the lives of people all over the world building more than 400,000 houses and sheltering more than two million people in 3,500 communities including almost 100 homes in Australia.

Habitat for Humanity believes in giving people a hand up rather than a hand out by building homes in partnership with families both in Australia and overseas.  The families put in labour and a deposit, and Habitat for Humanity assists with the expertise and financing and importantly, as the no-profit loan is repaid, it goes into a revolving fund to help finance even more homes for people in need.

Habitat for Humanity’s recent projects include its work in helping rebuild homes in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and in Haiti with the support of celebrity A-listers such as Brad Pitt, Bon Jovi, Barack and Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey.

Between now and 7 November 2010, members of the public keen to follow the Fresh Start Project can keep up-to-date with the latest campaign developments via realestate.com.au’s Facebook page and the microsite as the next phase of the campaign unfolds. Consumers can continue donating social bricks via the realestate.com.au home page to help raise awareness around housing affordability for low income families.

The Fresh Start Project campaign is the latest instalment forming part of realestate.com.au’s spring activity which helps Australians get fresh start in life.

Joanne Whyte, General Manager Marketing Communications and Insights for realestate.com.au said the company was pleased to partner with Habitat for Humanity Australia, which is the world’s number one provider of housing for low income families in need.

“realestate.com.au will donate $130,000 which will go towards building a safe and secure home for a family in need and help realise their dream of home ownership through low cost housing,” she said.

“The Fresh Start Project is a fully integrated digital campaign which leverages our social media assets using Facebook as the main channel to help spread the word and garner support from socially conscious people,” she said.

The partnership will enable realestate.com.au consumers and Facebook fans to spread the word about this worthy cause by collecting social bricks as they visit the realestate.com.au site.

The bricks will help build a supporters wall to acknowledge the contribution from realestate.com.au. Participant photos will be published via a virtual montage and people can share their involvement with family and friends.

In early November, realestate.com.au and Habitat for Humanity Australia will announce the lucky family who will be given the home. Together with volunteers and members of the community, the family will help build the home over a two-week period, with Fresh Start Project fans able to track the progress of the build via the microsite.

Habitat for Humanity Australia CEO Jo Brennan said: “We’re deeply grateful for the support of realestate.com.au and its desire to help house a family in real need in Australia.”

“We rely on individuals and corporate Australia to make homes a reality for so many low income families here and around the world, so we’re looking forward to seeing the number of bricks build up on the realestate.com.au site and of course seeing the supporters of Fresh Start Project on Facebook,” she said.

Habitat for Humanity is a global not-for-profit organisation with a presence in over 90 countries and has changed the lives of people all over the world building more than 400,000 houses and sheltering more than two million people in 3,500 communities.

Established in the United States in 1976, Habitat for Humanity’s recent projects include its work in helping rebuild homes in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and in Haiti with the support of celebrity A-listers such as Brad Pitt, Bon Jovi, Barack and Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey.

realestate.com.au has worked closely with digital agency Amnesia Razorfish to bring the campaign to life alongside media agency Starcom. The campaign follows the recent launch of realestate.com.au’s TVC and advertising campaign which went live in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane recently.”

This time around it looks like Realestate.com.au and Amnesia Razorfish have put together a good marketing campaign (alongside Starcom).

It’s a massive improvement on their House Hunter Video campaign disaster earlier in the year which ended up being labelled as “REA suffers from Amnesia”.

Plus, it”s good to see that they”ve used an introduction video from CEO Greg Ellis to add a more personalised approach to the whole initiative. (should help them win some points amongst the Facebook community and Gen Y”s).

PS: If you haven”t seen realestate.com.au’s TVC mentioned within the press release you can view it here…

How do you propose to a girl in real estate?

In a press release issued today, realestate.com.au helps hopeless romantic pop the BIG question online

realestate.com.au has helped one lucky beau pop the BIG question on RENT section of its site.

Some guys like the face to face approach but Frankston local Clinton Hosking wanted to propose in a memorable way – something his bride-to-be Hayley Smith would not forget in a hurry.

“As Hayley works as a Property Manager for Harcourts in Frankston, she is obsessed with real estate continually checking out the competition online,” said Clinton.

“I thought what is one thing Hayley really loves and one thing stuck out, she loves real estate so I thought why not stick an advertisement on realestate.com.au for her to find – l really wanted this to be a genuine surprise,” he said.

Joanne Whyte, General Manager Marketing Communications and Insights at realestate.com.au said the company was thrilled to help Clinton seal the deal in an unusual way.

“We wish Clinton and Hayley every happiness. Less than two hours of the marriage proposal going live in the RENT section of realestate.com.au, nearly 500 people viewed the property listing come marriage proposal,” she said.

