KUALA LUMPUR, 17 October 2013 - Asia’s leading online property portal, PropertyGuru Group recently achieved a major milestone with over one million downloads for its mobile apps in its core markets of Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.
This achievement affirms PropertyGuru’s strategy of pioneering mobile property search within the region.
Designed for both property seekers and agents, the rise of the group’s suite of mobile apps is driven by internet and smartphone penetration across Asia. The growth is more evident in countries with developing property markets.
The number of downloads for PropertyGuru’s mobile apps collectively grew by 12-fold within a period of one year since July 2012 in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. This translates to a daily download of almost 1,400.
“Certainly, for many, online and mobile has become the first point of research or intelligence, especially with regards to larger acquisitions such as properties,” noted Gerard Kho, Country Manager at PropertyGuru Malaysia. He attributed the growth in downloads for its mobile apps to the overall increase in smartphone usage.
In Malaysia alone, data gathered from various credible sources clearly indicates an emerging shift in consumer behaviour in adopting mobile as a form of intuitive property search, with over two out of five users going online via mobile to search for properties. This is double the number posted in 2011.
More interestingly, this is also nearly equal to the number of Malaysians watching full episodes of TV programmes online.
Kho noted that the statistics offers a glimpse into the future – that mobile is growing as a vital communication medium to reach audiences and reshaping consumer behaviour.
In concurring with Kho, Chief Executive Officer and Group Co-founder, Steve Melhuish, said: “We are excited to see so much interest and enthusiasm we’ve received from property agents, buyers and investors alike who utilise our products and services to explore how they can carry out their property-related decisions faster while on the go.”