Largest PH online brokerage firm ready for Asean integration

Philippine-based online brokerage firm Hoppler, the country’s first map-based property search engine, has said it’s ready for the Asean Economic Community (AEC).

This was revealed by Ramon Ballesca Jr., Hoppler chief operating officer, in a recent interview with Inquirer Property.

“We have been marketing online in [Asean] for some time. If you’re on your laptop in Singapore or Malaysia, and you search for something like ‘condos for sale in Manila,’ Hoppler will appear in your top results. This is powerful, to be recognized as an online authority for first-time buyers abroad who want to invest in the Philippines,” Ballesca revealed.

The AEC, which integrates the region’s economy starting this year, aims to achieve a single market and production base for Asean member nations for increased global competitiveness.

Hoppler, which currently features residential and commercial properties in the greater Metro Manila area, has plans to move into other underserved places in the Philippines. “We are working on gaining partnerships with various companies in places like Cagayan de Oro, Cebu and Davao in order to already make our move there,” Ballesca disclosed.

Hoppler currently has 16,000 properties online, 145,000 visitors a month, resulting in 700 inquiries. It has 50 employees, 15 in-house brokers, and 500 partner-brokers.

Ballesca said Hoppler stands out for being able to combine its own brokerage services with a classified ads site for multiple brokerage companies. It lists its own properties and that of any broker who would like to partner with it.

Not competitors

However, he clarified that online property sellers Lamudi and MyProperty.ph were not Hoppler’s competitors.

“We welcome companies such as Lamudi and MyProperty.ph who are bringing more knowledge to the country about marketing your property online. In fact, as we are a licensed real estate brokerage company, we plan on listing our properties on their sites as well,” said Ballesca.

He added that Hoppler’s services are not limited to just finding the right property for the right buyer but would also include negotiating, writing and processing contracts, and assisting the buyer all the way until he or she moves in. It offers end-to-end services of licensed industry practitioners.

In an actual demonstration, Ballesca logged on to www.hoppler.com.ph and entered the area, city or building of interest. A number of options came up, such as the number of bedrooms, additions for a garden, access to swimming pools and gyms. Lists showed landmarks such as the nearest fuel station, church, supermarket and hospital. It also indicated if a commercial property is Philippine Economic Zone Authority-accredited.

Ballesca said: “Here, we let you search through the map to see exactly what’s in the neighborhood and what’s inside the building, and once you change all of those filters, it actually changes the results on the map, as well. Each of these pins is actually a building, it shows you exactly the range in prices, and you can look at all the units.”

He added that Hoppler is not meant to replace brokers. The goal is to make the process of choosing faster and more efficient for the customer and brokers. What would normally take two days in a back-and-forth meeting could already be answered online even before the buyer contacts Hoppler.

End-to-end service

Ballesca added that after the sale is finalized, Hoppler’s human services team takes over, preparing the contracts, negotiating for the buyer, and even helping the buyer move in, for an “end-to-end” service.

“We realized that even with technology, we cannot replace the human touch. That’s why we’re marrying technology with services,” he said. “Think of it as a department store operator. The mall stores are invited to locate. We all want to sell together.”

Ballesca stressed that Hoppler is constantly updated, so that the site’s users have an up-to-date view of the properties. He added that the site infrastructure was designed in such a way that searching or loading results happen faster than any competitor site. Hoppler can also easily be accessed and viewed in mobile phones and tablets, he said.

Behind Hoppler is HousingInteractive, the country’s largest online real estate brokerage firm established in 2004 by CEO John Riad. Recently, various investors have contributed to the business.