Check out the marriage proposal on realestate.com.au: Property ID: 404807547

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-frankston-404807547

Note: At the time of posting this article their had already been over 3600 visits to the marriage proposal.

Congratulations to the happy couple. I wish them all the very best for the future.

Share will be added to PriceFinder”s existing Pro Package subscription service from May 15, but it is already causing a stir. One prominent industry figure is redesigning his company’s website to take full advantage of the new application.

Share allows agents, property managers, mortgage brokers and other real estate industry professionals to provide clients with free access to property data. This represents a major move away from the traditional approach, where property data suppliers charge one-off fees to casual customers for price estimates, sales histories or suburb reports.

PriceFinder already provides property industry professionals such as real estate agents with a quick and easy reference to the estimated sale price, rental price and potential yield of a property within the current market or any time in recent history. The company also provides access to a revolutionary map-searching tool, recent sales, property photos, listings and much more. Share allows PriceFinder subscribers to give their clients free access to this valuable information with just the click of a button.

PriceFinder’s Chief Operating Officer Kent Lardner is excited and proud of this new product, which he says goes a lot further than just value-adding.

“At PriceFinder we are determined to maximise our service to clients,” Mr Lardner says.

“To do this we must be constantly developing new initiatives that give those clients a marketing edge, and I am confident that Share will exceed all expectations in that respect.

“Sometimes the simplest of ideas can bring major results and I think this will be one of those stories.”

Mr Lardner is expecting a big response from the industry, with many businesses integrating the service into lead generation campaigns.

“There are so many possibilities – real estate agents can offer access to buyers, sellers and landlords, and mortgage brokers can provide detailed information with new clients. This application is limited only by imagination.”

Among those already moving to position themselves to take advantage of Share is prominent real estate professional Kevin Turner. Mr Turner is the founder of Real Estate Talk (www.realestatetalk.com.au), which was last year named as a finalist in the ‘Most Innovative Media Site’ category of the international Inman Innovator Awards.

Mr Turner also hosts a weekly radio show by the same name, which covers real estate-related issues for buyers, sellers and investors. The show airs on 2UE Sydney every Thursday from 1.30pm to 2pm, and on 4BC Brisbane from 10am to noon every Saturday, and has an estimated audience of some one million people each week.

Mr Turner already uses PriceFinder to provide data and property information for his radio show and website. He is excited about the Share tool and is in the process of redesigning his website to take full advantage of its capabilities and marketing opportunities.

“From my point of view Share will open up a huge amount of information to buyers and sellers, and is very much in line with what the internet is doing for this industry,” he says.

“Five or six years ago agents were the gatekeepers of information, but now we are dealing with very educated buyers and sellers who want their own access to that information.”

Mr Turner is particularly impressed with the PriceFinder methodology to determine price estimates, which he says is quite unique. He says using information about property enhancements, local area, proximity to major infrastructure and other factors, as well as market trends and sales histories, gives a much more comprehensive estimate.

“Buyers are much more aware of property trends and are looking for that extra information,” he explains.

“We have been looking at the Share model consistently for the past month and we have a lot of faith in it.”

Such a show of faith is immensely gratifying for Mr Lardner and his team, but he is not surprised.

“Our company has a reputation for listening to what our clients want and this is a perfect example of that,” he says.

“This will be a great way for real estate agents to build goodwill with current clients or use the service to attract new customers. The best news is that it will come at no additional cost to the existing Pro Package subscription service.

“Many companies would see this as an opportunity to increase fees, but we see it as a chance to give our existing and prospective clients an edge in a highly competitive market, without added cost burden.

“Furthermore, Share is not just for real estate sales staff,” explains Mr Lardner. “As an example, property managers can also use it to share access with a landlord who wants to review her current property and the local market. That same landlord may also be looking to expand his property portfolio, so there are some very valuable cross-promotional opportunities here.”

How Share works

A real estate agent receives a call from a prospective buyer who has viewed a property the agency has on its books. The buyer wants more detail about property trends, sales histories, price estimates and other information, before deciding whether to lodge an offer.

The agent, who is a PriceFinder subscriber, tells the client he will send them an email providing access to this information, and asks for their email details. The agent goes to his computer, logs on, clicks the Share button and enters the client’s email address.

The Share access details are emailed immediately to the client who can then enter the PriceFinder system without the need for any password or account information.

One of the key aspects of this tool is that it only allows customers access to PriceFinder for a single session. This gives the agent the opportunity to initiate further contact and maintain an ongoing dialogue.

Have you ever wished you knew how many people are opening your e-mail’s, or one better… see exactly who clicked on your links?

I used Vision6 recently to send out a price adjustment on a property, and then called every person who clicked to see ‘more information’ on the property. The response was great! Everyone knew what property I was talking about and thanked me for the call. I was touching base with people who actually cared.

