Purplebricks
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Has Purplebricks own ‘commisery’ report backfired?
Purplebricks has moved into attack mode once more and produced a ‘commisery’ report that it says proves traditional agents are “out of touch, out of date and leaving millions out of pocket”. But it’s hard to find much data in the report to back up this contention. The report also appears to have avoided asking respondents what they expect to get for the much reduced fee that Purplebricks charges compared to traditional agents. Nevertheless, the report contains some worrying research for agents. This includes how only 5% of those buying or selling are concerned whether an agent has a high-street office, that house sellers are becoming more aware about alternative selling models, and that 68.9% of the public now know that they don’t have to “fork out” a percentage commission on the value of their property. It also says that the average commission among agents is 1.5% excluding VAT or £3,929 per sale. But the survey results don’t conclusively back up Purplebricks’ contention that traditional agents are out of date. 35% annoyed by cost The company talked to 1003 respondents three months ago, of whom 35% said they were annoyed by the cost of using an estate agent, but only 11.37% said…
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Latest property news
Purplebricks takes down website claims after ASA probe
Purplebricks has been reported to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) once more for claims made on its website and, following a probe by the watchdog, subsequently taken down. The claims under scrutiny on this occasion are that it “takes us just 14 days to find a buyer” but, after the complainant clicked an icon next to the claim, it clarified that “the average time taken from a property going live to a viewing being booked for the eventual purchaser is 14 days”. A similar claim made for the Purplebricks’ lettings operation was also contested by the complainant. Using an identical device, the company said: “6 days – on average it takes us just 6 days to find a tenant”. Upon clicking an icon next to this text the following text appeared in a pop up: “The average time taken from a property going live to a viewing being booked for the eventual tenant is 6 days.” Misleading? The ASA says the complainant suggested that both claims were misleading and could be substantiated and, after the ASA contacted Purplebricks, the company agreed to remove the claims and the case was resolved informally. This is now the fourth complaint received against Purplebricks since September 2016.…
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Guest Blogs
Can smaller agents take on the hybrid agent big hitters?
After watching the recent Haye vs Bellew Heavyweight boxing fight, it became to me clear that bigger isn’t always better when it comes to the hybrid agent. During my time working agency side, I gained first-hand experience of the shift in customer expectations. Unrivalled customer service is imperative but now it needs to be coupled with a reduced and fixed price tag. This has brought about the rise of the online-only and hybrid agent. We’ve seen an exciting couple of weeks in this space. Countrywide, the heavyweight champion, has now tested its hybrid offering and continues to roll it out. LSL, the contender, is hot on Countrywide’s heels, declaring its interest in the online/hybrid market and hinting at revealing its hand shortly. In the Purple corner… deep pockets and the ‘commisery’ (or ‘commisery TM’ we hasten to add) led campaign has helped Purplebricks secure a stake in the UK market and embark on Australian and soon American adventures. It’s advertising succeeding in two things, raising awareness of the brand and educating the public on a fixed fee service backed by a convenient consumer facing dashboard. Three heavyweights These three heavyweights are slowly lining up knock out blows. How can a…
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Latest property news
Is Countrywide now one of the biggest hybrid agents?
While there’s enormous interest in ‘online-only’ and hybrid agents such as Hatched and Purplebricks, a lesser-known online operation has been rolling out across swathes of the UK. Countrywide revealed this morning how its digital ‘hybrid’ roll-out has been progressing over the past year, and it’s significant. So far this has included a four-phase launch that now covers 25% of its business, and 200 branches. Four phases After trialling it with three brands in June last year – Austin & Wyatt in the SW, Frank Innes in the East Midlands and Spencers in Leicestershire – it then introduced the offering to a further three agencies in November. These were Carsons in Hampshire, Miller Countrywide in Cornwall and Devon and Fulfords in Somerset. In January this year it also added its hybrid offering to Entwistle Green in Liverpool and Lancashire and says that it has shown “the most positive results to date”. A launch then followed last month at Bridgfords, the largest agent to do so thus far. Benefits Benefits of Countrywide’s hybrid model, which charges a £695 to £995 fee (see ad above) for a Purplebricks-style service during which vendors have to conduct both their own viewings and sale price negotiations, have included increased traffic to agent’s websites.…
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Latest property news
CIELA kicks off with an assault on Purplebricks
Embryonic industry organisation The Charter for Independent Estate and Letting Agents (CIELA) has asked the hybrid agency Purplebricks to withdraw its current TV advertising campaign and stop making comparison fee claims. The request was made in a letter sent yesterday to Purplebricks’ West Midlands HQ in Solihull, on what was CIELA’s inaugural day. The ‘club’ also says that it will be submitting a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority about these matters if Purplebricks does not take “reasonable steps” to address the issues. The letter, which runs to some 900 words, claims that some of Purplebricks’ advertising is “misleading to consumers” even though CIELA admits they are “not factually inaccurate”. FEE STRUCTURE The letter also goes on to criticise Purplebricks for comparing its fee structure and operation with that of traditional agents and the way the company calculates the vendor savings that its adverts are based on. It also explains why Purplebricks’ business model should be looked again given current Consumer Protection legislation, and why it thinks the company’s advertising may require scrutiny by the Advertising Standards Authority. CIELA is also worried that vendors do not understand the difference between the hybrid Purplebricks model and traditional agents, in particular that Purplebricks…
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Purplebricks Australia ‘growing’
Michael Bruce, CEO, Purplebricks, says that its launch into Australia has had a fantastic start.
