China's largest online classified site 58.com launched a multiple listing service (MLS) for new homes on Wednesday, aimed at consolidating its market share. 

The company, which gains most of its earnings from the real estate listing sector, launched its platform called the Prime Multiple Listing Service (PMLS), in cooperation with the real estate consulting firm Tospur and property service provider WorldUnion. 

The platform is currently targeting only new homes sale, which takes over half of China's property sales, according to recent figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). It was founded to better align real estate brokers with developers, according to Michael Jinbo Yao, CEO of 58.com Inc. 

In recent years, home buyers have been increasingly opting for information online, instead of going to the sales center of new estates for face-to-face contact with in-house realty professionals, as the home-buying trend in China gradually relies on the internet, he said. 

"Moreover, potential home buyers, especially in first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, are increasingly turning to second-hand home agents in their neighboring stores for information, who are, in turn, playing a bigger role in promoting new home sales." 

Therefore, the PMLS platform is founded to better empower brokers by providing reliable new home listings, as well as to help property developers expand sales channels, Yao added. 

The platform now has a listing of 3,500 new property programs, including new homes and commercial buildings, and over 40,000 brokerage outlets around the country are its subscribers, the company said. 

Speaking at a press conference on Aug. 21, Yao said: "Our goal is to facilitate property sales of 3 trillion yuan ($424.5 billion) through the platform in the next three years."

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