Whatsapp-style Verification Gains Ground In South Africa's Property Sector Amid Ppra Warning

Marcel Koole, co-founder and CEO of BestAgent

The PPRA emphasises that all property practitioners must be registered and in possession of a valid Fidelity Fund Certificate (FFC), which serves as proof of legal compliance. Consumers are advised to confirm not only that an agent holds a valid FFC, but that candidate property practitioners are properly supervised by a fully registered professional.

“Trust in the real estate industry isn’t just about having a valid licence,” says Marcel Koole, co-founder and CEO of BestAgent. “It’s about being able to prove that an agent actually sold the homes they claim to, and that the reviews on their profile come from real, verified clients. We’re the only platform in South Africa that does all three: verify FFCs, verify properties sold, and verify client reviews. That level of transparency builds real trust.”

Creating a verified link between agents and the properties they’ve sold

Unlike traditional property portals, which focus primarily on listings and paid visibility, BestAgent ensures that every property shown as ‘sold’ by an agent on its platform is independently verified. This means there’s a direct, trustworthy link between an agent and their actual sales history — something no other platform in South Africa currently offers.

“Many agents showcase sold properties to bolster credibility, but there’s often no way to confirm whether they were actually involved in those transactions,” Koole explains. “On BestAgent, that sales history is verified by us. So when a seller views an agent’s profile, they know those claims are real.”

In addition to verified sales records, client reviews are also authenticated, ensuring that feedback comes from genuine home sellers and buyers who have worked with the agent.

Verified agents earn a verified badge

As part of BestAgent's Premium offering, agents who subscribe are required to upload a valid Fidelity Fund Certificate (FFC) issued by the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA). Once the FFC is confirmed to be authentic and up to date, the agent is awarded a Verified badge on their profile.

While some large estate agencies display FFC information, BestAgent takes this a step further by combining it with verified reviews and sales performance. Agents who do not subscribe to the Premium offering are still listed but do not carry the Verified badge.

“Our goal is to empower sellers with clear, verifiable information,” says Koole. “Even if most agents on the portal today are still unverified due to the early stage of subscriber uptake, every agent's sales and reviews are still subject to our verification process. That means sellers can trust the agent’s history, even if they don’t yet carry the Verified badge.”

In contrast to many traditional property portals that allow agents to pay for visibility, BestAgent operates on a model rooted in transparency and verified performance. Rather than favouring agents who spend the most on advertising, BestAgent uses real data to determine how agents perform — including the number of properties sold, average selling prices, valuation accuracy, and client feedback.

“Agents cannot buy their way to the top on BestAgent,” explains Koole. “We don’t allow advertising to influence rankings. It’s all driven by verified performance metrics and suitability for the seller’s needs.”

This means sellers are matched with agents based on real results, not marketing budgets. It also removes the guesswork for homeowners who want to work with someone reputable, experienced, and legally compliant.

“Our goal is to level the playing field and make sure that good agents, regardless of how big their marketing spend is, are visible to sellers,” adds Koole. “By verifying sales history and client reviews, we’re giving sellers a true picture of what they can expect.”

This performance-driven model is core to BestAgent's mission: to build a safer, smarter, and more honest property marketplace for South Africans.

The risk of working with unverified agents

In South Africa, it's illegal to operate as an estate agent without a valid FFC. Yet many agents who appear online may be unregistered, leaving sellers exposed to fraud, poor service, and misinformation. While it's not always clear whether property portals knowingly display unregistered agents, the PPRA has issued repeated warnings to the public about this growing risk.

By contrast, BestAgent provides an added layer of protection by actively verifying key credentials and activity - building a more transparent, ethical property ecosystem.

A new standard for digital trust in real estate

As platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, and LinkedIn adopt verification to prevent impersonation and protect users, BestAgent is doing the same for real estate - an industry where trust is paramount.

“For the property sector to grow responsibly, we need to prioritise consumer protection over advertising revenue,” says Koole. “BestAgent isn’t just helping people sell homes — it’s professionalising the industry through real transparency and accountability.”