EasyProperty is planning to “disrupt” the property market and “mortally damage” high street agents.
It says it will attack agents on both costs and service.
Its chairman Harry Hill is the former Countrywide boss and Rightmove founder, while easyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou is a “brand” partner.
Hill’s latest business ventures have been ill-starred, with the closure of his conveyancing company InDeed.
He was also chairman of JKM Property Solutions, which also shut, and which was run by Michael and Kenny Bruce – formerly of Burchell Edwards and now, ironically, heading up Harry Hill’s easyProperty competitor Purplebricks.com
Eye ran the story about easyProperty on March 19 – our very first day of publication – so you may not have seen it.
It is worth a look, not least because easyProperty’s fund-raising document obtained by Eye criticises Countrywide.
In a section called ‘Cutting out the estate agent”, the document outlines how landlords will be able to list their own properties.
EasyProperty is due to launch on September 15, initially concentrating on the lettings sector.
https://www.propertyindustryeye.com/ex-countrywide-boss-harry-hill-aims-to-kill-high-street-agents/
Comments (27)
A test of memory: Who was it in 2010 who reckoned an agency branch would sell 5 properties a month, spend £83,000 on wages and NI, £5,000 on photos and fuel plus £8,000 on advertising. I have dropped of the premises and costs as I guess there won't be any. So £96,000 of fixed costs plus 20% profit equals a total of £115,000 net of VAT to not leave the back bedroom and open up as an online agent. That equates to and average commission of 1.1% per property sold (£1920 plus VAT)
Who has remembered who it was advising Agents not to bother opening up if they aren't going to make any money?
Are we getting punk'd or is this guy for real? Way to kill happy hour Mr H but before you, Russ and Adam go get a room you might want to slip on those sensible shoes and start your long walk to that particular epiphany.
Forget the rhetoric because traditional agents are hardly crying a jar of human tears over your arrival and that's the rub. Whilst we can't unring the bell don't kid yourself we're all sanguine hitting tequila shots and making out with the new girl because trust me, we see you. Jeez did the online guys just have a conference call because I can't figure the pathological detachment from the ethos of agency, kind of reminds me of affiliation.
Listen up fella because the following may contain nuts…online might well be the future but you guys seem b*tthurt trying to get there and whilst you might disrupt the market we're really not trying to hear that because right now you're just a loophole to nowhere. Dude pass the pipe and share the high because that amount of self loathing is way ahead of the curve, otherwise go practice your thousand yard stare somewhere else because we ain't scared.
I am amazed at how most of the new online propositions are spending more time slagging their opposition than saying how great their model might be.
Ed Miliband uses this approach in politics ie "all you voters rightfully hate the Conservatives and the Lib Dems, so I'm sure you'll vote for me"……..This approach has done him no good at all as he flounders behind his competitors, unable to convince voters of any real reason to vote for him.
This approach makes me chuckle when doing our job too… Agents who bad mouth other agents on valuations rarely get the business, but then some agents have nothing else in their tool kit to offer other than a cheap shot here or there, which typically points a customer to the person/agent they are bad mouthing……… We did some market research on one of our listers who lost a few houses on valuations and the feedback was he spent more saying why not to go with the other agents than promoting our positives. Its a tactic which rarely works.
Agreed, I wonder who is going to do all the "estate agency" visits for all these new companies….I haven't heard of one estate agent who has gone to work in the field for the onliners so who is doing all their calls. Do they only attend if the vendor has already paid by card online?
Quite possibly!
There will always be the landlord who "thinks they are saving money", the single minded penny pincher who's been ripped off or heard (more likely gossip) by extorinate fees by some letting agents and use these companies. They make a dent on start-up but as proved time again, they fail misserably. You can't re-invent the wheel with the interent. What is the single reason why majority of people rent? If you don't know take a good look at your own data. How often do landlords come to you because they have tried the internet cheap quick fix, that didn't work. How many tenants have no internet? If regulation does come, these sites will not be able to cope. Internet works for a fraction of the housing market because it is a "SERVICE" industry that requiries personal contact, support and help for the vast majority of the business. Consumers have confidence in the face they like, not the PC who hides with a POBox.
What makes all these online agency aficionados so confident that an online service – where vendors or landlords have to do most of the work themselves, pay up front for the privilege to boot with no guarantee of a sale or let in return – will convince people to abandon the High Street?
Its never been difficult for a vendor to sell or rent their own home in terms of putting up a board, finding somewhere to advertise it, show people around etc and save a lot of money into the bargain (assuming they have priced it right) but there is a fundamental reason why the majority of people don't do it – they simply can't be bothered and/or don't have the time and want to get an 'expert' in to do it for them and pay them for their services.