I then decided to explore it a little further and consider other ways I could implement this system. Some of the uses I have already adapted include the following;

1. Send every new registered buyer a link to ‘the buying process’ with a link down the side to ‘tips on how to prepare your home for sale’ – as this will provide an early tip as to who’s selling.
2. Send all my database a quarterly report and again add the ‘tips on how to prepare your home for sale’ link
   In the process of allowing users to sign up to my e-newsletter automatically using the forms feature.
3. Will offer my next vendor an improved e-brochure service which allows us to track who clicks on the ‘more info’ link. Then call anyone who did not attend the open for inspection to understand why not or possible encourage them to attend the next one or discuss similar properties coming onto the market.

If you use Vision6 or similar systems what do you use them for?

• Eighty four per cent⁽¹⁾of property hunters find inspecting properties to be more stressful than visiting the Boxing Day sales.
• Fifty seven per cent⁽¹⁾ of property hunters have become so distressed by the property search that they have fought about it with their loved ones.
• New South Wales property hunters are the most stressed out in the country while South Australians are the most relaxed.⁽¹⁾

“Australia’s obsession with property hunting is stressing out the nation and impacting our relationships with loved ones, according to new research by leading Australian property portal, realestate.com.au.

The nationwide survey of over 1,000 adults⁽¹⁾ revealed 84 per cent of prospective buyers believe looking for property is more stressful than visiting the end of year Boxing Day sales. The news comes as realestate.com.au enhances their website to alleviate the pressure.

The findings reveal three-quarters (74 per cent ⁽¹⁾) of Australians find inspecting properties  stressful, with New South Wales property hunters coming in as the most stressed out state in the country.

Unsurprisingly, this added stress is having an adverse effect on wellbeing, with 57 per cent of property hunters saying they have become so distressed by the property search that they have fought about it with their loved ones.

Clinical psychologist and relationship expert Dr Timothy Sharp, also known as Dr Happy, says the findings come as no surprise to him.

“Many people underestimate the effect big decisions, such as buying or renting a property, have on our state of being and how happy we are day-to-day,” said Dr Sharp.

“The key is to reduce the stress associated with the process. In doing so, we not only make better decisions but we bring the fun back to house hunting,” he said.

Despite finding the search for their dream home stressful, it seems Aussies are addicted to the hunt. Ninety two per cent of property seekers spend over one full day per month (up to 25 hours) researching potential homes online⁽²⁾.

The research also revealed that 86 per cent⁽¹⁾ of respondents believed using online property websites like realestate.com.au could help ease the pressure felt when house hunting.

General Manager Consumer Marketing for realestate.com.au, Henry Ruiz says the site enhancements help minimise the time wasted in searching for properties, meaning house hunters can find that dream home faster.

“At realestate.com.au we know how stressful the house hunting process can be. We’ve listened to our customers and as a result we have implemented new tools on our website to streamline the search process,” said Henry.

“Some of the new tools includes enhanced search functionality, a compare feature and a myrealestate zone”, he said.

The enhanced search function enables house hunters to now search by the exact street name, suburb or address. The compare feature allows consumers to scan key attributes of each listing and eliminate the ones they don’t like, while the myrealestate zone acts like an online scrapbook allowing house hunters to save all their search activity in the one place for future reference.

KEY STATE FINDINGS⁽¹⁾:

• Seventy nine per cent of New South Wales residents claimed they get stressed when looking for property making them the most stressed out state
• Property hunters in South Australia are the least likely to get stressed with only 64 per cent claiming they have felt the pressure when looking for their dream home.
• Property hunters in Western Australia spend the most time looking for properties, spending almost nine hours a week on the search.
• Property hunters in Queensland are least likely to fight with loved ones when looking for property with only 53 per cent claiming they have come to blows.”

Even though this media release coincides with the launch of realestate.com.au’s new look site, I thought that the article could also act as a timely reminder for agents to show understanding & empathise with clients who are going through the process of buying, selling or renting because it can be an extremely stressful time for your customers.

The more you can do to relieve their level of stress the more your customers will sing your praises.

(1)    Independent online survey conducted by Longergan Research of 1,028 respondents for realestate.com.au, March 2010

(2)    Internal research conducted by realestate.com.au. Online survey of 1,200 respondents, 5-9 October 2009

The new site looks very impressive.

One of the major things I got out of the presentation was how the ‘Local Voices’ section will be adapted into the site and ways that I could possibly use it to help promote me as a local area expert more effectively.

The ‘Local Voices’ site is something launched by realestate.com.au to allow anyone registered to write and respond to reviews on streets and suburbs, which is then shown on the search pages of realestate.com.au.

