Trans-Tasman tie-up for online property sites

Online property advertising firm RealENZ is teaming up with Aussie listed company Realestate.com.au to set up the first Australasian real estate directory on the Internet.

RealENZ, established in 1997, has been jointly owned by the Real Estate Institute and Auckland Multiple Listing Bureau. Institute president Max Oliver told Good Returns that the site (www.realenz.co.nz) had around 38,000 listings and was getting 1.8 million hits a week, while Realestate.com.au had some four million hits a week.

"What this will do for members is give them a more global perspective and the public will be able to look at listings in both countries and, not too far in the future, they may be looking at (listings in) Singapore and Tokyo as well."

Oliver said the RealENZ website would be changed around in about a week's time and would contain the Institute's website within the overall framework.

Realestate.com.au is a publicly listed company part-owned by Macquarie Bank and is Australia's second largest real estate site. It will hold a third share in RealENZ along with the Institute and Auckland Multiple Listing Bureau.

RealENZ chairman Peter Cook said the alliance with Realestate.com.au would provide a potential Australian distribution outlet for advanced software solutions such as the 1st Place listing system developed by RealENZ, as well as access to capital markets via Macquarie Bank.