Property Connect Holdings CEO explains why LiveOffer is going to make waves
Property Connect CEO Darren Patterson has said property in Australia is "right for disruption" in an interview on the Finance News Network earlier this month.
Patterson was talking about LiveOffer, the technology which allows potential tenants to make an online offer on a rental property.
Property Connect are also moving into doing online auctions for property sales, as well as planning to add a mortgage origination service.
Patterson told Finance News Network's Rachael Jones that property technology is very fragmented in Australia and other markets.
"We believe we’ve got the solution that can add value and we can extrapolate from," Patterson said.
"The market is controlled by agents that operate in a franchise model. The two dominant portals take a lot of value out of that chain. And we believe that marketplaces that provide transparency, real time transactional services, will provide value for landlords, renters, vendors and purchasers in that space.
"We believe that marketplaces that provide transparency, real time transactional services, will provide value for landlords, renters, vendors and purchasers in that space."
Patterson said much of the technology is built, but hasn't been implemented for all property types.
"We’re ahead of plan, we recently did a placement, our technology platform on the rental side is built. The auction piece we just recently announced is ahead of plan as well, we’re now in licensing and commercialisation phase," Patterson advised.
The new online rental auction platform is designed to provide transparency and a seamless process, for both the landlord, the tenant and the property manager.
"The tenant, or prospective tenant, can actually control their move-in day, the term of the lease and the amount they want to offer per week," Patterson suggested.
"Sometimes you see tenants turn up to highly sought after properties and there maybe 10/15 people. This gives them a full view and transparency as to where their offer is, in the market. And it allows the property manager to effectively communicate with the landlord, and decide who’s the optimum tenant for the property."
Patterson said they're about to move into providing construction development finance and residential mortgages, something he says they believe will help facilitate the entire property transaction.
Property Connect are targeting the transient markets where renters move between states frequently.
"We see that emerging in Australia, particularly as developers look to build, to let and develop property funds.
"We see that in high-density areas like Hong Kong, Singapore and the Middle East. And we’re rolling out a lightweight sales model, which is focused around licensing in those markets with partners."
