Digital Reporter
Robert A. Vergara Jr.
Kylie Verzosa is not a noob when it comes to business.
The 26-year-old celebrity, who won the Miss International title in 2016, hails from the family who owns Forest House in Baguio City. She also has a degree in business management from the Ateneo de Manila University.
Adding to her endeavours outside the pageant arena, Verzosa is now also a managing director at PropertyAccess.co, a website that allows users to connect with real estate brokers.
“I come from a marketing background,” she told SparkUp during the launch of the platform on April 19 in Makati City. “Ever since I was young, I always helped out in the family business and I would do small things like manning the registration. I would also serve as a waiter for short time.”
Verzosa’s role in the tech startup company doesn’t end in just shelling out money. She said she is involved in developing marketing strategies and assuring the security of the website.
PropertyAccess.co aims to digitize local transactions in buying and selling properties amid the country’s booming real-estate industry.
In the last quarter of 2017 alone, for example, Metro Manila has recorded the highest number of condominium units ever sold in the capital region. According to Colliers International Philippines, about 52,600 units were bought during the period, which was significantly higher than the previous year’s 42,000 units sold.
“We always saw that there was a demand, it’s just that people don’t know how to find an agent because everything is traditional, you have to go to a real estate brokerage firm,” Regina Rocio, co-managing director, said.
PropertyAccess.co is also banking on the booming internet penetration in the Philippines. The real estate sector was seen benefitting from online purchases growth in the country last year, as many Filipinos resorted to the digital space to buy products—including properties. For instance, Lamudi Philippines—PropertyAccess.co’s counterpart in the market—has recorded about five times growth in its online traffic since 2014, generating 15 million user visits in 2017.
“We understand that it’s the age of digital marketing, so we want to take advantage of it,” Rocio said. “It’s the digital world, so I think the Philippines is ready for it since most people are now online. You can buy groceries and clothes online, why not property?”
The platform is free for end-users while brokers have to pay depending on their chosen subscription package. A one-month subscription costs ₱1,799 while three- and six-month subscriptions are available for ₱1,399 and ₱1,699, respectively. All packages come with unlimited listings.
Property brokers can join by creating their own profile on the platform, which includes key-ing in their license number and birthdate to assure their credibility. Verification both of membership and listings take about a week.
PropertyAccess.co boasts of its loan calculator feature as the selling point that sets its apart from its counterpart. The calculator enables users to know the amount of loan that they need to apply for from different banks depending on the price of the property they wish to buy and their preferred tenure.
For 2018, the company aims to generate at least 100,000 listings and tap 10% of the total number of real-estate agents in the country. It also plans to launch the platform in Japan, Singapore, and Malaysia.
