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PRWEB) June 1, 2007 -- Only a few months after its launch, UK start-up Blockhunter (
http://www.blockhunter.com) has been acclaimed by leading innovation firm trendwatching.com for "shaking up the not so transparent world of real estate" and by noted property blog renthusiast.org as a "guaranteed winner."
“ Whilst we've had good coverage from early adopters, innovators and bloggers, my hope is that Blockhunter can really hit the mainstrea... ”
The reason for their excitement is that Blockhunter approaches buying and selling property online in a completely new way.
It turns the traditional estate agency model upside down. Instead of potential buyers looking through ads, potential sellers are matched up with registered buyers. Estate agents spend a lot of their time keeping buyers and sellers apart. We bring people together. In a way, Blockhunter is like a dating service - but for property.
Unlike traditional property websites, there are no properties for sale on Blockhunter.
Instead, buyers draw their property search on a map, indicating their budget and any 'must-haves' like a garden or number of bedrooms.
Sellers can then register to find out how many people are interested in buying a property like theirs.
Founder of the site, Andy Martin, explained why it was so different:
"It turns the traditional estate agency model upside down. Instead of potential buyers looking through ads, potential sellers are matched up with registered buyers. Estate agents spend a lot of their time keeping buyers and sellers apart. We bring people together. In a way, Blockhunter is like a dating service - but for property."
"For buyers, it's a different way of thinking about househunting. Instead of browsing endless property listings, you describe exactly what you want and where you want it. It's like posting letters to houses in the area you want to buy. If someone likes your offer, they can get in touch with you - even if they weren't thinking of selling."
"For sellers, it's great, because they can take the temperature of the market and see who's looking at property like theirs without creating a firm commitment to sell."
"You could save money too. With the average house move costing over ten thousand pounds and a big chunk of that going to estate agents, it makes sense to hedge your bets by using a free site like Blockhunter."
Because all the communication takes place within the secure Blockhunter system, it ensures privacy and trust, as well as keeping out spam.
The site, which also works for letting and renting, launched at the beginning of the year and has already had strong user growth in its core UK market. They have had particular growth in major cities including London, Bristol, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester and Leeds.
Blockhunter is free to use and Martin intends to keep it that way.
"We think that what we're doing is genuinely innovative and we are inspired by the idea that it can touch as many people as possible. Whilst we've had good coverage from early adopters, innovators and bloggers, my hope is that Blockhunter can really hit the mainstream."
