Battle of the RE Platforms–Update

I advertised a listing in 4 different RE platforms. Here's how the advertisements performed.

Guidelines

+ The listing chosen has the most inquiries among all our listings.

+ This property was listed with us in Jul-2022 and was uploaded and updated on the 4 platforms on the same day.

+ The rental price, originally P32K, was lowered to P27K on Jul-2023, and to P25K on Dec-2023.

+ We compiled the number of inquiries on a monthly basis for 17 months.

+ "Inquiries" are defined as the instances when users reach out and when the platform sends us an email because someone clicked our contact info.

+ The listing remains vacant because of the strict requirements of the owner and the absence of furniture and parking.

# of Inquiries for a 1-Bedroom Property

Observations

+ Same as before, Lamudi garnered the most inquiries, totaling 77 (out of 153; roughly 50%) in 11 of the 17 months.

+ 77% of those who inquired via Lamudi didn't reply.

+ Rentpad placed second with 38 inquiries (out of 153), capturing the most number of inquiries in 5 of the 17 months.

+ For Rentpad, Carousell, and Dot Property, there were 6 months without any inquiries.

+ For Lamudi, there were only 4 months without any.

+ I'm surprised to see Carousell perform the worst (16 inquiries) among all. This used to be my favorite.

Insights

+ Exposure and lead quality are two factors that platforms try to balance out.

+ Require too much information from the user, and they jump to another platform.

+ Among the 4, Lamudi is the most lenient, while Rentpad is the strictest.

+ Lamudi is responsible for 44% of the total # of closed transactions for 2023, while 22% belonged to DotProperty.

+ This suggests that quantity (i.e., exposure) is more important (than quality) for closings.

+ It seems that these platforms' monthly budgets for search engine optimization (SEO) fluctuate. If sales are slow, do they choose to halt/minimize SEO periodically to prop up profitability?

Takeaway

+ Advertise on all platforms. But if you could only choose one, Lamudi should be your top choice (at least for now).

+ Opt to get the monthly payment scheme (as opposed to the discounted annual one). We don't know when and if they'll cut their SEO budget.