This month we speak to Lelia Ferro, producer at Channel4.com’s property website 4Homes, home to many of the UK’s leading property shows like Grand Designs, Property Ladder, and Location, Location that attract millions of viewers each week. The site is updated several times a day with tips and guides on everything from house buying to architecture. Channel4 recently partners with Nestoria, to use Nestoria property search technology.
Lelia brings long experience in the online property industry to her role, having previously worked at property portal FindaProperty. Lelia, thanks for speaking with us. 1. Discuss some of the challenges of managing the online presence for popular offline brands like Channel4’s portfolio of property programming. How do you use the medium of online to enhance the television experience?It is a challenge, mainly due to the high volume of programmes, but 4Homes has a loyal user base and is a well established site. I often put it like this. The 4Homes programmes inspire people and the website empowers them to do it for themselves. So the website is an extension of the programme experience. I try to maximise the medium by getting users involved and devising relevant functionality that complements the shows. 2. Do you see the UK public’s appetite for property diminishing anytime soon? Or is the seemingly insatiable hunger for all things property related a permanent part of the national psyche?
I think a credit crunch might slow the property market very slightly and trends in purchasing shift over time, but the passion for property is here to stay. It remains one of the main ways of securing your future financially, plus people are becoming more and more interested in architecture and their environment thanks to programmes like Grand Designs. 3. What are your thoughts on the developments in the online property sector in the last 18 months? What do you see coming in the future?
I think it has been a very exciting time. When I was still at Find a Property, there were only a few major players in the online property world which meant they could command the industry in terms of pricing and loyalty. Now that’s all changed. There is a lot more choice and second generation property searches like Nestoria give users what they want which is the ability to quickly find what they are looking for all in one place. It is a better user experience overall and less work and money for estate agents who just want their properties viewed by as many users as possible. In the future I think we will see a lot more collaboration between site owners, not just in the property sector but all over the web. 4. What are the challenges you think a vertical search engine for property like Nestoria faces?
Sites like Nestoria have the benefit of being young and fresh. The company takes an open source approach to business and this works in their favour. Many of their older competitors are owned by large corporations and they benefit from effective promotion. By taking advantage of key partnerships, as they have with Channel 4, Nestoria will be able to significantly close the gap on their competitors. Thanks Lelia. It’s a great honour for a small start up like Nestoria to work with a leading UK media brand like Channel4, and we look forward to a successful partnership, as one of many mutually beneficial tie ups with traditional media brands. past Nestoria interviews: Lloyd Shepherd, Adam Samuel, and Gabor Cselle.
