Entrepreneur Antony Catalano's residential property portal view.com.au has more than doubled its unique audience since October, according to February IPSOS data.
The View Media Group platform features more than 136,000 properties for sale. It also offers a complete view of the market with access to nearly 11 million properties in Australia, whether they’re for sale or not. The map-based search is delivered via technology group Nearmap.
View's internal Google Analytics data shows nearly 1.7 million users for February on View, which launched September 30, 2023.
Catalano, with regional media group ACM co-owner Alex Waislitz, launched the real estate digital media and agent services business VMG in 2022. It has investment from the ANZ bank and from Seven West Media.
“The marketing campaign is now in full swing and we’ve seen some massive spikes, particularly from our broadcast partnership with Channel 7’s AFL coverage,” said view.com.au’s CMO, Paul Tyrrell.
“To be the fastest growing property portal in the country is a testament to the hard work of the team and a clear demonstration of the need for a competitive alternative in the property portal space.
“Our agent partners are enjoying the benefit of this audience growth with our Premium product delivering up to 10 times more enquiry than our free product.”
“But we’re only just getting started, watch this space.”
Comparing property platforms October 2023 to February 2024:
- View: 102% growth
- realestate.com.au: 2.2% growth\
- Domain 2.6% decline
- Allhomes: 9.0% decline
- Homely: 0.5% decline
The View executive team behind includes seven ex-Domain executives who took Domain to a $2.2 billion listing on the ASX. The company is headed up by former Domain CEO Antony Catalano.
“We’re seeing the proposition we’ve built clearly resonating with consumers and we’ve got great momentum," Catalano said.
“Our Freemium model for agents presents a true alternative to the traditional listings model; it’s free to list on View and our low cost Premium product is performing incredibly well and delivering strong value for agents and vendors.”
“We can make it free or keep prices low because VMG’s business model is not predicated on listings revenue, where the only option is annual price increases. We’re creating a true property ecosystem that caters to all steps along the property journey. View will soon bring finance propositions to market with our banking partner ANZ.
“While REA continues to cement its number one position, Domain’s audience has stagnated and we’re seeing some agents downgrading or dropping them from their advertising schedule due to high costs, underperformance and questionable return on investment. The industry is fed up with the status quo.
“And despite industry efforts, we are the first genuine challenger to Domain’s number two audience position, having been propelled into the number three position for residential property portals showcasing properties for sale in only five months and relegating Homely to the number six portal behind Allhomes. The only genuine alternative is View.com.au.”
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