easyProperty, the new online agent, has confirmed its launch date by saying that all its listings will be live on Zoopla and PrimeLocation from September 15.
easyProperty described the arrangements with Zoopla and PrimeLocation as “partnerships”, heading its announcement as “easyProperty strikes deal with Zoopla and PrimeLocation”.
The press release did not mention Rightmove, although easyProperty does display the logo on its site and founder Robert Ellice told Eye that easyProperty will be on Rightmove.
Rightmove also confirmed to Eye yesterday that it has accepted easyProperty as an advertiser.
As an online agent, easyProperty will not be able to list on OnTheMarket.
easyProperty landlords will pay per listing per week, and will be able to decide how long they want to market their properties on portals, using easyProperty’s ‘pick and mix’ system.
In the near future, said the site, landlords will also have access to enhanced portal services such as premium listings.
Ellice said of Zoopla and PrimeLocation: “These portals are a key marketing tool for all estate agents and it is critical that our landlords can also access these channels.
“The development of strategic business partnerships is a significant part of a substantial marketing effort.
“In the coming months we will be pushing our own brand marketing, coupled by a high-profile blue chip partnership campaign, which will significantly increase web traffic to easyProperty.com”
Eye did ask easyProperty for clarification regarding the partnerships with Zoopla while there was no mention of Rightmove, but as yet have not had a response.
However, a spokesperson for Rightmove told us yesterday evening: “Rightmove’s comprehensive vetting process ensures that all advertisers meet minimum standards of care and service to protect the millions of consumers that use the website and existing members on Rightmove.
“Like any new joiner Easy Property Lettings went through our vetting process to ensure they adhered to all of Rightmove’s terms and conditions.
“As with all prospective customers our vetting procedure will have covered a number of key consumer and service areas, for example establishing the detail of exactly how a prospective customer’s business model works with regards to tenants and landlords.”
Comments (35)
FOUND IT!
The disruptive thing working…….Ivygate – 30 houses available over the whole of London, I think its time to cash my Foxtons shares, the market has been disrupted people!
And that look4aproperty web site, well judge for yourselves, what a triumph of savvy web marketing, very slick, great content and truly class leading
Jonnie
Ahhh… Jonnie – the air suddenly got fresher around here! ;o)
Come on, matey – it's about time you jumped in on one of the AM threads – I wanna know if I'm rubbing your gums up the wrong way (along with the other 99.9% of the Estate Agency world, apparently) – or have you not yet succumbed to The AM Collective's influence? You know whichever it is, I'll still be your fwend… ;o)
Come come Peebee. 3500 AM agents is 17.5% of agents then 1.72% of firms who want to be considered as Estate Agent but are really just expensive ways for FSBO to list on Zoopla , you are gum rubbing 19.22% of the industry. If you are going to exaggerate and make things up like a portal rep, we will fall out. I can't abide people who are too stupid to realise that agents do talk to their competitors when they meet them coming out of appointments.
I always ask the flip chart kid from that well known over charging corporate if he's started shaving yet? As for the story in question it will only be competing with the very small market share of on-line portals, no wonder portal person is worried. They will be squabbling amongst themselves as their income diminishes. Today I've been instructed to take on a shed load of properties from …… wait for it …….. an online letting agency that has gone bust and boy oh boy have they left a **** of a mess and some very unhappy tenants. We may have to recruit, **** profit gone immediately.
Hello, are you Jenny or Willy? It is great to see the celebrity twins of my childhood grown up and working in the noble profession.
The big myth about online agency is that the don't need to charge very much. As Portal person naively say they can be infinitely cheaper. That is not the case. Have a look at the Optimhome organisation, therey are cheap as chips, well established and well presented but they don't have nationally the stock of the average two partner firm in a market town. They have signed up 'Estate Agent' with local knowledge and the rest blah blah blah, but sadly those self employed agents in some cases have NO instructions.
The model does not work and your example proves it.
Hi PeeBee, yes this AM malarkey, simple choice, I'll bin Zoopla, keep RM. job done.
Jonnie
Okay
All very nice, Stellios, orange branding thing and another one man press release (god I miss Russell Quirk) and another day………….so, Zoopla now has a signed direct debit mandate from these boys aaaannnd…it’s a press release.
