PropertyGuru in JV with Indonesian media giant

• Emtek’s digital subsidiary KMK to acquire minority stake in Rumah.com
• Also announces Transactor tool which gives deeper info to seekers and sellers

ONLINE real estate company PropertyGuru Group said it has formed a joint venture with PT Kreatif Media Karya (KMK), the digital business unit of Indonesia’s integrated media firm PT Elang Mahkota Teknologi Tbk Group (Emtek).
 
The partnership would further strengthen PropertyGuru’s market position in Indonesia where it operates under the Rumah.com brand, which the company claimed serves more than two million property buyers with more than 15 million pageviews every month.
 
The Indonesia Stock Exchange-listed Emtek Group was founded in 1983 and operates three free-to-air television channels, a production business, a pay-TV business and several IT solutions businesses.
 
Under the agreement, KMK will acquire a minority equity interest in PropertyGuru’s Indonesian entity Rumah.com, Singapore-headquartered PropertyGuru said in a statement.
 
“We are very excited to enter the high growth Indonesian online property market with Rumah.com, helping to match families looking for homes with sellers or new property developers,” said KMK chief executive officer Adi Sariaatmadja.
 
“Working together, we believe that we can enhance the market leadership position of Rumah.com whilst creating significant value for KMK’s online business in the process,” he added.
 
KMK and PropertyGuru will partner on several strategic and business development initiatives to accelerate the growth of Rumah.com, while KMK will provide access to Emtek’s media platforms, including television and digital.
 
In addition, PropertyGuru and KMK will collaborate on joint sales initiatives which will support both PropertyGuru’s and KMK’s online and mobile initiatives, PropertyGuru said.
 
Indonesia is the world’s fourth most populous country with more than 250 million people, PropertyGuru noted. Its gross domestic product (GDP) stood at US$868.3 billion in 2013 and is expected to increase by 5.5% to 5.8% in 2014.
 
The US$28-30-billion residential real estate market has been growing 10% to 15% year-on-year for the past five years. An estimated 50,000 real estate agents will spend an approximate US$200 million per annum in real estate advertising, PropertyGuru said.
 
On the back of a growing middle class and a fast-growing mobile Internet penetration, the overall online real estate advertising market is expected to grow at 15% to 20% per year over the next five years.
 
“Rumah.com continues to lead the market with over 290,000 listings, higher than any other property portal in Indonesia,” claimed Jessica Effendi, head of operations for Rumah.com.
 
“Through this partnership with Emtek, Rumah.com can expand its reach to people who may not be aware of the benefits of online property search. We are committed to help millions of Indonesians find their dream homes every month,” she said.
 
New Transactor tool
 
PropertyGuru also announced its new Transactor tool, which enables property seekers and sellers alike to gain deeper insights with reliable and accurate information at a glance, enhancing the user experience in the property search process, the company claimed.
 
With the property market becoming increasingly cautious, quality data plays an even bigger role as property buyers and sellers seek out available vital information to enable them to make the most appropriate property decisions.
 
To address this, users can now assess vital information through the Transactor agents, including the overview of the surrounding neighbourhoods, transaction histories and rental trends of a specific private property unit.
 
This information can then be generated as a valuation report to paint a clearer picture of the unit’s unique selling points, specifically tailored to each individual.
 
“Transactor is designed with a simple objective – to create simple, concise and easy to digest reports for the agents to support their business with property seekers and sellers,” said PropertyGuru cofounder and chief executive Steve Melhuish (pic).
 
“With more than 210,000 property listings, it is not only fundamental to build a positive user experience, but also to generate high quality leads for agents.
 
“We are constantly investing and working towards providing accurate data to give users the confidence that they are getting reliable information when they view a property on our site. This also builds credibility in the relationship between the agent and their clients,” he added.
 
Transactor, which was soft launched earlier September, currently boasts over 600 property agents as users, the company said. It is set to be officially launched in October.
 
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