The new Facebook Marketplace service could be used to buy and sell homes, and has been described as capable of entering into the classified space currently dominated by portals such as Rightmove.
Launched this week, with the feature initially rolled out across the UK, US, Australia and New Zealand, one property has already been listed on Marketplace.
The social media mobile app allows users to buy and sell items large and small.
Marketplace appears as an icon at the bottom of the Facebook app with users able to click the ‘shop’ button to begin using the feature.
When opened, it presents users with photos of items that sellers want to get rid of. The feature filters the results by location, price and categories.
One Marketplace user has already listed a house using the feature. Surprisingly, perhaps, the listing is not by a private seller but an American realtor who has posted a $699,000 listing in Glen Ridge, New Jersey.
Marketplace will go to everyone over 18 on the Facebook app for iPhone and Android over the next few days and be available on desktop in the coming months.
Google did try to enter the property portal market via its use of Google Maps, but notoriously failed.
Comments (7)
This may not seem significant now but this is the actual “disruptor” of the traditional model that we have all been hoping would never arrive and that PB et al have never managed to become, whether we like it or not this will actually change the shape of things to come, Facebook doesnt care how mnay listings it gets, who it takes them away from etc etc, is used as a life-management tool by many under 25’s and for FB this is just another way of finding out a little bit more about those people.
I agree that this wont change anything overnight but it will slowly but surely worm its way into our operating margins as more and more of those who currently use FB take the opportunity it provides to sell their house for free to others who are comfortable doing the same thing- FB will never make any massive charges for this as the value of the “big data” this will help them gather about their users in the longer term is more important to them than a sales commission. This is why we they will eventually succeed.
I came off Facebook, it was full of racists. I won’t be going back.
My Dad’s not on Facebook.
In fact I am pushed to think of many propertied people who are. The under 25’s you mention are Generation Rent. They don’t have anything to sell. They have few prospects for getting on the housing ladder.
Title asks a question.
My answer is an anagram of the word ‘on’.
I don’t get it?
Anagram of….. Oh ! Yes I see.
LOL
*Scrolls back up to the caveat emptor story of today
Probably a simple answer to this…….no.
Facebook is best used by single men and nosey women.
Jonnie
Credit-Sohail Rashid, Property Places 2012- how’s that going then?