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Agencies & People
Which? says over-pricing costs vendors £4.3bn a year
Consumer champion organisation Which? has launched a scathing report on sales agents that will make painful and probably infuriating reading for many. Its research found that of the 370,000 property sales it looked at between October 2105 and September 2016, one in five had been heavily reduced in price between asking and final agreed price, and that the optimistically-valued properties sold more slowly and for less. More controversially, Which? says online-only and hybrid agents sold more homes that hadn’t been reduced in price compared to traditional agents. Also, Which? says its data suggests overvalued properties take 64 days longer to sell than the rest, and that properties that start out over-priced don’t generally later achieve a higher one than an ‘uninflated’ one. The best-performing agents across the UK for selling above the asking price are also revealed, as are those Which? says are the ‘worst’. In London these include Fine & Country, James Pendleton, EasyProperty, Camerons Stiff & Co, Watson Bull & Porter, Faron Sutaria, Chestertons and Marsh & Parsons. Outside London it includes Redferns in the SW, Nick Tart in the West Midlands, Boxall Brown & Jones in the East Midlands, Aldreds in the East of England, Whitegates in…
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Agencies & People
Chris Wood challenges Purplebricks to a house sales bet
Chris Wood of Penzance-based PDQ Estates has thrown down the gauntlet to hybrid agent Purplebricks to see who can sell the most homes. In a tweet (see right) over the weekend Chris challenged Purplebricks to put its model to the test by submitting all its completed transactions over a set period to be independently audited by the ESTAS, which would then be measured against PDQ Estates’ completed transactions. “I spoke to Simon Brown at the ESTAs who said he was very happy to do it and that it would all be above board,” says Chris. “Everyone thinks I’m anti Purplebricks, but I’m not,” says Chris. “I’ve got nothing against the hybrid concept – I helped develop a very similar system for Tesco when I worked there as a consultant – and I think the Purplebricks model is an excellent one.” Chris says his main problem with both Purplebricks and several traditional high street agents too is the way that properties are listed on the portals and how agent review websites work. His challenge has been retweeted numerous times including by Top 150 UK law firm and conveyancing solicitor Trethowans. It tweeted that ‘it won’t be Purplebricks who win. Always avoid…
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Latest property news
Purplebricks shares hit all-time high
Purplebricks shares hit an all-time high of £1.81p yesterday as City confidence in its hybrid model peaked, while shares in agents operating more traditional models such as Foxtons and Countrywide continue to struggle. Countrywide shares are still trading at around £1.75p, down by nearly three quarters on its 2014 peak price, while Foxtons shares are trading at 94p, down from £3.98p two years ago. Purplebricks launched in mid-December 2015 at a price of £1 per share and during the initial months of 2016 slumped to 74p before staging an eye-popping rally that saw it reach a peak of £1.75p as initial business results from the company were announced. The share price fell back in line with the rest of the industry as news on additional Stamp Duty, Brexit and a likely fees ban loomed, but then increased significantly during December after revealing total revenue growth of 159%. This week’s uptick in its share price is likely to be down to news from its recently-launched Australian operation, which a few days ago Purplebricks said was going well in Sydney and New South Wales, and that it had plans to launch in more areas down under too “We are confident that our proven success…
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Latest property news
Third Oz city launch today for bullish Purplebricks
Purplebricks has today launched into a third Australian property market and says its business there is expanding faster than its initial launch in the UK in April 2014. Its new Sydney and central coast operation has just gone live with 20 local ‘property experts’ and an AU$5,500 fixed fee which, the company claims, saves sellers AU$15,000 off the cost of using one of the country’s traditional agents. Australia’s property market is a softer target than the UK’s. Agents there typically charge a 2.2% fee plus marketing costs of several thousand dollars,. Purplebricks initialy launched last year into Melbourne and Brisbane, followed by today’s Sydney announcement and later this year, Perth and Adelaide. The company is making much of its success in the UK to promote the Oz operation. Co-founder Michael Bruce (pictured) last week told local paper The Financial Review that the company was “playing a major role in changing the way real estate is sold in the UK and would do the same in Australia”. He also told various media outlets in Sydney recently that the UK’s traditional agents were ‘struggling’ compared to Purplebricks, picking out Countrywide and Foxtons as examples and claiming to be the UK’s largest estate…
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