Can Squiiz seriously challenge REA and Domain?

The much-anticipated national industry-owned portal will be called Squiiz.

The bizarrely named website is billed as taking on the News Ltd REA and Fairfax Domain property website powerhouses.

Launch meetings will commence next month.

The name relates, with an extra i, to squiz, the Australian slang for 'to have a look'.

Its member base indications currently incorporate 60% plus of the major estate agency market, the chief executive of the new portal, Nick Christian told the Real Estate Business website.

He went onto claim his “marketing and creative team has done an outstanding job developing a best-in-class brand communication and launch strategy around Squiiz, and we are excited about the prospects of what we can do with such a unique brand”.

It now has a Facebook site with 57 likes. There are nine followers on its Twitter account.

Although its has been billed as arising from recent pricing concerns, Property Observer notes the "Squiiz Property finds You" trademark number was lodged in August 2013. 

Yesterday, Property Observer reported on Applabs Australia’s Home Open website that launched last Monday. Home Open also intends to challenge the dominance of REA and Fairfax Domain in the online listings market.

{module Do you think prospective vendors will want to list their homes on a website called Squiiz?}