# Public Listing Site — Design Rationale

## Research Base

Analysis of landing page and listing detail UX patterns across top real estate platforms globally and in the Philippines:

- **US:** Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com
- **UK:** Rightmove, Zoopla
- **Philippines:** Lamudi, Hoppler, Santos Knight Frank, Property24
- **SEA:** PropertyGuru

## Key Findings

### Landing page is a search funnel, not a catalog

Every market leader (Zillow, Redfin, Rightmove) treats the landing page as a search entry point. The hero is a search bar, not a property grid. Philippine sites that show featured listings on landing (Lamudi, Hoppler) do so partly for developer advertising revenue, not because it converts visitors better.

**Our approach:** Search bar as hero. Listings appear below the fold organized by recency and area — serving as browsing hooks, not the main event.

### Conversational AI search is the 2025–2026 differentiator

Redfin launched conversational search (Sierra AI, Nov 2025) where users type natural language queries like "3BR near BGC under 5M, move-in ready." Results: 2x more listing views, 47% more tour requests. Zillow followed with "AI Mode" (March 2026). Rightmove has it feature-flagged but not yet live.

No Philippine real estate site has consumer-facing conversational search. Lamudi, Hoppler, Property24, Santos Knight Frank — none.

**Our approach:** Conversational entry point on landing ("Tell us what you're looking for") alongside structured filters. Every conversational inquiry maps to the demand-side data model (requirements), creating matchable data from visitor intent.

### Listing detail information hierarchy is settled

Across all markets, the pattern is consistent:

1. Photos (full-width gallery, 3D tour)
2. Price + location + bed/bath/sqm headline
3. Key facts row
4. Description + property details
5. Inquiry CTA (sticky, follows scroll)
6. More listings from same source

Zillow's collapsible categorized sections ("What's Special", "Market Value", "Neighborhood") is the most evolved pattern. Sticky contact CTAs are now standard on every high-performing site.

**Our approach:** Follow the established hierarchy. Photos first, price and specs, then expanding detail sections, with a sticky inquiry button that never scrolls away.

### Philippine market is phone-first, not email-first

Lamudi captures mobile number as the primary contact field. Hoppler routes everything through brokers via phone. WhatsApp/Messenger are primary contact channels across SEA. Email-first inquiry forms lose conversions in this market.

**Our approach:** Inquiry form captures phone number as the primary field. Name and message secondary. No login required.

### Two inquiry types serve different intents

- **Listing inquiry:** Visitor found a specific property. Low-friction form: name, phone, message (pre-filled with "I'm interested in this property"). Appears on listing detail.
- **General inquiry:** Visitor hasn't found what they want, or wants guidance. Conversational flow that captures what they're looking for. Lives on landing page and as a persistent option across the site.

### Saved searches with alerts are the primary retention mechanism

Zillow, Redfin, Rightmove all drive return visits through saved search alerts (new listings, price drops, status changes). The Philippine market is underserved here — Lamudi and Hoppler have basic save features but weak notification systems.

**Our approach:** Saved searches and favorites using localStorage for anonymous visitors, with sync if they register. "New since your last visit" indicators reward return visits.

### SEO and bot discoverability require structured data

All top sites use Schema.org JSON-LD (`RealEstateListing`, `SingleFamilyResidence`, `Organization`). URL slugs include address information. Internal linking via location + property type + transaction type combinations drives long-tail search traffic (Hoppler's footer architecture is a strong example).

The listing detail page is the most common entry point from search engines and AI — not the landing page. It must stand alone with full account branding and context for cold arrivals.

**Our approach:** JSON-LD structured data injected on every listing page. OG meta tags for social sharing. Listing detail designed to be a complete standalone experience for visitors arriving from search or AI citations.

## Design Decisions

### Three pages, two entry points

| Page | Context | Role |
|------|---------|------|
| Landing | `default` | Search funnel + account identity. First-time visitor conversion. |
| Listings | `listings` | Browsable, filterable inventory. The core product. |
| Listing Detail | `listings` (JS-routed) | Standalone property page. Primary SEO landing point. |

Landing and listing detail are both entry points — visitors arrive at either from search engines, AI, shared links, or direct navigation.

### Landing page structure

1. **Hero:** Account identity (logo, name, tagline) + search bar (location, property type, buy/rent, price range) + conversational prompt
2. **Below fold:** New/recent listings, listings by area, account credibility signals (listing count, member count, areas served)
3. **Persistent:** Account header, general inquiry access

### Listing detail structure

1. **Above fold:** Photo gallery, price, listing type, location (PSGC full_name), specs row (bed/bath/parking/area)
2. **Below fold:** Description, property details (from JSONB data), location context, agent/member info
3. **Sticky CTA:** Inquiry form (name, phone, message)
4. **Below inquiry:** More listings from this account

### Mobile-first

Philippine internet usage is predominantly mobile. Filter UX uses drawers instead of sidebars. Sticky CTAs are touch-friendly. Photo galleries are swipeable. Phone number is the primary inquiry field.

### URL-driven filter state

All filter selections persist in the URL. Visitors can bookmark a filtered view, share it, or return to it later. This also enables search engine indexing of filtered result pages.