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Dot Property is now Dot Property Group. This is much more than a name change, however. The company is revolutionizing how property professionals in Southeast Asia operate. Its newest innovations allow you to work faster, smarter and more efficiently than ever before.
Technology and real estate have an interesting relationship. Especially as it relates to how property professionals connect with those looking for a new home. Everything tends to be siloed meaning it takes more time and effort for real estate agents and homebuilders to accomplish their goals.
What if there was a way to streamline that? What if there was a way for you to reach more people in less time? Finding the answer to those questions has been driving Dot Property behind the scenes for nearly two years.
“The most important resource for real estate agents and developers in Southeast Asia is time. They have so much going on at any given moment. Understanding this inspired us to develop a technological solution that allowed property professionals to reach more people in less time,” James Claassen, Dot Property General Manager, explains. “It required us to examine who we were and how we could best support the real estate industry as a whole.”
Dot Property is now Dot Property Group
Since being founded in 2013, Dot Property has grown significantly. Early on, this came in the form of expanding into new markets, such as Vietnam. As the company grew, events like the Dot Property Awards were launched. There were also additions including the acquisition of Persquare in the Philippines and Hipflat in Thailand.
There was activity behind the scenes as well. Dot Property joined Mitula Group which was eventually acquired by LIFULL in 2019. Later that year, LIFULL Connect was born, creating one of the world’s largest global marketplace groups in the process.
After years of constant growth and progression, there was finally a chance for reflection. It was an opportunity to explore who and what Dot Property was.
“Something we struggled with was synergy. We have so many outstanding pieces, but there was nothing connecting them,” James details. “In Thailand, we have Thailand-Property, Dot Property and Hipflat. There is Dot Property Philippines which is the largest real estate website in the Philippines. And we can’t forget about the Dot Property Awards, events and other websites throughout Southeast Asia.”
He continues, “It became important for us to bring these altogether. Having everything segmented didn’t benefit our partners or those who rely on our websites to find their home. We had, in a sense, outgrown the Dot Property name.”
It’s cliche to say, but Dot Property needed a bigger roof to place all its offerings under. Thus, Dot Property Group was born. The new name allows the company to keep an identity people throughout Southeast Asia know and love while highlighting it is much more than one website or event.
“Dot Property Group encompasses everything we do as Southeast Asia’s leading online real estate marketplace,” James proclaims. “When someone heard Dot Property, they most likely thought of a specific website or service. When people hear Dot Property Group, they will think of a diverse, holistic real estate solution that goes far beyond any one thing.”
As Dot Property began its transition to Dot Property Group, a new tool was being developed to help streamline the online experience and prove this wasn’t simply a cosmetic name change.
Welcome to Proppit
When LIFULL Connect was formed in 2019, it saw Dot Property become a part of the world’s largest real estate aggregation network. Online real estate marketplaces in Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America joined together with global vertical search websites to form a property powerhouse.
The challenge was to turn this reach into something beneficial for real estate agents and developers. While there has been no shortage of property portals to expand their operations geographically, it hasn’t resulted in meaningful improvements for real estate professionals.
“There is so much focus on expansion and growth in our industry. We can sometimes end up equating bigger with being better. But that’s not always the case. For us, we needed to understand how being bigger could allow us to provide our partners with a better experience,” James says. “As we coalesced as Dot Property Group and all of LIFULL Connect began to understand the scope of our capabilities, we started working towards a solution.”
These efforts would eventually lead to the creation of Proppit, a forward-thinking innovation that allows property professionals to reach more people in less time. It’s an easy-to-use platform where you upload a listing to a centralized location and have it published across the Dot Property Group and three other leading vertical search websites.
Proppit is a single hub where you have the ability to increase your visibility and easily manage your stock without the endless hassle of dealing with multiple sites, platforms and payment schemes. Real estate agents and developers using it can save time, reduce costs and focus on clients.
“Proppit allows property professionals to work smarter. One thing I have learned about the real estate industry in Southeast Asia since moving here is that everyone is busy all the time,” James notes. “And yet, so many people spend a great deal of time on redundant tasks. Proppit eliminates that. You no longer have to post the same listing on six different websites, pay six different subscriptions and respond to leads on six different platforms. It can all be done here.”
And this is only the beginning. Additional tools, features and functionalities are already in development for Proppit that will see it cement its status as real estate industry’s preferred platform in the years to come.
What makes Dot Property Group different?
Many online real estate marketplaces and portals in Southeast Asia like to overpromise and underdeliver. It’s part of startup culture. There is so much focus on making the company more attractive so it can secure the next round of funding or woo potential investors that it is easy to lose sight of what’s actually being built. Having lived through this existence, Dot Property Group was keenly aware of the trap.
“Our growth and where we are at as a company allow us to now concentrate efforts on real improvements. We continue to work on truly beneficial innovations for property professionals and home seekers,” James states. “What makes those ambitions different today versus where we were at three or four years ago is that we aren’t a startup. We are part of something much larger and much stronger that has the ability to develop industry leading solutions like Proppit.”
If the old adage strength in numbers is to be believed, then Dot Property Group’s strength is unmatched in Southeast Asia. As part of LIFULL Connect, the company joined a network of 250 websites that span 63 countries and receive more than 200 million listing views monthly. But this strength goes well beyond numbers.
“Being part of LIFULL Connect provides us with more resources and capabilities. We are continually looking for ways we can elevate the search experience for both property buyers and sellers,” James says. “There are a lot of things in the pipeline we are really excited about.”
Looking ahead
A lot has changed for the Dot Property Group over the past two years. And that doesn’t even factor in the COVID-19 pandemic which has disrupted the real estate industry in unforeseen ways. It has been a transformational time which forced the company to reflect on just how it fits into the landscape.
“The pandemic required us to rethink how we fit in the real estate ecosystem. As Dot Property, our focus was on connecting buyers and sellers. As the Dot Property Group began to take shape, we saw our role was evolving,” James explains. “We are now a hub of activity and information that spanned beyond a single website, country or function. This is the foundation we are building upon.”
He continued, “Some of this has already been realized with the launch of Proppit along with digital events and Agent Days. But it is only the start of a much longer journey. We are working on several more impactful innovations that will be rolled out as the region emerges from COVID-19.”
Ultimately, Dot Property Group sees itself as a trusted partner for developers and real estate agents. The brand they turn to for help, advice, information or anything else needed to achieve success.
“We urge anyone who is interested to come speak with us. Take this opportunity to learn about how Dot Property Group can help you reach your goals,” James concludes.