I do hope this online thing takes off even with the slow 10 year burn and all that, if its this simple (im avoiding saying easy) then you know what im in, ill try and raise enough money to employ our new mate @portalperson to do my tec bit, gob off a lot and watch the millions roll in.
As they say on the BBC ‘im in’. Talking of that how’s that Fasal guy and James Caan getting on with Ivygate? – they’ve been quiet? And that http://www.pig4cash.co.uk thing they did..
Jonnie
I work for free 🙂
I charge to "gob of a lot" though 😀
Rivero – to Mr easyProperty you say "I think it's a little harsh to describe you as 'parasitic'…" Sorry – perhaps for once I used an incorrect terminology. Is it more reasonable that I say that companies like easyProperty are "totally, completely, unequivocally dependent" upon portals for their survival? ;o)
Ha! Well yes that slightly less aggressive language sits better with me anyway 😉
Erm… in my opinion 'parasitic' is no less aggressive – and gets the job done quicker! ;o) I (with emphasis 'cos you can't caps lock a capital…), YOU – ALL OF US are parasitic by nature of what we do. Without homeowners and prospective buyers or tenants we don't have a business. But – that is the same for every job, isn't it? Brain surgeons are redundant without patients. Pilots don't fly empty planes. The list goes on. You see – I know MY place in this great tapestry we call life. I just question whether others do, sometimes…
lol you were right the first time ……more for less , much less hahaha. One thing you haven't taken into account is a low cost model actually has a chance to grow the market in agent lettings by getting classified users to upgrade as the cost of doing so is far less. I agree its not rocket science thats the beauty of it Landlords only have to make a small change to make potentially a big saving or in the case of classified reach a much bigger audience and buy additional services at very competitive prices. Its akin to the budget airlines who not only grew share at the expense of the expensive carriers but also brought new flyers into the market who could now afford to travel by air instead of road and rail.
" One thing you haven't taken into account is a low cost model actually has a chance to grow the market in agent lettings by getting classified users to upgrade as the cost of doing so is far less." That's pretty much what I said here-"We traditional agents should not really be afraid of you as the majority of your clients will be those who try to do it all themselves anyway." I'm not going to worry about losing a market we never had nor want to have.
From the eP website: "Advertise on Rightmove, Zoopla & Primelocation for only £9.99 per week" So… you know who their next "partner" is – the question is "WHEN is the press release coming out?" My guess – middle of next week. A steady (jet)stream of name awareness seems to be the order of the day… ;o)
@peebee you should work in marketing … thats a great idea
Chris – easyProperty
Yeah… more like mind-reading, Mr easyProperty. I can read yours like a book. Thing is – I got bored by middle of Chapter 2 and turned straight to the ending. Sorry to tell you – but it isn't a happy one for eP… ;o)
well I will make it make it my mission to prove you wrong :). You simply do not grasp the potential of this model, you look for the flaws and pitfalls but not once in your posts to you admit for a heartbeat that the market potential online is limitless provided it gives the consumer something it values. For sure its not the same as a high street shop and there will always be people who want that service and be prepared to pay a price for it but for an increasing segment of the market ,online will be perfect for their needs. I don't need to convince you however rather the UKs private landlords of which I noted we signed up a whole bunch more of yesterday and the day before etcetcetc
I personally do not have a problem with companies such as yours and I think it's a little harsh to describe you as 'parasitic', after all you are just trying to forge a niche for a different model – we're all in business here. We traditional agents should not really be afraid of you as the majority of your clients will be those who try to do it all themselves anyway. Online agents will be competing amongst themselves for a maximum of 5% of the market in my view. What does amuse me though is when you all seem to present your version of the model as revolutionary for the industry and therefore the customer; in reality all you do is offer more for less and charge customers in a different way.
OOOps *freudian slip?? I mean 'less for less'!!
"…you look for the flaws and pitfalls but not once in your posts to you admit for a heartbeat that the market potential online is limitless provided it gives the consumer something it values." Ahhh – but there you are WRONG, Mr easyProperty. You just aren't looking in the right place. I have long said that 'Online' Agents have a niche in the market that they fulfil. As do 'hybrid' models – and of course so do we old f@rts (most of whom aren't 'old' at all…) who continue with a 'traditional' offering. The differentiator is the size and scope of the niche. In order for YOUR model to purely survive, never mind actually thrive, you have to increase substantially the size of the niche you fill. It is HOW you and your 'brethren' go about trying to increase your niche which gets up the chuff of the likes of me. Do it well; do it ethically and morally correctly and you'll win my admiration. Do it how you are all doing it at the moment… I – and thousands of my colleagues in industry – become your worst enemy. I wouldn't want to be in that position, Mr easyProperty. ;o)
Will we be treated to every portal sign up of every passive intermediary firm with a single property? Easy property might be great for comments but please bear in mind what 3 months of this non story self promotion did to EAT. If Joe Blow & co sign up with RM or Zoopla will that be covered too?
