Agents’ fee battle with portal continues amid coercion claims

A row over fees between estate agents and the largest property portal in Northern Ireland is now into its fourth week.

PropertyPal.com says it is committed to a ‘speedy resolution’, but in the meantime agents say the dispute has led to increased traffic to their own websites, the Belfast Telegraph reports.

The portal recently increased its fees to member agents, moving from a set amount per listing to a membership-type scheme with different tiers.

The company behind PropertyPal, which lists some 60,000 properties for sale and to rent in the country, has said that the increase is “aimed at delivering enhanced value and services”.

Rebel agents

But the ‘rebel agents’, who have formed a steering group, wrote to Errol Maxwell, PropertyPal’s CEO, saying they felt “coerced and bullied”.

They said under the new system estate agents could expect to pay 25-45% more per listing on PropertyPal, and they “have no alternative but to take drastic action”.

Pride

In a statement to the BBC, Maxwell said he “takes pride in offering the most competitive pricing of any property portal in the UK and Ireland”.

“PropertyPal’s new membership plan allows estate agents to advertise all their properties for an average of £20 per listing and provides them with a powerful suite of new tools to support their business,” he said.

We’re delighted that the majority of estate agents have embraced the change.”

“We’re delighted that the majority of estate agents have embraced the change, and recognise the significant value it brings to their partnership with us.”

Derry estate agent Stephen McCarron of Donnybrook said any price increase from PropertyPal would be “passed on to clients”, something Maxwell has said would be “unfair”.