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  • Daft Android App Released

    By , Posted at 10:43 am, February 2, 2011 in Daft News, Technology.

    Daft Android App
    Daft Android App LaunchedThis morning we're delighted to announce the release of our first Android app.

    Over the last 18 months or so we've seen colossal growth in traffic coming from smartphones, primarily iPhone and Android devices. Following on from our previous iPhone and iPad app launches, we're delighted to be the first Irish property portal to launch a dedicated Android app.

    One of our main aims when working with mobile devices is to ensure as consistent an experience as possible for users across different devices. As such, the app should feel very familiar if you've used our iPhone App or touch-optimised version of Daft.

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  • The Daft House Price Report - 2010, A Year in Review

    By , Posted at 6:25 am, January 5, 2011 in Daft Report.

    The latest Daft.ie House Price Report was released this morning.

    The report found that asking prices for residential property around the country fell by almost 5% in the final quarter of 2010, meaning that the total fall in asking prices during the year was 14%.

    By the end of 2010, the national average asking price had fallen by 40% from the peak in 2007 and stood at just below €220,000. The typical time it takes to sell a property remains high but has fallen from 41 weeks to 36 weeks over the course of the year.

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  • Beware of scammers!

    By , Posted at 4:00 pm, December 16, 2010 in Daft News.

    ‘Buyer beware’ is something we should all be familiar with. When making any transaction, consumers have a responsibility to take a reasonable amount of care. In these recessionary times, we have become more savvy when it comes to negotiating a good deal and this is by no means a bad thing. On the other hand, sometimes in our enthusiasm to grab to a bargain, common sense can go out the window.

    As Daft.ie is a property portal, we do not deal with the properties directly.  Therefore, if you are looking on the website for a property, it is crucial that you do your own checks to ensure that the property matches the description given in the ad. While 99.9% of the ads on Daft are trustworthy, unfortunately as with any internet site, there is a chance of scammers looking to take advantage. We have checks here in place to prevent scam ads from getting through and these are being continuously reviewed. However, scammers are constantly coming up with new tricks so a few ads may get through the net from time to time. However, if you use your head it will be almost impossible for you to get caught out.

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  • Announcing the all new Map Search!

    By , Posted at 4:09 pm, December 2, 2010 in Daft News, Technology.

    A common request we've gotten from users in the past has been to enable our Map Search feature for all properties, not just those for sale. So, when we were chosen by Google to be one of the official launch partners for Google Streetview in Ireland, we decided it was finally time to overhaul our current system with something more modern and available to all properties. This overhaul started with the map on each property's page and has now been rolled out to the full map search.

    map_search_new

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  • Upwardly Mobile - Introducing touch.daft.ie

    By , Posted at 1:03 pm, November 30, 2010 in Daft News, Technology.

    Search ResultsWe're delighted to announce that this week we've released touch.daft.ie, a version of Daft.ie optimised for iPhone and Android-powered mobile phones.

    Over the last year we've seen a huge increase in traffic to Daft.ie from mobile devices. Traffic from smartphones to Daft has increased by over 230% since November of last year! And this figure doesn't include the traffic coming from the Daft iPhone app or iPad app.

    We've had a mobile version of Daft available at http://m.daft.ie for several years now. It was originally aimed at WAP-enabled mobile phones, so it has very few images, and is designed for a fast download over a slow mobile connection. In the last couple of years the launch of the iPhone and Android-powered phones has meant that many mobile phones are now capable of handling a much richer browsing experience.
    With this in mind we set out to build a version of the site which still loads quickly on a mobile connection, but provides a much richer browsing experience than the previous mobile site.

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  • Want to get more from your ad on Daft?

    By , Posted at 10:38 am, November 18, 2010 in Daft News.

    You’re advertising your property with a view to either selling or renting and you want to ensure you get as much interest as possible. But what can you do to make sure you get the most from your ad?

    Here at Daft we’ve seen all types of ads – the good, the bad and the ugly! So we’ve compiled a few tips to help boost your ad's appeal. And yes folks, it’s all about the photos!

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  • Wicklow Eye Candy

    By , Posted at 12:34 pm, November 4, 2010 in Daft News.

    ....that's what I'd call it anyway!  Being a Wicklow dweller myself when I saw this property on the market I thought it was worth sharing!  "Heatherbank" is located in Enniskerry, Garden County, in the heart of purple mountains, waterfalls and wooded glen.  The house has a really unusual layout, super outdoor space and the interior design is stunning!

    Take a look and see if you agree...

    heatherbank1 Heatherbank was built in the 80's but has since been completely renovated. The two-story extension means there's loads of outdoor space for entertaining, perfect for those summer barbeques.

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  • Beat the blues with a few rays of sunshine!

    By , Posted at 3:44 pm, October 19, 2010 in Daft News.

    If the thoughts of another damp, dull, dreary day sandwiched on the luas, dart or bus to work are driving you over the edge; don't despair! There's a light at the end of the tunnel.

    Now is the perfect time to get away and catch the last few rays of sunshine before the winter properly kicks in. While the chill is starting to set in here, countries such as Turkey and Portugal are enjoying pleasant temperatures in the mid-twenties.  So you can enjoy some cheerful sunshine as opposed to intense heat.

    On the overseas section of our website, we have a wide range of holiday homes in Europe and further a field. The great thing about rented accommodation is the freedom it offers you. Unlike package holidays, you can come and go as you please and it’s up to you if you want to eat in or dine out. The owner may also be flexible with arrival and departure dates so you can make your stay as long or short as you please.

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  • 10 MOST Expensive Areas in Cork Revealed

    By , Posted at 12:39 pm, October 12, 2010 in Daft News.

    A couple of weeks ago, we brought you the most expensive areas in Dublin, but today it's Cork's turn!

    CorkWe split Cork (city and county) into almost fifty different areas and interestingly we found that the most expensive area is about twice as expensive as the least! The least expensive areas being located in the North-West quarter - Dunmanway, Mitchelstown and Charleville.

    We also found that there are parts of Cork county outside the city areas that are every bit as expensive, on a like for like basis, as prime urban Cork. For example, in the middle of the rankings, Cobh and the North-West part of Cork city are surrounded by the Glengariff area (slightly more expensive) and Bandon (slightly less expensive).

    So moving to our list,  in number one position is.......drumroll....

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  • QR Codes on Daft

    By , Posted at 10:53 am, October 6, 2010 in Technology.

    Just a quick post to let you know that we've enabled QR codes on all our links. In order to create a QR code for a Daft URL all you have to do is replace the 'www' in the URL with a 'qr'.

    So what's a QR code?
    A QR Code is a 2D barcode that is readable by QR scanners, mobile phones with a camera and smartphones (there are loads of free QR apps available for both Android & iPhone phones). The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on white background. The information encoded can be text, URL or other data. There's more info on the history of QR codes over on wikipedia.

    So what's this got to do with Daft?
    We've made it very easy to convert a link on Daft into a QR code that contains the URL, to use this feature just swap out the 'www' part of the URL with 'qr', this will enable you to print a QR code that links directly to your property or your search.

    e.g. http://www.daft.ie/searchsale.daft?id=557389 -> http://qr.daft.ie/searchsale.daft?id=557389

    Here's an interesting post that details how different companies are using QR codes.

    Have fun!
    Ciarán
    @ciaranmaher

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