iProperty group debuts Pan-Asia dedicated commercial and industry property portal

The Australian-listed iProperty group, currently hosts Asia’s leading online property portal which reaches out to 3.5 million unique visitors, including 25,000 real estate agents, per month.

The new website has a database of commercial and industrial property listings in the region with over 150,000 sites. It will initally cover four markets, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Participating real estate agency networks include LJ Hooker, Ray International Real Estate Group, Centaline Commercial, PropNex, Orange Tee, and PropertyBank.

The site provides customers with information on current trends and research, a directory of property agents and owners, pricing trends as well as a dedicated trade forum to reach out to property experts.

“With the governments introducing cooling measures across Asia-Pacific and the fear of possible recession in USA and Europe and assumption of that impacting Asia-Pacific, the residential sector is softening as investors adopt a ‘wait-and-see approach’,” said Shaun Di Gregorio, CEO of The iProperty Group.

He pointed out that however in the commercial and industrial sector, which is rarely governed by restrictive policies and has seen high yields maintained, there has been a steady gain in interest. "The office sector is hot," he said. "There has been a shift in individual investors from residential to commercial and this number will increase."

The company is doing a number of significant online campaigns promoting the newly-launched site to its four million users. It is using search engine optimisation, its data base, other online marketing, as well as through an OOH campaign.

A new branding campaign has also been earmarked for the new year period in 2012.

Gregorio said the group was looking at appointing a creative agency to do post launch advertising in 2012.

Listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, The iProperty Group owns Asia’s leading network of property websites under the iProperty.com umbrella brand. The company, headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is focused on developing and operating leading internet-based real estate portals with other complementary offerings in Asian markets. It currently operates consumer and business online property portals in the markets of Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Indonesia.