PropertyGuru Group, Asia’s leading online property portal group, announced today that it received Gold for the Best Mobile App - Media Owner category for the Mob-Ex Awards 2016.
The Best App – Media Owner category recognises the best mobile application designed to help mobile publishers build stronger relationships with their audiences. This award is for any media-owned app that provides convenience, entertainment or education to the end user, while increasing brand proposition and subscription.
PropertyGuru revamped its Consumer Mobile Application in September 2015 across the four markets in which it operates – Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. This was done to cater to a growing market of users who are increasingly reliant on mobile rather than desktop devices to search, locate and secure suitable properties to rent, buy or sell.
According to a global study from Google, Asia has gone mobile-first. The adoption of mobile search has surged across Asia, with Singapore leading the pack at 85%. The use of mobile apps allows businesses and search portals such as PropertyGuru to reach out directly to the end consumer through their most personal devices, mobile phones, and provide personalised touches and quality services.
“We are very pleased to be awarded Gold for the ‘Best Media Owner’ category. With the newly revamped mobile app, we are directly meeting the needs of consumers in Asia who want to access property information in an easy, digestible format via their mobile devices.” said PropertyGuru Group Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder Steve Melhuish.
PropertyGuru Group recorded a 25% increase in new downloads across all markets just two months after going “live”. Users were more engaged in the refreshed app, recording a 31 percent growth in the number of page views within the same period. The success of the new app can also be measured by the amount of traffic from the App, when users utilise in-app functions to help ease their property search. In that regard, PropertyGuru registered a 54% growth in leads.
“Our app provides instantaneous access to 1.3 million property listings across all our four markets with a single tap on a screen. PropertyGuru is thriving successfully on the mobile app wave by giving customers unparalleled convenience in their property search and new geo-located search experiences via the app. The app has grown from being a strategic complement to desk and mobile web platforms to become the foremost generator of leads for our business,” added Steve.
In Singapore, PropertyGuru recorded a 29% spike in user downloads, giving rise to more than 820k users by end of October. This translates to almost one in every three Singapore residents between 20 to 64 years old having the app in their mobile devices. The majority of new users are aged 25 to 34 years old, looking to buy their first property, to rent or to upgrade as they got married and start families.
Newly revamped PropertyGuru App include:
1. More intuitive navigation
Navigating around using the refreshed mobile app is more intuitive now. With a cleaner menu, and an accessible side menu, searching for properties and related information is made even easier than before.
2. Search Made Easy
- Most used filter: Searching for properties is now made easier, as PropertyGuru has trimmed down the search form to the most used/useful search options based on user feedback. Simply put: more intuitive, faster results.
- Map search: For those who are better at reading maps than words, they can now view search results on a map.
3. Better display of visuals and information
Property photos are prominently displayed with current and relevant information of the property (such as name, price, property type, address, psf price, size of property, basic facility), in both search results and listing details.
Within the listing details, the contact options are standardized for easier use, and for a consistent experience. Consumers can easily register their interest via the PropertyGuru app, and contact the agents/developers directly via call, SMS or email.
You can also “heart” your way to your dream home, clicking on the “heart-shape” icon at the top right hand corner of the listing. These selections will be synchronised between your mobile and desktop devices when you log in.
4. Useful tools built into listing results
- Mortgage calculator for immediate estimation: Handy tools such as the loan calculators are built into the app to allow consumers estimate mortgage affordability immediately. It is able to breakdown both estimated monthly repayment, principal amount as well as interest rates.
- Transactional data (available in SG only): Property seekers can now access transacted prices of properties sold within the same project. They can sort by transaction date, property size, price, PSF price, or sale type.
5. Better navigation, with emphasis on new projects
In the four markets, newly launched projects often form the bulk of sale transactions. From searches done on PropertyGuru, we observed the most searched projects correspond to the latest launches.
New Projects now comes with bigger visuals, more detailed information, and direct access to the developer/agent’s contact, allowing property seekers access to updated information at their fingertips.
6. Overseas properties featured
Across the four markets, Singaporeans emerged top with interest to purchase an overseas property. With more countries relaxing laws on foreigner ownership of properties or land, e.g. Cambodia and Vietnam, as well as stronger Sing dollar vs foreign currency such as Australian dollar, Japanese Yen and Malaysian Ringgit, Singaporean’s interest in overseas properties have been robust.