House-Hunters Switch Online In Emerging Markets

OCTOBER 17, 2014: In the western world, looking for property online is as commonplace as buying a book or shopping for clothes using the internet. It seems natural to flip through the latest real estate listings on your smartphone while waiting at the bus stop or relaxing at home. In fact, it's almost hard to imagine a time when these tools did not exist.

In the emerging markets, the picture is very different. In many countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, online property hunting is a relatively new phenomenon. Traditional means like newspaper classifieds and real estate fairs are the norm, while internet penetration rates remain relatively low.

But in recent years, people in these regions have jumped on to the idea of finding property to buy or rent using the web. The primary reason for this is increasing internet usage. In Africa internet penetration has increased to 19%. Ghana has an even more impressive record, with the country recording over 54% internet penetration rate in April 2014.

Recently, big players have come on board, with Facebook launching its Internet.org project to increase network performance in emerging markets. A trial in Indonesia, where the social networking giant partnered directly with mobile carriers to help improve network coverage, increased speeds by up to 70 percent. Facebook will now roll out the project to other markets. Google has also unveiled several projects to boost access to the internet in the developing world, including spending $US1 billion to buy 180 satellites to boost access in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.

In this environment, the battle for dominance over the online real estate space in the emerging markets is intensifying. Global property portal Lamudi.com.gh entered the race one year ago this month and already operates in 28 countries worldwide. The platform now hosts more than 680,000 property listings across its global network, attesting to the demand for online services within the real estate sector in these regions.

However, the development of online property hunting in the emerging markets has had a different focus. Now more than ever, e-commerce companies must concentrate on mobile, as global smartphone penetration is also rising rapidly. As networks improve and the cost of devices falls, smartphones are beginning to replace feature phones in these regions. In Africa and Asia, mobile now accounts for more than a third of all internet usage.

Kian Moini, Lamudi.com.gh Global Co-Founder, said: “The challenge for our company is very different from what some of the world's leading property portals, such as Zillow and Trulia in the US, faced when they first launched.

As recently as five years ago, the mobile internet sector was still in its infancy. But for many people in our markets - from Ghana and Nigeria, to Mexico and Colombia - the first time they access the internet will be on a mobile device. For this reason, taking a mobile-first approach is crucial to Lamudi's success.”

Lamudi.com.gh rolled out its Android and iOS apps earlier this year, with about 90,000 downloads since June. An updated app is set to be released in the coming months.

Also check out Lamudi.com.gh for more info on Real Estate in Ghana

ABOUT LAMUDI

Launched in 2013, Lamudi.com.gh is a global property portal focusing exclusively on emerging markets. The fast-growing platform is currently available in 28 countries in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, with more than 600,000 real estate listings across its global network. The leading real estate marketplace offers sellers, buyers, landlords and renters a secure and easy-to-use platform to find or list properties online.

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