Address Talk: Increasing transparency in the property market

Address Talk are working with Kingdom on their Southpoint development

Address Talk (AT), the only property based social networking platform, aims to raise the bar in the property development industry by improving channels of communication between property owners and development companies.

In addition to providing a channel of communication during the construction process, the forum also operates as an information system for residents once they are living in the development, providing an effective means of communication with the property manager.

AT recently negotiated a partnership with Thai developer Kingdom Property to provide condominium buyers at Kingdom's Southpoint development a direct avenue of communication with the developer throughout construction. Through the forum of AT, buyers are invited to be a part of the construction action as it unfolds, as well as requesting information and addressing their concerns with Kingdom.

Chief executive officer of AT, Rob Oldnall, stated, "It's a huge compliment Kingdom recognised what we are doing."

Oldnall emphasised that AT is a unique way for property developers to step ahead of competitors, by showing complete transparency and honesty with potential buyers throughout the purchase stages, and once the buyer has taken residence. By investing in a forum like AT, property development companies are effectively embracing communications with the buyer so they are better able to deliver the buyer's expectations.

Oldnall also believes that a developer's willingness to communicate with buyers on a public forum is a bold move, suggesting, "This will widen the gap between quality developers and everyone else… When other developers see this working it will attract them, and bring more accountability to the industry."

Ultimately, the transparency of the AT forum will be able to provide a scale for property developers to measure themselves against.

When asked to comment on the origins of AT, Oldnall stated that he had noticed there was no good dynamic connecting property developers, managers, buyers and residents. As a result, AT was then "born out of a need for people to have better transparency and compliance."

In terms of the day to day functionality of AT, the platform provides three main lines of communication, including communication from manager/ developer to resident/ buyer, communication from resident to resident, and communication from resident to manager/ developer.

According to the technical manager of AT, Jeff Flynn, the key element of the website is to provide useful information for both residents and manager.

Flynn stated, "AT gets people engaged with management, so problems are communicated quickly."

The forum also provides a record of all communication between manager and residents, so problems within the property can be solved quickly, and all residents are free to observe the efficient performance of the property manager.

In addition, the platform provides a location for useful documents concerning the property that all residents would find useful.

"Contact information for the company, how to set up cable, internet connection and house rules… all information is available and specific to that condominium, all in one place," said Flynn.

When asked about day to day use of the online platform Flynn stressed that right from the project's inception, the site needed to be user friendly enough for a non-technical audience. Members have to be invited to their condominium's group by the property manager, and all that is needed to create a user account is an email address.

Additionally, it is possible for one user to belong to several address communities on the site if they own property in various locations, but want to keep check on what is going on at each property.

AT is a site designed with global intentions, and is already localised to operate in English, Thai, Russian and Japanese languages. Oldnall stated that the website has the technology in place to make it easy to localise the central language used on the site.

"In Pattaya, Thai, English and Russian are all spoken so the platform is flexible to support the widest possible audience," said Oldnall.

Overall, Oldnall is excited to bring a new element to the property industry. The site has already received positive feedback from property managers, who have never before had such a platform to communicate with residents.

In the future, Oldnall wants to move forward with plans to make AT a truly global service by targeting key urban centres.

Oldnall stated, "South East Asia is where the potential is. The urbanisation of Singapore, Hong Kong and China provides a big market… AT is a breakthrough, and we are very Asia-centric right now".

The AT website is already fully functional in numerous communities worldwide, and staff at AT are currently working with these communities, trying to find a way to make the forum as effective as possible.

 

 

Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2013/01/10/address-talk-increasing-transparency-in-the-property-market/