Mudah Property aims for number one property platform spot

• Delivers simplicity to users through data and machine learning
• Targets young people by focusing on rent-to-buy journey

ONLINE marketplace Mudah.my announced on Aug 22 its aim to become Malaysia’s leading property portal by leveraging on big data and its easy-to-use interface to enable Malaysians to fulfil all their property needs, whether it is to find, fix or furnish homes.

Mudah.my is already Malaysia’s largest online marketplace for buying and selling affordable and pre-used products. Over the past decade, the platform has become a comprehensive marketplace for everyday needs and wants, from automobiles and electronics to home appliances, toys and collectibles.

Its property section Mudah Property has been growing steadily over the past two years and is at a point where Mudah is ready to announce its plans for market domination, reveals Mudah.my chief executive officer Gaurav Bhasin.

According to Bhasin, Mudah.my is the number one online marketplace in Malaysia for everyday items and automobiles and is currently the number two online marketplace for property. This announcement marks the start of Mudah Property’s journey to become number one in the country.

Statistics from comScore show that Mudah.my received 801,000 unique visitors in May this year and spent 33 minutes on average on the property pages.

Malaysia’s leading property portal iProperty received more than 1.2 million visitors during the same time period, though they spent about 12 minutes on the site. In third is PropertyGuru, which received 670,000 visitors who spent five minutes on the site.

This shows that though Mudah Property is the number two property site in terms of reach in Malaysia, it is number one in user engagement, says Bhasin.

“People spend far more time on Mudah Property than they do on other property verticals in the country, which really heartens us and gives us the confidence that we can build this to number one if we really focus on it. We have never focused on property in the past and yet we have reached this level.”

Mudah.my gets about 7.5 million visitors a year; about 25% of these visitors search for property or property-related items and services.

Leverage on unique position

Bhasin says that Mudah is in a unique position to become number one because it is not just a place to find, rent, buy or sell; it is also where users can find services and solutions, such as renovation services or furnishings and fixtures that turn a house into a home.

“We believe that this is an opportunity that nobody else in the country has and we want to take advantage of this and bring home solutions to all Malaysians.”

Mudah Property is using simplicity as a strategy to reach its goal of becoming number one, which is no surprise - the main Mudah.my portal’s key selling point has always been to keep things simple and easy for users, which is a major factor in its rise to leading online marketplace in Malaysia.

“Keeping it simple for users means it won’t be simple for us at the back end. We will do the heavy lifting at the back end with the help of technology and data. This means we are using machine learning and artificial intelligence to deliver this simplicity. This is what we thing we’re the best at,” says Bhasin.

This means that Mudah Property will be able to suggest solutions and services to potential property buyers it identifies on the site and match them with the most relevant ones according to the user’s behaviour on the site, providing a personalised experience.

“This is the journey we’re embarking on, where we focus on simplicity and deliver simplicity through data and technology,” says Bhasin.

Despite Mudah having three segments to focus on – automobiles, everyday items and property -  Bhasin says that Mudah Property is well equipped to compete with property-focused platforms, such as iProperty and PropertyGuru, as well as service platforms such as ServisHero and RecomN, because of its startup-like organisation.

Basically, Mudah has a dedicated Mudah Property team within its ranks, which takes care of all aspects of the property side of the business.

On top of that, Mudah Property leverages on Mudah’s technology and the data gathered from all other segments on Mudah.my, which allows it to get home solutions to users in a more efficient way, says Bhasin.

The listings on Mudah Property go through a stringent review process before being posted and expire after 60 days, meaning that all listings stay fresh and current to the market. Property agents pay a fee to list on the site but homeowners list for free.

Bhasin said that Mudah Property is looking to collaborate with property developers in the near future to list new properties directly from them, though for now the focus will remain on secondary properties (properties that are already owned) and properties for rent.

“Today we are strongest in affordable housing but our goal is to eventually go across all segments,” says Bhasin.

Mudah Property is targeting first-time homeowners and fresh graduates, emphasising the ease with which they can find their desired property to buy or rent.

Reaching out to young people

One way it is raising awareness is through a song and music video in collaboration with Malaysian singer Ayda Jebat. The song, Eazy Peazy, which also features Malaysian rapper Aman Ra and was produced by Sasi the Don, tells listeners how easy it is to use Mudah to find, fix or furnish property.

Bhasin says that though Mudah Property’s target market is young people who may not be able to afford to buy property, especially landed property, the purpose of the song and video, and of Mudah Property, is not to get them to buy straight away.

“You start your journey by renting a room or a house, and then you move on to eventually buy. Mudah wants to be there throughout your journey.”

Bhasin reveals that the aim is to get Mudah Property to the number one online property platform spot in two years, though he admits that it will not be an easy task.

“We’ve set an ambitious goal but we have to set such goals because we know our competitors are working just as hard as we are, and there are international and regional ideas coming in all the time.

“We are taking the competition and the journey seriously and we are going to put the work into it to reach our goals.”

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