In other advanced countries such as Germany the portals would love to do the same thing but the deeds data is just not accessible, not for any price. In South Africa we are actually very lucky – information openness, strong deeds office technology  and  good private sector capability has made high quality computer modelling around property values not only possible, but also available to everyone.

Private Property has teamed up with Lightstone to provide awesome tools for property owners, buyers and investors. We have created our own computerised valuation product called “EstiMate”, available to property owners for free.

Each report contains:

• The current estimated value of the property, as generated by the Lightstone automated valuation model, confidence score for the above value
• Current municipal valuation
• Legal property details
• Owner(s) and bond amount registered
• GIS location and map
• Last sale date and price
• Recent sales of comparable property in the area
• Price and sales volume trends for the area

Report snapshot showing valuation estimate

Owners may register all their properties to get free estimates. These estimates are updated every 3 months and the owner will be sent a reminder email when a new report is available.

Currently it is only possible to draw a free report on properties you own in your personal capacity. We are not able to offer the free product for properties held in trust or other legal entity, primarily due to the difficulties in validating whether the user requesting the report is the valid owner. But all is not lost – you may draw a report on any property in South Africa at a fee of R50 per report, with all the features mentioned above. In the meantime we’ll continue working to get the free report to our savvy trust-based investors.

Click here to get a free report on your property

And for those who hold properties in trust or who want to pull a report on any property in SA:

Click here to buy an estimate report (R50 per successful report)

Look out for some mind-blowing new products on the privateproperty.co.za site in the next couple of months – there is going to be some VERY VERY cool stuff on there! I’ll update you when it goes live.

Cheers,

Paul

If you don’t understand social media and get involved you will go out of business. Agreed it is not vital at the moment, but it is impossible to ignore the trends and by the time it comes it will be too late. Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad Poor Dad) in his latest book Conspiracy of the Rich, said the best way to build wealth was to follow long term trends and this is certainly one you need to know about!

The beauty with social media is that you can’t spend your way to the top. The only way to build a credible reputation is through time and consistency of you application. This is known as social proofing where you build a following (like your account in Ebay and the way you perform). One day we will all have a social proof, which will be like you ID for both yourself and your company. Your track record will follow you. This is awesome as those that are experts and deliver a valuable service or product will be able to charge more and those that don’t perform will go out of business or have to seriously discount their prices. No more developers selling properties and then building rubbish or dodgy estate agents getting away with murder. You will only be as valuable as your track record and with the transparency of the internet; everyone will be able to see your performance. As Steven Covey says, the 21st Century is the Trust Economy and everything is going to be determined by trust and your social proof will be your indicator or the factor it is based on.

The best way to be successful is to model the best, learn what they are doing and then follow them. It is no coincidence that the best in the world are putting a huge focus into their social media strategies.

Anyone think it is only for kids? By the summer of 2009, over one-third of US Facebook users were over the age of 35 and about half that group was over 45. Early in 2009, InsideFacebook.com reported that the fastest growing demographic on Facebook was women over 55.

The sooner you start the sooner you start to build that track record and most importantly your social proof. You need to be on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Linked In at a minimum and you have to start to learn about video as this is the future.

This was a friendly reminder to the property industry to start communicating, or seriously consider the consequences.

If you have any questions please contact me on scott@doubleyoursales.co.za. I would love to know your thoughts.

It is well documented that it comes to investing in Property knowledge is power. The world economy is improving and property will regain its status as a safe haven for investors, a perfect time for a seminar on property. Eight Thought leaders have got together to bring you an evening of thought provoking and informative topics including, international investment, opportunities in Emerging countries, new local opportunities in the buy to let and sectional title hotel category, as well as a range of other topics. The seminar will be held in the evening, over 3 hours, with presentations of 15 minutes each followed by a panel discussion with question and answers. Networking, and refreshments will be provided afterwards.

WHO AND WHAT

Speakers are industry leaders in their respective fields:

Neale Petersen – How to invest now! What are the new elements of investment in dramatically different market.
Jose’ Delgado – Dealing with death, taxes, creditors, divorce, etc. and the benefits of trust and corporate structures.
Janine Barry – “Property Afri-nomics”, the way of business in Africa and purchasing property in The Fourth Economy – the experience economy.
Meyer de Waal – Financial fitness to manage your own finances. Rent to buy the new lending rules that apply to everyone.
Justin Clarke – Change and how online tools have made investing in property easier. Searching and finding the right property.
Scott Picken – Property trends happening in US, UK, Europe, Australia, and China & the impact it will have in SA markets.
Kura Chihota – The Search for Value – Real Estate In Africa” Case studies from Zimbabwe and Ghana.
Andrew Thompson – Sectional Title Hotel Room Investments – Why it works as an investment model

WHEN

Pretoria Country Club – 17th May 2010
Johannesburg – Grayston Southern Sun – 18th May 2010
Durban – Riverside Hotel – 19th May 2010
Cape Town – Radisson CPT – 20th May 2010

COSTS

The fee per person is R495.00 but book now and qualify for an early bird discount – Price only R395.00

BOOKING

Online booking – click here
Early Bird Bookings per delegate, before 30 April: R395
After 30 April: R495 per delegate

Account Name: Delgado Velosa Kenworthy & Associates
Bank: Standard Bank
Trust Account
Account No: 072620552
Branch Code: 025109

Reference: PWN and surname
Email proof of payment to rochelle@propertywealthnetwork.co.za or fax to 021 790 8760
Email Booking and City to rochelle@propertywealthnetwork.co.za

Rochelle Cell 083 259 0562, Office 021 790 0238

Within the first month I received 3 offers on properties! Compared to publishing and taking in consideration the cost, it is a must to advertise on privateproperty.co.za !”

“The exposure of a property on a property website enables the Estate Agent and Seller to reach buyers nationally and also internationally. The amazing results currently – we are getting international buyers, mostly from the UK, United States, Canada and Australia buying property. I have also experienced sellers contacting Agents on their website to help with the marketing of their property in South Africa.”

These are just some of the many success stories that we are receiving from the agents who have decided to join us and list properties for sale on our property portal.

It has taken us 12 years of hard work and millions of rands of marketing to establish Private Property as the most powerful property marketer in South Africa. We’ve known for years that there is no more effective way of marketing a property in South Africa then to post it on the busiest property web site in the country – Private Property!

Now any agent has the chance to join in the success!

It is encouraging to see that even in the toughest of times our Estate Agents are selling houses. This is simply because they have been smart enough to identify the global trend of moving advertising from print to online. They have acted quickly and realised that given that this trend is occurring then why not get their property on the best online property advertiser in the business – Private Property.

Part of our success we can contribute to the quality of the information that our browsers are exposed to. They are able to make informed decisions about the property on view without even physically visiting the property concerned. This is made possible because we offer brilliant features like Virtual Tours and Video Tours with voice over.

Our Estate Agents have quickly learned that to achieve the best results on the Private Property web site they need to ensure that their listings get the most exposure possible. The only way to achieve this is to use their PRO POINTS to buy the additional features like the VIRTUAL TOURS, VIDEO’S and ONLINE AUCTIONS. By adding these features their listings are given priority ranking on our web site and therefore receive more views then other standard listings. The more views a property receives the better the chance of that property being seen by a prospective buyer.

I encourage all our agents to make the best of the PRO POINTS you are given and get cracking with adding additional features to your listings. We also encourage you to send your transfers to our Panel Attorneys. This is the easiest way to accumulate additional PRO POINTS! Please contact your Private Property Relationship Manager for further information.

I wish you all HAPPY SELLING!

Mark Coetzee

National Sales Manager – Private Property