The very same people usually buy their bread in a supermarket instead of a bag of flour and some yeast; they take their car to a garage for repair rather than going to Halfords to buy a Haynes manual and some spanners; they go to the dentist instead of buying a ball of twine and finding a sturdy door handle.
There will always been people who want to save money with a bit of DIY so there is a market for their services, and no doubt it will slowly grow to a point, but if they really believe that Joe Public is ready to abandon high street agents and do it all themselves then they really are deluded. The majority of my landlords want cheaper fees on the one hand but they still want us to do everything for them on the other.
Well said, Ray.
He should just stick to You've Been Framed by the sound of it.
Why do his ilk have to be so 70' alpha male and use negative, destructive words?
I am sure most buyers and sellers don't want the market 'disrupted' rather the would like it improved with valuable 'competition' and 'extra added value' than see anyone 'mortally damaged'
Hopefully for all involved the project is a bit less Neanderthal than the rhetoric so far or they will be throwing rocks carved with the property details carved on them.
He should stick to 'You've been framed'.
Couldn't agree more, the management style of Harry Hill is the same as the old school football manager with a sheepskin coat like Ron Atkinson. The type of person that is very shouty when things aren't going well. There are far more effective ways of managing in the modern workplace,
Poor old Harry…. How times have changed! Once the head of the largest estate agency in the country and since leaving left a trail of defunct companies in his wake and now it seems last roll of the dice getting involved in a "Cheap" online estate agency. Little ironic considering Countrywide always prided itself on "High" fees. What can this man really add to the company?
If anybody was worried about this enterprise they can breath more easily now we know Harry Hill is involved..
http://companycheck.co.uk/director/900250548/MR-HARRY-DOUGLAS-HILL
interesting reading although do keep in mind a number of these companies are from his days at countrywide.
Clearly "disrupt the market" is the in phrase at the moment. This is yet another half baked attempt to capitalise on a sales and lettings market that may have favoured their hands off approach last year but not so much this year I would suggest……Purple Bricks for instance have sold less than a third of what they have taken on…..business models that are all two years too late.
In a section called ‘Cutting out the estate agent”, the document outlines how landlords will be able to list their own properties. – if this happens and bods list their own property, this will be contrary to rightmove, zoopla or AM membership basis – so where and who will see the listing?
No doubt RM and DPG will allow due to xxxxxx (fill in the blanks as they see fit)
I wonder if EasyProperty will take an EasyJet approach?…….. To list your home it will cost JUST £19.99……..please go to checkout….oh BUT if you want a photo with your listing £50…….. if you want your address showing £25……. if you want a price showing £75…….. total price £notquitewhatwepromote
I wonder if the oft and ts will be looking at the initial "hook in " prices promoted and the "necessary extras" required to "market" the property eg an epc is required by law but isn't included in , say, a sell your house for £69 by mypropertyadvert.coms
EasyEnergyReports will set up….! Stelios will fly to Directors meetings in one of his Grade A energy rated planes. (But he will be late obviously!)
It will no doubt be beneath Mr Hill or any of his minions to bandy words with the likes of me on an open forum like this, not because his/their achievements are greater than anyone else’s or his/their knowledge more superior but because of insecurity and a fundamental lack of understanding.
It is really easy to claim (anecdotally) "that agents have poor reputations, are “hugely” mistrusted by consumers, and have failed to innovate over the past 30 years" but the fact remains that the very vast majority of the selling public both trust and respect Estate Agents and moreover there is good evidence to show that the most trusted and most respected form of Estate Agency is small Independent agents who have had no real need to innovate in order to sell property, besides the sort of innovation required to improve the qualities required to be a good agent is something best left to God or evolution.
Best of luck to him.
Agents deserve what they get. A bit of healthy competition never hurt anybody
Stupid comment.
Hmmm… 'Portal Person' – I would suggest that NOBODY has a problem with "healthy competition". But your posts over the past few days are clear indication that your understanding of the Estate Agency world, if written on the back of a postage stamp in 16-point bold, would require substantial padding out.
I just had a serious moment of déjà vu. The only difference being that Harry’s plans are now targeted at estate/letting agents and not conveyancers.
Such aggressive and unnecessary wording? EasyProperty is planning to “disrupt” the property market and “mortally damage” high street agents.
Harry has form though. I recall being at a property related dinner in London a few years ago, Harry was a guest. Towards the end of the evening he took the microphone and rather ungraciously said something along the lines of: “I don’t normally come to events like this, because they are, dull, boring and a waste of my time.” In fairness, the event was no better or worse than many others and if you made an attempt to enjoy and benefit from being there you could.