Nowadays, most people who look for a property to buy or rent use websites like SeLoger.com, Explorimmo.com or Le Bon Coin. These platforms publish real estate adverts online... yet does their display meet the expectations of a buyer or a tenant in search for a flat or a house? That’s not sure!
A new real estate website, Bien'ici, intends to provide a more complete answer to the questions any person in search of a flat or a house may have.
Bien'ici, towards a different approach of online real estate ?
Bien'ici results from an agreement between the main real estate syndicates (SNPI, UNIS, FNAIM, FPI), some franchised networks like Century 21 as well as some national companies in charge of properties management and real estate transactions (Foncia, Square Habitat).
The site is born out of a pretty simple reflection: someone who wishes to rent or buy a property will often browse through various websites. This will range from a site displaying real estate adverts online to a site like Google Maps so as to identify the neighbourhood in which the property is located. Finally, browsing other sites to gather complementary opinions on the area and practical information on the life in the district.
Bien'ici, available on computer, tablet and smartphone, aim at establishing itself as a real information portal for potential tenants and buyers : they will not only find there adverts but also geolocate precisely the properties so as to evaluate whether the district suits them or not. What are the points of interest in the vicinity of the property? The shops? Public transports?
The objective is to centralise most entirely the real estate adverts coming from the offices, may if be from big franchises, small independent offices in care of properties, or new development projects.
Bien'ici, a criticised real estate website
To browse throughout the site Bien'ici itself turns out to be pretty playful for the user, as it can visualise interactively the bus stop and underground stations, the schools, the administrative offices as well as the pharmacies and grocery shops.
The site nonetheless rouses many critics which underline, among other things, the limits of geolocation . Geolocating tenements supposes to provide the buyers or tenants to-be with the exact location of the property aimed at... and that is not always a given!
Indeed, when an owner entrusts his property to a real estate office to care for its selling or renting, he can choose between an exclusive representation agreement and a non –exclusive representation agreement. The non-exclusive one allows the owner to entrust the same property to as many real estate offices as he wishes... whereas with the exclusive one, it is up to a single real estate office to realise the transaction. Each of these representative agreements have their advantages, yet the non-exclusive one implies a strong competition: many real estate offices, flat hunters or even individuals can try and contact the owner of the property. That is the reason why the adverts for real estate about a non-exclusive representation agreement scarcely provide the exact location of a property they are in charge of.
The rate of exclusive representation agreement seems to be still low in France, an average around 15%... and that is most likely the main obstacle that Bien’ici will have to remove so as to establish its position on the market. The site should be given some leeway to develop itself in order to know if it will be able to conciliate as best as possible the imperatives of the real estate offices and the needs of the buyers, in the perspective of a more performing real estate online.