Three Midlands estate agencies have launched a property portal for independent agents, developed in partnership with industry lead generation and website design platform Homeflow.

Localmove.co.uk is initially being launched in and around Birmingham, and the agents behind it say they expect it to revolutionise how properties are marketed online at a local level for £150 a month per branch.

They are also hoping to expand their platform through a system of local franchises, which will be offered to agents across the UK.

The three agents behind it are Acres, Green & Company and Paul Carr which between them have 26 branches in and around Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands.

The trio are now hoping to onboard other agents and say, as they already have 70% of all listing between them in the area, expect to reach 90% very soon.

Disollusioned

They say their initiative is the latest ‘local portal’ to be launched as more and more agents ‘become disillusioned with local portals and their high fees’.

Another is WeAreTheMarket, which launched with similar aims to disrupt the world of local property marketing last week.

Nigel Deekes of Acres (pictured) says: “For far too long agents have been at the mercy of national portals who are strangling the independent agents and now is the time for these agents to be able to reduce their portal costs and take control back.”

Paul Ivens of Green & Company, says: “All previous attempts to break the property portal duopoly have failed because being national is not appropriate; it doesn’t work.

Paul Carr says: “Traditionally local property markets have been very competitive and there has been little collaboration between agents.

“By teaming up to launch Localmove, we are ensuring a better service for the house buying/selling public and for other agents too.”