Dear CyberAgent user,

“It’s all very well giving an interest cut of 1% and I realize that there are lots of unemployed people at the moment due to the recession but the property market is suffering due to the fact that the banks are not giving bonds that easily. It has made the buying or selling of property very difficult. The people to be caught in the middle are all the conveyance secretaries who have lost their jobs, and the ones who go in to work every day hoping that today is not the day they will be retrenched. There must be hundreds of us conveyance staff out of work because of these problems. I was retrenched at the end of August and jobs are certainly not easy to find. I’m now doing rentals as I was not able to obtain anything else.”

It’s not an easy time for estate agents and agencies and I don’t think I actually realised how difficult is until I received this letter from one of our readers.

“The banks’ attitude has gone from one of prudence to one of extreme reluctance. This has to change if the residential sector is to recover.” says Ivan Neethling, Chairman of the Western Cape branch of the Institute of Estate Agents.

Make sure that you use the best software, get the most value and get maximum exposure for your properties in tough times like this. As one of our users said to us last week, “I cannot see how estate agencies cannot be using CyberAgent”

CyberAgent is 10 years old! The growth of the company has been exponential in these years with over 1300 users. We now not only have one of the cheapest real estate office solutions in the market but offer by far the best real estate marketing solution you can get for your property. Development and enhancement of our software solution happens on a daily basis. Read more in What’s new

It’s with sadness in our hearts that we have to inform you that after 10 years of service Jan Vorster is leaving the service of CyberAgent. Our best wishes to him and his family!

So long and thanks for all the fish!!!

Not sure what the writer’s exact emotion was when he wrote this – but I can tell you mine: I truly am thankful for the years I spent on the support desk – it taught me so much – most of all : patience! The human element and interaction is what I’ll miss most – those dear soles who actually spoke to the person behind their solutions. I’m off to the next challenge – I wish you all well! May the Lord be with us all!
Jan Vorster

Good Luck!
The editor

Revamped of Province, City and Suburb database

In accordance with international naming standard, CyberAgent has revamped its province, city and suburb database.

This revamp was prompted by the addition of a mapping application now being offered to its users. This has thrown a new light on invalid suburbs that currently reside in the database. CyberAgent has always had the policy of "Give the user what they require", but to facilitate the new mapping conventions, CyberAgent has decided to use only recognised suburbs.

This decision was not taken lightly, and is based on international property seekers not being able to find the relevant useful information expected from an international property portal.

In the past we accepted estate/complex names as suburbs to enable ease of use with regards to search engines which is no longer required. With mapping introduced, it becomes vital to supply the correct suburb information to obtain an accurate map image.

This decision also makes the data easier to port to our linked portals. In the past, a program had to be written to "match" suburbs. Each property portal has its own methods when it comes to dealing with suburbs.

The new way of listing suburbs makes it easier to match suburbs and leads to fewer rejections.

It also helps to obtain an accurate map for the location of the listing. Previous development names as suburbs made it virtually impossible to locate the listing on any map.

Mapping has become the latest trend while searching for a property as it gives general information about the surrounding area without actually giving away the listing address. A picture tells a thousand words, and what better way to display valuable surrounding information then with a mapped picture.

Potential buyers can get a feel for the suburb that they might buy into.

This revamp has also helped to clean the database of misspelt suburbs and suburbs listed in the wrong province/city.

With this in mind, please be aware that some of your listings may now have invalid suburbs, these would have to be updated to reflect the correct "acceptable" suburb.

CyberAgent feels that this approach is the way forward to helping you make the most of your valued assets ---- your listings.

New button on CAA, “View on Map”

A new button was added on the property edit form on CAA, “View On Map”. Currently it only displays the location to suburb level. Will also be adding it to CAP and CAL. Users will be able to request a new location in future

New build 3.100.1373

Take note that we have released a new Build on CyberAgent. The latest CyberAgent application is now on 3.100.1373.

A nice feature of the new version is that in the record order toolbar in the Property manager now also contains an internet no option to sort your data. This can be very useful if you print out lists of properties for your agents, so if they get an enquiry, it is easy for them to locate.

Just in case you do not yet know about it, there is a function to replace an agent with another in all modules (except sales). This is VERY useful should an agent leave. You can then simply tick the “Do not update this agent” in the agent’s profile in the agent manager.

Then click on the “Utilities” menu, and select “Bulk Agent Update”

The following form will come up:

Simply select the agent you wish to replace, and the agent you wish to replace them with. Then click on the modules that you want the changes to take effect on, and click on “Bulk Change Agent Selection”

AS SIMPLE AS THAT!!!

Long SMS messages now supported!

In the past we used to allow only 160 characters per SMS message - you will now be able to type a message of any length, the system will indicate the number of SMS messages as you compose the message - you will be billed according to the number of SMS’s your message spans. The usual confirmation and feedback screens will also detail exactly how many SMS messages will be sent. Enjoy!

Click Here for printable .pdf file

The banks’ reluctance to approve mortgage loans, says Tony Clarke, MD of Rawson Properties, is still the major reason for the severe slowdown experienced in SA housing sales.

"It looks," said Clarke, "as if the banks are now almost too aware of possible difficulties faced by bond applicants, are too stringent in applying the National Credit Act and far too concerned about shareholders’ reactions.

The slowdown in the SA residential property market – for which the banks’ reluctance to approve bonds and the government’s tardiness in dropping interest rates further now are in many people’s view the chief cause – has cut a swathe of devastation through the ranks of estate agents formerly employed by the industry, says Ivan Neethling, Chairman of the Western Cape branch of the Institute of Estate Agents.

Neethling reports that in late 2007 the number of registered agents stood at 92 000. Today the Estate Agency Affair Board’s figure is down to 35 000...

Hi

I requested that an agent contact me and have still not received a call.

Please could you let me know when someone is going to call me.

Regards
Cheryl Sinclair

Are you guilty of doing this?
Make sure that you or your staff respond on Internet enquiries

Hi Folks

Just a quick compliment, your site www.cyberprop.com is the best in the business, easy to use, lots of properties. Well done

Gary Hope

We now provide you with FREE training session in the following areas;

• Gauteng
• Kwazulu Natal
• Western Cape
• and the Garden Route

During these training sessions more information will also be provided on:

• CyberAgent Anywhere
  
• Keep me Informed Function
  
• New developments in CyberAgent
  
• New Update Manager
  
• REEP (Real Estate Evaluation Portal)

A warm welcome to all new Agencies February 2009:

We trust that by now you are well aware of what CyberAgent can do for you. If you need any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us at support@cyberprop.com or phone us at: +27 (0)11 955-9100 or 086 112- 9237

Most Internet enquiries February 2009:

The obligatory qualifications for real estate agents which became law in July 2008 will by the end of 2011 transform South African estate agents from being “mere salespeople" to being true professionals with highly respected qualifications.

This was said recently by Ivan Neethling, Chairman of the Western Cape Institute of Estate Agents and one of those involved in compiling the new educational requirements. (He is a director of the Property Chamber Board of the Services SETA)

Ivan Neethling, Chief Executive of the estate agency, Startpop, outlined some of the tactics which have helped agencies such as his to survive the worst downturn in the property market for 20 years – and he went on to predict that the long awaited stabilisation of prices is now not far off.

Agencies, said Neethling, had had to be able to read market trends and respond appropriately to these if they were to ride out the enormous challenges of the current housing market...