THE Irish Auctioneers & Valuers Institute (IAVI) has sold its Realestate.ie property website to Funda, a Netherlands-based company and one of the biggest online property operators in Europe.
IAVI will receive about €1m initially, with a deal expected to be signed tomorrow. It could receive up to €6m ultimately if certain targets are met over the next 10 years.

As part of the deal, IAVI’s 1,550 real estate agents and auctioneers will continue to be able to use the portal to advertise their properties over the next decade.

IAVI established the website in 1997 to offer members an online route to market for their properties. It invested about €150,000 in the project. It was run through a company called E-Real Estate.

Selling properties online has taken off in recent years, led by Myhome.ie, a portal run by Jim Miley and owned by a number of Ireland’s largest estate agencies. Realestate.ie was regarded as the number two player until about a year ago but a lack of marketing support is believed to have seen it overtaken by other players.

Funda was set up in 2000 by NVM, a Dutch real estate agents’ association, and local publisher Royal Wegener. It lists 70% of residential property for sale in the Netherlands and is used by 200,000 visitors a day. It also has a finance arm and sells furniture and accessories online. Funda recently completed an acquisition in Portugal and also has an operation in Poland.

Posted: 04|9|06 at 11:46 am. Filed under: Auction News.