XML Property Upload

This free property advertising service from Home.co.uk enables agents to add their properties for sale or rent to the Home.co.uk Property Search Index directly using an XML file submission service.

Benefits:

  • More buyer/renter traffic: Buyers and renters sent directly to your property details pages on your website
  • Daily updates: To get your latest properties live fast
  • Free service: Extra property advertising at zero cost
  • Brand building: Buyers see property details under your brand

How to set up an XML Upload to Home.co.uk:

  1. Ask your IT team to read the Home.co.uk Property Upload Guide (in particular the part about XML uploads)
  2. Instruct them to set up the automatic file creation system (file must be updated daily)
  3. Enter a contact name and email address (below) so we can notify you if there is any problem with the XML
  4. Enter the URL (web address) for your XML Property Upload
  5. Submit
No XML Data File to Upload? No Problem!
One can be created for you.
We partner with XML2U.com who will extract the property data directly from your site and convert it to a data feed which can be uploaded to Home.co.uk. To get your data file, go to http://www.xml2u.com/Home.co.uk.

Having set up an XML Property Upload to Home.co.uk, agents can further promote their business by subscribing to our Premier Agent Service: a proven method to boost sales, lettings and instructions.

Home.co.uk
Rightmove
Other: 

eg http://www.agentwebsite.co.uk/home_property_sitemap.xml
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Frequently Asked Questions

What is XML?

XML stands for Extensible Markup Language. XML allows you to identify your information in a more accurate, flexible, and adaptable way compared to a standard mark-up language (eg HTML). XML is a meta-language commonly used for servers to communicate with each other. In this case we will be using XML to transfer property data from your server to the Home.co.uk Property Search Index.

What information should my XML Property Upload contain?

In summary, the file should contain a header with contact details of your agency followed by a list of your properties for sale or rent. For each property the URL, price, no. of bedrooms, property type, postcode, location name, image link and a brief description should be given. For more details see the Home.co.uk Property Upload Guide.

How do I make an XML file automatically?

Generation of XML files is a common requirement for web sites (commonly for generation of RSS feeds). Most programming languages commonly used to build web sites include support for XML file generation.

To automatically generate XML a consistent data source is required (some examples are: database, data base export, spreadsheet). Once this source is identified a simple transformation process can be used to represent this structured data in XML. Often databases and spreadsheets already include a function to export directly to XML.

If data can not be exported directly to the XML schema required for Home.co.uk, the exported XML file can then be transformed using technologies such as XSLT, DOM and/or SAX.

Which URL should I choose?

You can place your XML Property Upload file anywhere on your company website, for example: http://www.myagent.co.uk/property_upload.xml

What should my XML Property Search Upload file look like?

A sample file might look like this.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1" ?>
<property_upload>
  <agent_name>Smiths Estate Agents</agent_name>
  <agent_address>123 High Street, Town, County, AB1 2CD</agent_address>
  <agent_url>http://www.agentwebsite.co.uk/</agent_url>
  <agent_phone>01234 567890</agent_phone>
  <agent_email>email@agentwebsite.co.uk</agent_email>
  <property_detail>
    <price>234,567</price>
    <bedrooms>3</bedrooms>
    <type>semi</type>
    <location>Somewhere St, Village, Country</location>
    <postcode>EF3 4GH</postcode>
    <url>http://www.agentwebsite.co.uk/properties/property_124.htm</url>
    <thumbnail_url>http://www.agentwebsite.co.uk/images/124.jpg</thumbnail_url>
    <short_description>A charming bungalow found in a pleasant rural location. This country property set in extensive grounds benefits from 3 bedrooms, gas central heating, double glazing, swimming pool, double garage and is close to local amenities such as schools, shops...</short_description>
  </property_detail>
  <property_detail>
  ...
  </property_detail>
  ...
</property_upload>

See also: Home.co.uk for Estate Agents, How to Ensure your Properties are Listed on the Home.co.uk Search Index