@benay correction we are not a "passive intermediary"we are an online letting agent, we provide a raft of services many of which are yet to be launched ,which current agents either do not or cannot offer. You will be hearing alot more of us soon as we announce further partnerships. @Ric In our view our relationship with both leading portals are partnerships,in any business relationship you should work together to the mutual benefit of both parties hence partnership.
Mr easyProperty – "In our view our relationship with both leading portals are partnerships…" – no, that is incorrect. In your PR RELEASES they are "partnerships" – in the board meetings they are simply another bl00dy cost draining away any possible chance you had of making tuppence profit in a year's trading. Funny thing is, where other agents see the portals as being parasitic, it is actually online Agents like YOURS that are the parasite of the portal. Go on – admit it – easyProperty simply couldn't exist without them. ;o)
I don't want to be pedantic (I do really), but how can you provide a service prior to it's launch? Do easy property have a fleet of DeLoreans?
Scary, innit? What is MORE worrying, Rivero, is Mr easyProperty's comment to me on a previous article that "there's nothing wrong with Middlesbrough…"! Confirms him as a man SERIOUSLY out of touch with reality, I would suggest… so eP believing they were in possession of a time-travelling car (or, more apt, an Orange Airbus…) wouldn't surprise me in the least ;o)
Hmmm… maybe they haven't grasped the reality that a property PORTAL doesn't simply transport them to where they want to be…? ;o)
How come you are still posting in contravention of PIE etiquette? See the terms and conditions you signed up to!
I think if you read what I said I didn’t say you are, but a you are a firm who are operating at that level with a similar number of properties. I was actually making the point to Ros Renshaw that for whatever reason we had a series of stories on EAT last Autumn that were simply designed to antagonise. If that is what she wants for PIE fair enough. I am sure the Pro Am/online trumpet honkers can enjoy the peace and quiet of the absence of 78% of agents who don't fall into either camp.
As for you subscribing to Zoopla, congratulations, big deal, whoopee do! That is a bit like a spotty teenage boy boasting a conquest of the village bicycle. Well done you!
Haha, EAT blows, they don't care about anything but advertising.
PP – we agree AGAIN! What the chuff's going on? ;o)
And it starts. What did people expect?. Zoopla is a business and they have to replace lost revenue somehow.
This isn't replacing lost revenue, this is a partnership! Are you not impressed with EasyProperty (forget Z)………. although to top this I negotiated a Partnership deal with my humble business to partner with British Telecom for the next 24 months! They will even put my name on letters they send me apparently!……………….. I'm nervous as I am in talks with giants Eon to get a partnership going with them also….. now that's impressive………………….. Well done EasyProperty……..to get a partnership with Z, I think it must have taken the presence of Stelios in the room…………..its difficult to get on Z and I respect them for the partnership they have and getting the deal to offer branding…..pretty impressive…….RM should offer its clients "partnership deals" with branding and I would possible stick with them for longer……..hats off EasyProperty well done……….you have done well to get your property company on a property portal………clever move! your clients may just think this sets you apart.
Maybe Z and RM should start offering budget subscriptions to agents if they feel fees to sellers and tenants can also be budget.
Ellice said of Zoopla and PrimeLocation: “These portals are a key marketing tool for all estate agents and it is critical that our landlords can also access these channels…………………………………………. Zoopla and Rightmove are biting the hands that have fed and built them……………………………………. The economics of accounts that will leave or close surely long term can't equate to allowing in budget agents now……………………………….. Any Zoopla or RM investor surely can't see this as growing a estate agency subscription business when its poisoning the ability for normal agents to gain higher fair fees.
Hardly news is it? Of course they are going to be on Zoopla, will they do another release when they list on Rightmove? Also, the word 'partnership' seems ott, they are just a customer?
I suspect that this announcement will generate a huge number of comments from Agents Mutual members.