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Sandy Li

Property agents are intensifying their competition against each other in a new battlefield - the Internet.

 Centaline Property Agency, Midland Realty, Ricacorp Properties and Fortune Realty are set to pour in millions of dollars to expand Internet services in the next three years.

 Agents said the information era had changed the modes of business operation rapidly and conventional marketing strategy was no longer satisfying the needs of potential homebuyers.

  Strengthening their presence on the Internet not only provided 'fast and accurate' market information to users but it would also arouse interest in trading properties, according to agents.

 The Internet also helped to save millions of dollars in advertising and direct-mailing expenses, which in turn lowered operation costs, they said.

 Centaline Property Agency, considered the pioneer in the field, will spend another $10 million to expand its newly launched digital map, Centamap, on the Internet in the next three years.

 Centamap, in partnership with the Lands Department, provides information on public and commercial facilities, including police stations, hospitals, supermarkets, restaurants and property listings.

 Centaline senior associate director Ivan Ho Shiu-cheong said the competition in the cyber world was getting tough as each agent improved its Internet services to attract repeat visitors.

 The revenue generated from the Internet remained limited, he said, but it helped in establishing a corporate image and demonstrated the firm's commitment to the sector.

  Managing director Shih Wing-ching said any firm that failed to adapt to the new environment would inevitably be forced out by the market.

  Initially, Centamap would provide information that was of interest to home-owners, such as building age, land uses and lease terms, according to Mr Shih.

 Centamap had attracted daily page-views of 100,000 since it launched last Friday. He expected this would jump to four million by the end of this month.

 Mr Ho said Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) planned to promote their shopping malls on the Centamap to help to bolster their tenants' retail business.

 The company's other Internet service, Centanet, provided property market information, including 4,000 second-hand properties offered for sale or for lease. It had achieved monthly page-views of 4.5 million since 1996, he said.

 Users of Centanet can now arrange appointments with Centaline to visit flats on offer on the Internet.

  Internet services also helped to expand the market overseas, as some foreigners sought out accommodation when they planned to come to Hong Kong to work.

 Inquiries had been received from the United States, Europe and Australia through the Internet.

 Significant profit contribution from the Internet remained remote compared with the company's $1 billion in commissions generated from trading properties last year.

 Advertising revenue received from its Internet services was about $100,000 to $200,000 a month, which was sufficient to keep up with the operating costs, he said.

 But expansion on to the Internet could provide an alternative channel to promote properties on offer at an affordable rate.

  He said the company's annual advertising expenses had dropped by 70 per cent from $7 million three years ago.

 Midland Realty chairman Freddie Wong Kin-yip said he planned to turn the company into a 'cyber agency' in three years at a cost of about $10 million.

 He said the company's Internet services included the new on-line auction service, iAuction, which would offer three foreclosed residential units for auction today.

 Other services are iShop and iIndustrial, to promote the sale of second-hand retail and industrial properties, he said.

 'We can provide 24-hour service throughout the year via our on-line operation,' he said.

 The company is also providing on-line mortgage broking services by referring its home buyers to banks to apply for home mortgages.

 Midland has about 110,000 properties on offer through its branches in the SAR, he said, and the Internet services could enhance the firm's reputation and competitiveness.

 Ricacorp Properties managing director Barry Law Lam-wai said the firm would spend $5 million to improve the content of its Web site through expanding its information technology team to 12 staff from the present two employees.

 The company had approached Henderson Land Development and New World Development to supply basic information about their properties, such as floor plans and recreation facilities, to strengthen the content of its home page, he said.

 The response was encouraging, as this would also help to promote developers' properties, he said.

 At present, about 10 per cent of Ricacorp's customers were introduced through the Internet. He expected this would increase to 30 per cent.

 'We will develop our on-line services with focus on property-related information only,' he said.

 Advertising expenses had dropped by 15 per cent to $17 million from $20 million last year, since it advertised on the Internet, he said.

 At present, the company's Web site attracted about 200,000 browsers a month.

 Fortune Realty marketing director Pauline Sum Kwok-yu said the company would invest about $7 million to expand its intranet and Internet services next year.

 The company is offering Internet services that focus on properties for sale and banks' foreclosed premises.

Inquiries have been received from the United States, Europe and Australia INTERNET 



Home pages become focus for spending and saving in hi-tech effort to attract