Today's missive from iProperty is the latest in an ongoing battle for recognition of Malaysian market-leader status against eternal rival PropertyGuru. In January PropertyGuru sent out a press release using figures from Alexa, Comscore and Google Analytics to claim that it had reached top spot in the country to which iProperty put out a counter statement citing figures from web-traffic tracker SimilarWeb.

The company which is run separately from its Singaporean namesake portal recently appointed Shylendra Nathan as its new General Manager. Speaking around his new company's latest traffic figures, the former Google employee commented:

“Malaysians have turned to the convenience and safety of digital platforms for their property journey which was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This new record high 10 million monthly visits achieved during unprecedented times represents property seekers’ confidence in the Malaysia property market, with the support from our property agent customers and property developer customers.”

With its rival eyeing up a potentially sensational IPO on the US stock exchange via a SPAC, Nathan and those at iProperty know that they will have their work cut out if they want to leave PropertyGuru in the rear-view mirror.

The move to give a directorship to an agent-customer is apparently unprecedented in the industry and part of the company's aims that Executive Chairman Michael Bruce set out in an email to founder agents yesterday:

"Boomin wants to deliver innovative, partnership solutions for agents that are great for them and great for their customers and Boomin. We want to have a lasting level of clarity, transparency, integrity and trust with agents who will always be a key part of everything we do at Boomin."

The lucky winner of the directorship will receive compensation of £25,000 per year and hold "direct influence over the strategy, direction and execution of the company and will become the voice of agents up and down the country."

The move is yet another that Boomin's founders the Bruce brothers have come upon to win over agents in a market notoriously suspicious of newcomers and portal company motives. There is still rancor in the industry around the brothers' former company Purplebricks and the pair have been warned by agency review site allagents.com not to repeat what it called the “PB bullying tactics" which lead to legal disputes with the review site.