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A new view: Antony Catalano on lowering advertising fees, creating a property ‘superstore’, and shattering industry norms.

It's taken five and a half years, but View Media Group's Executive Chairman Antony Catalano is ready to disrupt the traditional paid listing model in Australia, diversify portal and agent revenue streams and tap into a wider marketplace.

A property portal with zero-cost advertising and a one-stop shop for consumers’ real estate needs might sound like a pipe dream, but not for this week’s guest.

Antony Catalano’s View Media Group has launched view.com.au, a free property portal that promises to deliver a complete picture of every Australian property – whether it’s for sale or not.

In this episode of the Elevate podcast, Elite Agent Managing Editor Samantha McLean exclusively chats with Antony to discuss view.com.au’s unique business model, including how it plans to reach beyond the $1bn advertising market to target more than $300bn in adjacent, property-related sectors.

Antony also reveals View’s plans to challenge the traditional focus on paid listings, redefine monetisation and move beyond the traditional ‘gate-takings’ model. 

There are also big plans for the portal to become like a buyer’s agency that funnels warm leads to agents while promising to remain true to its ‘freemium’ model.

“If I use an analogy, it’s a bit like saying, If you are Manchester United, would you rely just on the gate taking? It’s a significant part of the revenue, but the really big revenues are in the merchandise or in fact in being the league…” – Antony Catalano

Sam and Antony also discuss:

  • 4.07 – The View Media Group journey: What Antony has been doing in the past five years and how a complex deal came together involving realestateview.com.au, ANZ, Seven West Media, Australian Community Media, Propic, Bevo, The Today Group and AD Group.
  • 8.15 – Beyond advertising: How view.com.au plans to operate as a free platform while setting its sights beyond the $1bn advertising market to tap into an eye-popping $300bn in adjacent sectors.
  • 9.27 – The ultimate database: Every Australian property on one platform, not just what’s ‘for sale’.
  • 10.41 – A buyer’s agency: Unlock warm leads and master the market through View’s innovative buyer’s advocacy concept.
  • 12.22 – Shifting gears: Why Antony believes map-based property searches will replace lists and why this matters to you, your vendors and potential buyers.
  • 13.33 – Countrywide reach: How the Seven West alliance will enable View to reach 95 per cent of Australians, and embed itself in hit TV shows like the AFL Grand Final and Better Homes and Gardens.
  • 16.40 – The housing crisis decoded: Antony’s take on supply constraints, affordability, interest rates, migration and what’s coming in 2024
  • 20.00 – Scaling new heights: The big players backing View, and the opportunity for agent investment.
  • 21.25 – A real estate superstore: View’s plan to become the ultimate property hub where you can buy, sell and rent, connect utilities, get a mortgage and even shop for furniture.
  • 25.47 – It’s free now: But will View charge for listings in the future?
  • 26.22 – Future monetisation strategy: View’s unique approach to revenue, including how it will operate beyond the traditional ‘gate takings’ model.
  • 30.00 – The big challenge: Where does Antony see this all going?

View.com.au

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Samantha McLean

Samantha McLean is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of Elite Agent and Host of the Elevate Podcast.