Purple Bricks
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Latest property news
‘California calling’ for Purplebricks US launch
Purplebricks has revealed that its first launch in the US is to take place in California later this year. In February CEO Michael Bruce announced that he had raised £50 million from the City to set up operations in several US property markets in a bid to take a slice of the country’s £56 billion commission cake. Purplebricks hired former proptech start-up figure in the US Eric Eckardt (pictured, left) to head up its US business, who says he is targeting California first because of its strong housing and economic fundamentals. “Purplebricks is launching in the US with a distinct offering which aims to offer a better deal for customers and a compelling opportunity for highly skilled, experienced Local Real Estate Experts,” says Eric. The state has the highest number of transactions within the US, according to the California Association of Realtors, and generates commissions each year of £11.5 billion. US roll-out Once it has a foothold in California, Purplebricks says it will then roll-out its offering across other US states, which are likely to include other high-transaction states such as Florida, Texas, Arizona and New York. Purplebricks is now putting its considerable resources into seeking out real estate agents across…
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Brexit result worries the stock market
Housebuilders, banks and property agencies slip and slide as confusion reigns.
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Agencies & People
Signs of change
Purplebricks, EasyProperty, Hatched – online agents are snaffling all the headlines, giving the Martian, arriving from space in January, the idea that traditional estate agencies have been consigned to history. Purplebricks says it will float on the AIM market for £230 million, easyProperty has now banked funding totaling £39.25 million and Sequence has paid an undisclosed but ‘significant’ sum to acquire Hatched, saving them the trouble of creating their own ‘online’ brand. Traditional agents need to research the competition and maybe adjust their services to survive – and thrive. The figures are eye-watering; massive faith in unproved businesses, dramatic headlines about how much sellers will save, gleeful predictions of the imminent death of ‘rip-off agents.’ But is it real? Is that nosy house-hunting Martian going to find defunct estate agencies on every high street? Is he going to find thousands of listings for homes on online agency sites? CEO of easyProperty, Rob Ellice, says, “This new, very substantial investment is a significant step for easyProperty; the most widely recognised consumer brand in a very fragmented estate agency market.” However, since the orange fanfare blew 15 months ago, there has been a lot of noise, but when you visit their website,…
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