14th December 2010 | case studyA (RE)FRESH APPROACH TO REAL ESTATE

With so many players in the real estate market, how can a start up stand out from the crowd?

Enter, Resi Sales - A company established to provide an alternative, cost-effective means of selling residential real estate. Where most agents typically charge 3% commission, Resi Sales made a huge dent in the market by offering set fees to vendors.

It was our job to come up with a website that maintained the company's simplistic vision. With some outside the box thinking, and a determination to be different, fresh & simple - the results took care of themselves.

Redesigning the wheel

Before the first round of designs were sketched, we analysed the usability of many leading real estate websites. We discovered the majority of their 'handy features' were being used rarely. They were getting in the users way. Not only did they take away from the property, they confused the user and decreased page performance.

We started from scratch, redesigning the basics - all with the goal of a more pleasant user experience. This lead to some stand out features, including a gallery that allowed users to view property photos without opening additional windows or losing property information.

Getting out of the users way

As development kicked of, the key phrase kept in mind was simplicity. How can we make each process easier? How can we decrease loading time? Features such as AJAX forms and scrolling-animated search results (80% faster than traditional methods) made browsing effortless.

It wasn't only the front end that had to be kept simple, it was vital to keep the agent area straight forward. We developed a system that allowed agents to manage properties with ease. Intuitive features such as automatic image uploads and drag-and-drop sorting meant entire properties could be listed in just minutes. Listings would then sync with leading real estate portals (such as domain.com.au), without the agent needing to upload the same property to numerous websites.

Marketing the new website

The first franchise opened in Port Macquarie, a town on the North Eastern coast of New South Wales, Australia. With a huge number of potential buyers googling real estate, a first page listing for "Port Macquarie Real Estate" was vital. With some intensive search engine optimisation (SEO), the website overtook many of the key players and a first page result was achieved in less than six months.