The introduction of Google's "Property Search" this week has been seen by the majority of commentators as a sea-change in the way in which the details of properties are advertised and brought to the market.

But how will it be used? Will there be a surge of home owners placing their property on the market without the assistance of an estate agent? Will it be embraced by those seeking a new home?

Google itself has suggested that, based on its experience in Australia, the number of home owners marketing their own properties on Google has been relatively low. The technical side of adding property details to the database and the construction of a web page are considered to be barriers. This might be so for home owners of a certain age, but the loading of property data is very straight forward and all you need then is to create a free web page on a blogging platform (maybe Google's own "blogger.com") or even Facebook! How long before we see entrepreneurs offering a "Get you house onto Google Property Search" service?

As one agent I have spoken to in the last 48 hours said: "You don't see many home made 'For Sale' signs outside houses - they rarely look professional." The difference with Google is that all properties are presented in the same way. It's a far more level playing field.

So from an agent's point of view - Google Property Search could be seen to be a major threat to their livelihoods in that the pool of clients that will want to use their services may dwindle. However - agents and surveyors don't only advertise property and then negotiate a transaction. An important part of their service is advising on price and whilst there will be individuals willing to undertake a marketing campaign for their property - where will they get the pricing information from?

The answer that some will give is that the detail of other transactions is available from other public sources. This is true - but will it be up-to-date? Will it take into account the current level of demand? Will such databases be able to allow owners to generate a reliable understanding and "gut feel" for where an asking price should be pitched?

The alternative (and often traditional way) will be to ask an agent (or agents) for their opinion on price - and then use Google to market the property. With their existence threatened - how long will it be before agents start to billing for such advice - with the "valuation charge" being discounted from the eventual fee payable upon the sale?

And what about the existing property portals; Rightmove, PrimeLocation, FindaProperty, Zoopla and the like? Some have chosen to use Google Property and some have not. Only today I read that Sarah Beeny's Tepilo is going to use it.

In my mind that's the only sensible thing to do.

As a home owner or landlord would you choose to put your house on the market with an agent or property portal that didn't make the details easily available on the world's favourite search engine? The question that has to be asked though is why would a home owner or agent want to pay to advertise on a portal when they could place the property on Google for free themselves? What additional value will the portals be able to offer?

Maybe they will be the entrepreneurs that offer the "get your house onto Google" services?

Personally I am more interested in the impact that Google Property Search will have on the commercial real estate market. It is clear that Google already has one eye on the commercial market as a means of generating revenue.

As I pointed out in my property Week blog back in April:

"as part of any data feed, Google asks that the type of transaction is listed, and it provides five alternatives:

• Residential for rent
  
• Residential for sale
  
• Flat share
  
• Commercial for sale
  
• Commercial for lease.

Whether businesses will rely on Google to find business accommodation though is another question.

Buying a house or an apartment is a very personal and emotional transaction - and if a property is not quite right - many people will wait until they find "the perfect home". Google will be just one of the tools that people will use.

I believe that this will also be true for businesses.

Would anyone rely solely on Google to make a business critical decision? It might be that companies identify a property online - but would they not check that there might be others available (that might be even better) that have not been advertised? What about those properties where the managing director or CEO has said to their agent: "let me know if there is anyone out there who wants a property like ours...."

Its easy to see Google being used to do a sweep of the market - but it will not replace professional advisors. It may be used to get an overview of values - but unless Google starts recording historic data on transactions (and where would it get such detailed information?) then the job of the rent review surveyor and valuer is safe.

Ultimately businesses will continue to use professionals who can be held responsible if things go wrong. In the residential sector though estate agents have a public image problem and it is often asked what is it that they actually do to justify their fees?

As a result it is far easier to see consumers in the housing market seeing Google as a route to bypassing both the traditional residential estate agent and the property portals.

Time to change those business models?