Information technology is the new battleground in the fiercely competitive property market, with agents racing to provide clients with the latest market data as a fast and easy way to boost sales.
Centaline Property Agency, Midland Realty and Hong Kong Property Services (Agency) each have poured millions of dollars into beefing up information infrastructure development in the past few years.
Agents say good information technology not only saves tens of millions of dollar a year in direct-mailing expenses, but also stimulates user interest in trading properties.
Centaline Property Agency, considered a leader in the field, in the next two years will invest about $40 million to develop three projects to improve customer access to property market information through fax-on-demand and the Internet.
Centaline's senior associate director, Ivan Ho, said it had been distributing 500,000 leaflets each month to keep home owners informed about transaction prices.
'Expenses in direct mailing cost us about $1.5 million a month, or $18 million a year,' he said.