They have also set the site up to be somewhat like a social networking site. It seems to me that this application which will be nested in the realestate.com.au search pages will quickly become popular with new buyers and potential sellers alike.

Once in the site when analysing suburbs the site displays the ‘top local experts’. This, from what I can see and was told is based on the amount of reviews and responses to a local suburb. My aim (and at this stage I have only registered my profile and explored the site) is to become the local expert within my target areas. I plan to do the following;

• Create a professional profile on the site with contact details.
• Create a professional suburb profile (some of you may already have these) and load it to the system.
• Create an rss feed for my local suburb and respond to any reviews by others in a constructive way.
• Add any person that appears to live within the suburb as a ‘friend’.

With time (and at this stage as its new it doesn’t appear it will be too difficult) I should become the top local expert for my target suburbs. This will hopefully generate leads as local sellers start to investigate their suburb prices and local agents, and are naturally attracted to what others have said about their suburb.

I’d love to hear if anyone has already started using ‘local voices’ and the way in which they are doing so.

Think of a sales or rental department as an elite sporting team. Each member has their specialty position and skills, and as such, the coaching methods used to ensure their success should be tailored to their individual functions.

Too many principals implement training based on general sales or property management needs, where they should be focusing on individuals’ strengths and weaknesses, and the skills that these people require to excel in their specialty area.

For example, would it be beneficial for Jarryd Hayne to spend all his time training to make the big tackles and hard hit ups? Of course not, because he doesn’t play in the forward line. It would, however, be ideal to use those training methods for a front rower such as Petero Civoniceva.

Is it really a good idea to implement a standard training regime across the whole sales team? Or would it pay to take the time to identify each member’s role, and their strengths and weaknesses, and then tailor training to suit their individual needs.

The reason that players in a sporting team are chosen to represent their country is because they are the best player for that position. The winger is quick, the forwards are tough and the fullback is agile.

In a sales team, the best lister is confident and empathetic, the best seller is great at negotiating and the support staff have an eye for detail. Therefore, tailor training to enhance these skills. Make them market leaders in your area.

Consider joining strong members of your team with other strong members. Cameron Smith & Cooper Cronk are good players in their own right, but as a duo they form a force to be reckoned with. Likewise, band together a star performer with a weaker player in your team. Just as Darren Lockyer can make anyone look fantastic and inspire his team mates to perform, the weaker player will be driven to lift his game.

Another mistake some principals make is not ensuring the sales team sticks to their core market area. In a slow market, it is easy for sales staff to take on listings as business outside of their local or specialty area.

Roger Federer is the greatest tennis player of the 21st century, but he would probably get slaughtered if he ‘laced up the boots’ and ran onto the rugby field. As the old adage says ‘Stick with what you know and what you do best’.

But how do you put this training into practice? By conducting a simple training needs analysis. Sit down with each member of the team and discuss with them what they think their strengths and weaknesses are and what they can do to improve. Then implement training to suit their needs.

It can be something low scale like role playing scenarios they have trouble dealing with, or specific skills based training to broaden their knowledge of their core area. With the introduction of compulsory CPD, the popularity of skills based training has decreased dramatically. But as any proactive coach will tell you, training is the key to producing great staff that get results and remain a cut above the competition.

Just as all elite athletes aspire to be the best and represent their country, does your sales staff aspire to be the best and represent you?

When connecting with Julie on LinkedIn, I happened to notice one of her recent presentations was available on SlideShare and thought I”d share some of Julie”s insights with GenYre = energy readers.

Whilst I appreciate that the SlideShare presentation isn”t anywhere near as effective as it would be with Julie presenting it, I believe that you can still gain a lot out of her presentation slides.

There are some great points that Julie shares about appearing different in your market place. She is also a big believer in using the internet more effectively to help build your profile and make the right first impression.

Julie has also included some very interesting stats about Social Media and a great insight into Dominant Buyer Motives,  plus lots more…

Young agents Eddy Piddington, Jessica Thei and Adrian Wilson are all recent REINSW Awards for Excellence winners and will share what drives them to succeed.

Come along to the Young Agents’ first event for 2010!

Thursday, 15 April 2010 at The Loft in Sydney 4.00pm – 6.00pm (includes a short panel discussion)
$35 REINSW members / $55 Non-members (cost includes drinks and canapes)

To book your seat or learn more Click Here

I’m looking forward to attending this event and catching up with many of the dynamic young agents who are part of the REINSW Young Agents Chapter.

If you’re not in Sydney, there’s a great event being held for Young Agents next week (Friday 19th March) by the REIV on Creating A Successful Future.

This looks like being a great event, featuring one of the GenYre = energy contributors Braden Walters.

Here are the details of that event.