Project Overview
realestate.com.au’s iOS app helps Australians live their property dreams.
realestate.com.au is Australia's number one destination for people looking to buy, rent and sell property and its mobile apps are market leaders, surpassing 3 million downloads in March 2014 (iOS and Android). Average monthly app visits grew 112% in the six months to 31 December 2013.
realestate.com.au’s iOS app consistently ranks in the top 10 free lifestyle apps in Apple iTunes store.
Organisation
Team
David Collins; Chris Kwan; Steve Molloy; Glen Arvidson; Peter Caddy; Jesse Collis; Stewart Gleadow; Anthony Mittaz; Prasanna Gopalakrishnan; Daniel Jimenez; Jay Kim; Chris Austin; Ricky Synnot; Ken Scambler; Saibaba Pittala
Project Brief
Australians love property and realestate.com.au is Australia’s favourite property destination. We’re constantly looking at ways to make realestate.com.au even more useful and our ‘mobile first’ strategy means our mobile apps and sites are the focus of our innovation.
With more than 3 million downloads of our mobile apps, we’re also one of Australia’s favourite free lifestyle apps. This means we have to be able to demonstrate real value to entice consumers to upgrade to our latest version. So we’re always looking to include new features and benefits for consumers, property owners and real estate agents.
When it came to our latest upgrade, we wanted to see if we could push ourselves further to include comprehensive sold prices for at least 70% of properties in our Sold section. This provides people looking to buy and sell property or those monitoring the market with the information they need to make informed decisions about the local market.
Project Need
Our latest realestate.com.au iOS app was released on 12 July 2014. Our app makes it easier for people to find their dream home. Once a user saves a property, they can view it on a map and plan their weekend according to open for inspection or auction dates and times. The app design theme has also been upgraded, in keeping with the new i0S7 design experience.
Determined to deliver Australia’s best property search experience, the realestate.com.au iOS app enables users to:
• Search properties for sale, for rent or recently sold
• Get comprehensive sold prices in the new Sold section
• View properties by map or list
• Search from current location
• Tap to view full-screen property images
• Save open for inspection and auction times directly to their iPad or iPhone calendar
• Schedule and get directions to open for inspections
• Contact a real estate agent by phone or email with just a tap
• View full screen images via AirPlay
• Swipe through list view images without having to enter the detailed view of a property; 'peeking' inside the property and saving time
• Access bank-endorsed mortgage calculation tools updated with current interest rates
• Help tenants calculate the affordability of mortgage payments on their own home
User Experience
realestate.com.au’s iOS app consistently ranks in the top 10 free lifestyle apps on Apple iTunes. On 29 July 2014, realestate.com.au’s iPad app was ranked the #2 free lifestyle app and the iPhone app was ranked #5.
Enhancements to the iOS app have made it easier to save properties to a personalised ‘myrealestate’ account, resulting in record numbers of property saves (more than 3 million per month) in 2014.
The majority of realestate.com.au users search on the go – with 53 per cent of visits occurring on mobile devices – and our Open for Inspection planner within the app allows consumers to plan their weekend inspections across multiple devices. Mobile device usage peaks on a Saturday when people are out and about.
Project Marketing
realestate.com.au’s iOS app is promoted to consumers via the realestate.com.au main site and mobile site as well as through advertising. In 2014, the app was advertised and promoted through a digital advertising campaign on the InMobi and Mi9 networks.
Project Privacy
We recognise the importance of protecting personal information. Maintaining consumer trust is critical to the personalisation of our services. We provide clear and concise collection statements and links to full privacy policy at each place where personal information is collected. We only use personal information in accordance with the consent granted to us via those collection statements. We do not collect sensitive information as defined under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). In collecting and handling personal information, we are bound by the Privacy Act, including the Australian Privacy Principles and applicable Privacy regulations.
Best Mobile Expanded Service or Application
This category recognises the best expanded mobile service or application.
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