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TODAY'S OTHER NEWS

Airbnb links with portal to promote Rent Before You Buy

Could this happen here? Airbnb, the hugely successful online rental platform, has linked with a US property portal to give prospective buyers a change to test drive a new area before they purchase a home there.

Visitors to the sales portal, Realtor.com, are now being invited to look through Airbnb to find an appropriate home so they can - at relatively low cost - stay in the neighbourhood they are considering buying into.

A statement from Ryan O’Hara, chief executive of Move - the News Corp company which owns Realtor.com - says this idea “allows us to reduce some of the unknown factors associated with relocating to a new community.”

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As part of the search function on Realtor, users are offered an ‘Airbnb before buying’ tab which appears on the home page and pages for each listing.

"As we offer a variety of unique accommodations in neighborhoods across the country, we'll be able to allow potential homeowners the special opportunity to experience those neighborhoods as if they already live there - before making the decision to buy," says Chip Conley, head of global hospitality and strategy at Airbnb.

To push the idea, Realtor.com is offering a daily sweepstake until late August, giving users the chance to win $500 credit toward an Airbnb ‘try before you buy’ rental. 

Is this an idea which Rightmove, Zoopla, OnTheMarket or another British portal might try?

  • Karl Knipe

    It's a nice idea, I guess, but I'm not sure how feasible it would be in reality. Naturally, a try before you buy approach has merits, and would help weed out timewasters and buyers who are not really serious about purchasing, but it could make the whole process a bit more confusing than it needs to be.

  • Glenn Ackroyd

    Wouldn't a better idea be to try the house you are buying before you buy? Indeed, we've been doing that for 7 years. http://www.ewemove.com/rent-now-buy-later/

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