Hong Kong online property platform property852.com takes on bigwigs in city’s highly competitive brokerage market

Property852.com, a new online entrant, is attempting to get a slice of Hong Kong’s highly competitive property brokerage industry by charging customers as little as HK$288 (US$36.8) per listing.

The online platform offers a listing service to owners and buyers or renters looking to find properties without the help of agents, said Oliver Coquelin, property852.com’s founder and managing director.

“We aim to overcome the misconception that [buying or renting real estate] is a challenging process, which requires specialist help,” Coquelin said. “We will do this by simplifying the process with step-by-step guides, as well as providing free resources such as a contract template.”

Brokerage agents in Hong Kong typically get a commission of 1 per cent of the transacted value each from buyers and sellers for sales of lived-in homes. So a flat valued at HK$8 million (US$1.02 million) means buyers and sellers both pay HK$80,000 each when dealing with a traditional agent. With property852.com, both parties would save HK$159,712.

Instead of a percentage of the deal as commission, the platform charges a listing fee that starts at HK$288 for a standard listing. A priority listing with a boost on social media channels can be made for HK$388. Since its launch last year, property852.com has attracted close to 380 listings, and aims to have 1,000 listings a month within three years.