BUSINESS in the property industry is slow, a number of people from the sector said last week. However, they said that free classified advertisements in newspapers and journals – generally only four of five lines with the location, a short description and the price – was one way to win a sale.

A spokesperson from one local newspaper, said her paper has seen demand for property ‘classies’ – in industry speak – more than triple since the start of this year.

“We launched free classified ads in June of 2006 and at the start of this year we were only getting about 30 ads but that has increased to 100,” she said.

She added that property ads were the most popular at her paper, with job vacancies and education services.

“People can see the advantages of these advertisements – when they put them in they usually have other interested buyers ringing them up for more information or because they want to have a look,” she said.

Property advertisements this year have not been limited to Yangon, with classies flowing in from Bago, Mandalay and Pyin Oo Lwin, she said.

A retired government officer who began advertising a piece of land in Bahan township one month ago said he was pleasantly surprised by the amount of attention his ad has generated.

“Newspaper advertising is effective: I advertised my 3100-square-foot property in Shwe Taung Gyar in Bahan township last month and have already received about 30 queries about the property.

“However, I haven’t sold it yet – I’ll continue to put the advertisement in and expect that it will sell in the next month or so,” he said.

Another happy advertiser is Daw Tin Myo Aye, a housewife from Latha township, who said such advertisements were the way to increase sales.

“I recently sold a house in South Okkalapa township, although I had to advertise it for four months. If you don’t put an advertisement in the papers how are people going to learn about the property? You’re basically relying on people walking past the property and word of mouth,” she said.

Those within the real estate industry, such as U Ko Ko Lay, the director of Three Friends Construction, agreed that advertising was important but added that it must be effectively targeted to gain the best effect.

“To get the best results you have to pick what audience you’re aiming for and specifically target newspapers and journals that cover that part of society. If you can do that the chances of seeing a sale should increase by 70 to 80 percent.

U Zaw Zaw, the manager of Unity real estate agency, said advertising is a key way of connecting buyers and sellers.

“But the effectiveness of any advertising will depend on what you’re selling – I find it’s more important to advertise properties in low-demand areas like Thaketa township, rather than say Bahan, where buyers will always ask around for places that might be for sale,” he said.

Advertisers are not limited to the print media, with www.realindexer.com and www.myanmar-myanmar.com providing property advertising sections as well.