The internet has playing an increasingly important role in South Africa’s property, especially with younger generations, influencing the way property is advertised and sold.
According to research from bond originator ooba the average age of a first buyer in the country is 33, and the average of all applicants to ooba is 37.
More than half of property applicants are first buyers (52 per cent), which has risen from 44.9 per cent in the last three years. These demographics are having a profound effect on the way property deals are done.
Rhys Dyer, ooba’s chief operating officer, said: “If you think of the average 33-year-old in the property market today, they’ve probably had an email address for most of their adult lives, have used search engines over any other reference tool when they’re looking for information, have Facebook profiles and interact with friends and brands on Twitter.”
Ooba added its website and online bond affordability calculator have seen an increase in traffic, with the latter’s pageviews rising by 28 per cent in the last 12 months.
HumanIPO reported in March on Cape Town-based startup The Massive, a web platform which is trying to connect different levels of property management and maintenance industry.
While acknowledging a personal referral from a friend is still there most regular driver of business, ooba said that referral is increasingly more digital as people begin to use Twitter and Facebook to endorse an agency.
