Lamudi, leading online real estate marketplace has launched the first property hotline for the Nigerian community. The Dial-4-Home hotline has been developed as an extension to Lamudi’s market-leading Internet platform to extend access to the country’s largest database of properties to the estimated 50 million mobile users who do not have access to the internet via smartphones and tablets.
Many view Nigeria as a market with significant potential for Internet-based businesses, with over 60 percent of all Internet connections made from an estimated 12 million smartphone and tablet devices.
However, there are more than four times as many mobile subscribers who do not have access to the Internet via their device.
With the launch of Dial-4-Home, Lamudi aims to enable property-seekers without an Internet connection to access the same kind of service that users enjoy at Lamudi.com.ng.
“Technological innovation is not only about what you can achieve on the Internet,” said Obi Ejimofo, managing director of Lamudi Nigeria.
He said the Lamudi remains committed to encourage technology relevance, accessible and valuable to the broadest spectrum of users.
“We developed Dial4Home to assist those property-seekers with little or no access to the Internet. Through voice calls and SMS, they can now search a wide selection of properties, from affordable housing to luxury accommodation.
“Ever since our launch just over a year ago, we always had the intention to bring Dial-4-Home to the market. In 2014 we focused most of our efforts on building the broadest possible database of properties, real estate agents and property developers to ensure maximum customer choice. Now we are extending that choice to as many Nigerians as possible,” Ejimofo added.
By calling the Dial-4-Home number, the Lamudi Boss said, house-hunters can inquire about properties for sale or rent. Users will be able to get over-the-phone access to listings from over 7,000 property agents and developers who currently list their properties on the Lamudi Nigeria website.
“To find your dream property over the phone, call the Dial-4-Home hotline on 07000 526834; Monday – Friday: 8am – 8pm, Saturday: 10am – 5pm and Sunday: 12pm – 5pm.
Speaking at the launching of the hotline in Lagos, Chief Albert Orizu, senior partner of Knight Frank, extolled Lamudi’s leadership role in the industry in the past two years, adding that Company (Knight Frank), has found operations of the platform as professionally done and trustworthy.
Orizu also encouraged Lamudi jealously guard its image by not allowing unprincipled real estate agents to come on the platform to defraud unsuspecting members of the society.
“Lamudi has actually done a lot since its launch in this market. As one of the early partners and still partners with Lamudi, they have improves some trends in the industry. This hotline will all deepen Lamudi’s penetration and restore peoples confidence in the system. We are particularly happy with Lamudi because it has maintained its operational competencies, not interfering on matters concerning agents and clients; they only provide the platform for these people to meet.
“At the same time, Lamudi must guard against allowing unscrupulous (real estate) agents to register on their platform and defraud the people or cause chaos in the system,” he said.
To this end, Obi said that Lamudi has been apt in monitoring agents that register on the platform, adding that they have a large pool of over 7000 agents with 4000 of them already verified.
He added that Dail-4-Home provides additional credit to the process. Lamudi has in 2014 entered into partnership with Estate Rent and Commission Agent Association of Nigeria (ERCAAN).
Lamudi Nigeria is the leading online real estate market place exclusively focused on emerging markets.
The website and the apps offer easy to use and secure platform to buy, rent or sell real estate online.
Lamudi.com.ng, which started operations in October 2013, has over 40,000 residential and commercial property listing from developers and real estate agents.
The company has active offices in Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan and Port Harcourt.
Innovations
Apart from the Dial-4-Home hotline launch, Lamudi has continuously unleashed innovations in the Nigerian real estate marketing, with mobile apps for iOS and Android.
It has the Nigeria’s most read real estate blog with over 100,000 his weekly and an extensive social media presence including over one million likes on facebook.
Reach And Expertise
Lamudi operates in 28 countries across emerging markets.
It is part of a global portfolio of internet ventures with presence in many countries and has a team of over eighty young people across all major cities of Nigeria.