Australian Portal homely Expands to Tasmania

Australian #3 portal homely has announced its expansion to the island of Tasmania. Previously active only on the Australian mainland, the company said in a press release this morning that it has now built a network of industry partners in Tasmania who will join its existing network of some 500 Australian real estate agents.

Although the number of newly signed up Tasmanian agents was not revealed by the company, according to homely's Head of Sales, Rory Cook, feedback from the agent community on the island has been "overwhelmingly positive" and "the Tasmanian real estate industry is welcoming Homely with open arms as the disruptive, cost-effective property portal the industry needs”.

One agent who has partnered with homely is Tony Morrison, CEO of Harcourts Tasmania & Victoria, who said:

“As the head of Tasmania’s largest real estate network, I am thrilled to see some legitimate competition in the online advertising space."

Making reference to homely's neighbourhood guides, which the portal company sees as a point of difference from its competitors, Morrison went on to say that:

"Not only is Homely an economically viable online advertising solution, it also provides both local and mainland house hunters with valuable information about suburbs that they may not be familiar with. In current times, when travel is often limited - and at the very least, difficult - that information is priceless.”

Differing from the portal-agent dynamic seen in much of the world, Australian vendors, rather than agents, are ultimately responsible for paying portal fees. Nevertheless, agents are still vital to Australian portals as brand ambassadors and because of their responsibility to inform and advise vendors they can make or break portal reputations and revenues.

Homely has made headlines recently forging important agency sponsorship deals, sponsoring industry events and teaming up with fellow portal REIWA to take on the big portals in the Western Australia region.