Nestoria Blog

For this month’s Nestoria Interview we have the pleasure of speaking with Harvey Edgecombe, the man behind property blog Renthusiast. Based in London, Harvey works for a private property investment vehicle and is responsible for business development and research.

Harvey, thanks for speaking with us.

1. Tell us a bit about your experiences blogging about property for the last few years. What sorts of interactions have you had as a result? Most importantly, has it helped business?

Blogging is very good for business, I see it as a vital communication tool and I’ve managed to build a portfolio of contacts including developers, agents, and numerous potential clients to name a few. Plus, through blogging, I’m able to keep my finger on the pulse of real estate technology, which changes rapidly. Also, the ability to express my thoughts and people respecting my opinion to some degree is very rewarding.

2. As a keen observer of the market, do you think the ‘impending housing crash’ will become reality?

I think it is already a reality for some people. For people who are prudent with their money, they should be able to weather the storm, but for those who are careless and speculative, they are bound to feel the effects as interest rates and the costs associated with borrowing money continue to rise. In the UK, I think the housing market will probably feel the effects of the sub-prime crisis that’s affecting North America, but I don’t think it will be as dramatic over here as it is currently in the US. Overall, the UK economy appears resilient, but the US dollar dropping in value, which is worrying, since it is currently the global benchmark currency.

3. What are your thoughts on the developments in the property search sector in the last 18 months?

Amazing. There have been so many new and innovative services that it’s hard to keep up. Search is crucial to the property business, but I don’t think it gets the respect it deserves in the wider industry. Newspapers, print magazines and other forms of media have always played a crucial role in the real estate business. It’s how people find their property. When I moved to London in the late 90’s, I rented my flat through the Loot newspaper, which was recommended to me by a friend. Subsequently I recommended it to others including my sister when she was planning her move to London.

Today, if I were moving to a new city or recommending a service, I most certainly would start on-line, as would most people, as the web is now an essential part of life. The innovation in property search in the last 18 months stems from the frustration that most of us found when using clunky online search tools of the past; most of which were not at all customer focused and user friendly. Fortunately things are beginning to change.

4. What are the challenges you think a vertical search engine for property like Nestoria faces?

I think the biggest challenge facing Nestoria and the vertical search world is remaining relevant to the consumer and not becoming ‘over-developed’ for lack of a better word. Again, it seems like every other day, there is some new company with some new product or API which seems to be the ‘must-have ‘ tool for the moment. Reality is that many of these tools that we rave about today will be long forgotten in the not too distant future. Is there a bubble in web 2.0? I hate using the term, because it gets thrown around so much. But I think right now, with all the innovation going on, the biggest challenge is to keep eyes focused on the consumer.

Who are your consumers, and what do they want? Do they want Facebook? Video search? The developer community gets excited when something new comes along that they like. The question to ask yourself is will your consumers like it. And if they like it, will they use it and recommend it to their friends?

Thanks Harvey. Wise words. As engineers there’s always a temptation to think ‘yet another feature’ will create user satisfaction. It’s exactly to prevent that sort of mentality that we take such a numbers based approach to Nestoria. We continually measure what happens on the site and take our cues from user behaviour.

Renthusiast is always a pleasure. For anyone interested in a unique perspective on the turbulent world of property, I highly recommend subscribing.

past Nestoria interviews: Marc Wick, Nick Black, Fleming Madsen.