Capital-focussed Zango will change how Canberra buys real estate

Holly Komorowski, Ben Faulks and Genevieve Jacobs: Canberra will be hearing a lot more about Zango. Photo: Supplied.

The property and real estate sector in Canberra is set for a major shake-up in 2020 with the emergence of a significant new player on the scene.

The Zango real estate portal has been developed collaboratively by a group of local agents with buy-in from local operators, who say their intention is to create a wholly local platform for the sector. Zango will target buyers, sellers, renters, landlords and people who love property with rich local content.

Directors say you’re about to see the yellow and purple Zango livery everywhere. It will be one of the largest marketing campaigns Canberra has ever seen, helmed by this year’s Telstra business award winners, Coordinate.

Each of Zango’s directors are Canberrans and all the participants are local businesses who say they’ve been driven by the desire to create a better and more affordable real estate experience. Marketing in the sector as a whole has been heavily driven in recent years by externally owned portals.

Real estate agent Holly Komorowski says Zango makes sense to her as a small business owner.

“Everyone involved in Zango is from the Canberra local scene and we’re hoping to build some real momentum in the community around that,” she says.

“I’m involved because my business is progressive and innovative, and Zango reflects that. We love to tell stories and create content and I can see Zango will be a good fit for us.”

Zango board member Ben Faulks says the portal’s origins come in part from frustration at the extent of rising marketing costs in recent years.

“We’ve seen 500 per cent price rises in the last decade or so,” he says. “Since we started the Zango process there’s already been a peel back in the prices from Sydney to the Canberra market. Zango will continue to put that price pressure on for the benefit of consumers.

“There’s been a real concern that pricing is being driven externally. Zango gives consumers choice and a better product, which will serve the local community and is tailored to Canberra specifically.”

Ben Faulks says consumers will get a better deal first and foremost but will also be reinvesting in local business as they do so. The message dovetails nicely with the strong growth of the ACT private sector in recent years, now accounting for the majority of the Canberra economy.

Holly Komorowski says she sees that growing self-belief echoed everywhere in the city. “I think we’ve shaped an identity in recent times where we have real pride in our liveability, our food and cafe culture, how good it is to live here. People love real estate because they love their city,” she says.

Ben Faulks echoes the sentiments. “It used to be that people came and went from Canberra and didn’t necessarily connect much. Now people come here for a whole range of reasons, and they stay. They are proudly Canberran,” he says.

You’ll hear more about Zango over the coming weeks…

Region Media’s Co-CEOs Tim White and Michael McGoogan are shareholders in Zango.

Original Article published by Genevieve Jacobs on The RiotACT.