Knowledge Factory, the customer insight company in the JSE Securities Exchange-listed Primedia group, has launched South African Property Transfer Guide 2004, the most current version of its Web-based application that provides subscribers with information from the Deeds Office regarding all property sales in the country.

Aimed at estate agents, valuators, financial institutions, property developers, lawyers and individual buyers and sellers, the website, http://www.saptg.co.za, allows subscribers to access the latest available information on property ownership, sale and purchase price, mortgage details, and title deed and erf information - including stand size and legal address information - on a 24-hour basis.

SAPTG is using Internet technology to enable property professionals to offer a scientific service that empowers them to value property correctly and determine pricing trends in identified areas.

The ongoing upswing in the South African residential property market has attracted many new, aspiring homeowners and investors seeking to take advantage of the real estate boom. What SAPTG does is make sure that people are armed with all the information they need to make the right decisions, whether they are buying property themselves, or whether they are involved in the purchasing cycle. Subscribers can base their valuations and estimations on the most up-to-date property data.

SAPTG has been in existence for more than a decade, and has a subscriber base of over 1 800 users. It is the only website in South Africa that contains property transfer history recorded by the Deeds Office dating back to 1993. All data collected from the Deeds Office is sifted and cleaned to ensure that errors are removed, linked to Knowledge Factory's National Address Dictionary and then entered into the SAPTG search database. This data is then combined with other area information to provide users with market intelligence, such as closest schools, police stations and hospitals in the identified area.

The site also offers computer-assisted valuation. Subscribers simply enter a physical address, and the property's location is then graphically represented on a detailed cadastre map - a first in South Africa as no other property website offers this facility. A summary of information on the property includes the number and total value of properties transferred in the street and the suburb in which the property is located, as well as the highest, lowest and average value of the properties in the area. Also provided are details of the transfers and values of the 20 properties closest to the one selected, and a list of the closest amenities and their distance from the chosen property.

Subscribers pay a flat monthly fee and there is no limit to the number of queries they can make. The solution is fully mobile, allowing subscribers access via any mobile device.

In addition to the website being totally revamped, SAPTG 2004 offers enhanced data linking which translates into quicker access to information retrieval.

The site features a help page offering online support, a Frequently Asked Questions section, and tips and tricks on how to optimise searches for the best results. Subscribers also have access to 9-to-5 telephonic support.

In addition to improving the standard of service that agents can provide to the market, SAPTG also enables individual users to do their own research without outside assistance, giving them the information they need to make the right decisions about where to buy and how much they can expect to pay.

Contact

Duane Butler, Knowledge Factory, (011) 445 8100, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.