(Industry) More than 60 percent of South African estate agencies now advertise properties for sale online, making the Internet the industry's second-most popular advertising medium after local newspapers, according to recently released findings of a national industry survey.

The survey also revealed widespread use of computers, digital cameras and specialised software in an industry that until just a few years ago was largely not "wired" at all.

The survey - the first of its kind to be conducted in SA* - was co-ordinated by Property24.com with the Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB) and the Institute of Estate Agents (IEASA), and mailed in June last year to some 48 000 agents then registered with the EAAB.

It probed a wide range of characteristics of agents and agencies, including demographics, business activities and compensation structures as well as technology usage and, although participation was entirely voluntary, it drew a strong response.

With regard to technology usage, the research showed that 93 percent of estate agencies are now computerised, and that 86 percent have an Internet connection.

The average number of desktop or laptop computers per agency is three, and the majority have an in-house network. What is more, almost a quarter of those with an Internet connection have already advanced beyond dialling-up via a modem to other means of connection such as ISDN and ADSL lines and wireless and satellite links.

More than 75 percent of agencies are making use of software specifically designed for the real estate market, with listing of properties for advertising purposes and Deeds Office searches being the most popular applications used on a daily basis.

Meanwhile, it appears that individual agents have also taken to technology in a big way. Cellphone usage is not surprisingly almost universal (99

percent) but the survey also revealed that 89 percent of agents now also have their own desktop or laptop computer and that 84 percent also have their own Internet connection.

Almost half the agents surveyed (47 percent) indicated that they also owned a digital camera, and a built-in camera was rated the second-most used cellphone feature, after SMS messaging. This corresponds to the increasing use of digital photographs for advertising and presentation purposes.

* Property24 claim that the only other national real estate survey of this kind is the Member Profile compiled every two years by the National Association of Realtors in the US.

Submitted: 28 Jan 2005