UK estate agency is broken but it isn’t half as bad as across the pond, Russell Quirk claims.
The eMoov founder has shared his experiences of the US market following a fact-finding trip with the UK Proptech Association last week.
He describes the UK model as broken and being “opaque, poor value, unreliable and largely inaccessible to the consumer outside of ‘normal’ working hours”.
He said: “A proposition based upon a bygone age of fragmented, secreted data and buyers registered in silos, hidden from view except those agents that they had visited in person. That, of course, is where the value once was in estate agency.”
However, he goes on to describe the US real estate industry – where all communication is handled through a buying and selling agent and complicated multi-listing property portals – as even worse.
Quirk said: “If the UK property sector were the horse in a Tesla filled econsumer world, relatively speaking the Americans have not yet managed to stand up straight enough to mount such a beast.”
“Their proposition is clunky to an extreme and filled with more layers than a New York deli sandwich.”
While in New York, he said, brokers, who are paid by commission, were not concerned about the rise of the fixed fee model, while one senior executive of a major US property portal hadn’t even heard of Purplebricks despite its launch in California last month.
Quirk said: “I spoke to a number of locals about their broker model and, when I asked about disruption, the rise of a fixed fee model and of any concerns over a threat to the incumbents, all responded quizzically and with cocked heads of astonishment that any such thing could ever transpire.
“Their answers took me right back, deja vu like, to circa 2011 when I posed similar suggestions to property firms, experts and commentators back home where, as we know, hybrid type digital approaches have since resulted in hundreds of millions in investment and the traditional sector in the form of Connells, LSL, Savills, Countrywide, Belvoir, Douglas and Gordon and a growing plethora of small independents, recently racing to acquire or partner with us freshmen.
“So whilst I expected to learn lessons from America on my trip, it turns out that for once, us Brits are well ahead of the game and in fact it’s actually a case of ‘lessons to be learned from England’, I’m proud to say.”
Comments (8)
I’ll have a cheesburger & fries Russell… you can keep the bag to put over your head for Halloween.
About time the regulators in the UK realised that the real disruption to the UK market is that up to 50% of the call centre first users now lose their money and may end up paying two estate agency fees?
As the market tightens up we shall soon see more of their customers losing out rather than benefitting?
How many people had to pay a failure fee during the 2008 recession compared to today?
That is not progress.
This is why the Government and regulators must insist that these models have to offer a no sale, no fee choice?
Any service model where more customers are likely to lose out than benefit must have greater marketing sanctions?
As the Ombudsman said yesterday – no one likes to pay a fee for not achieving a sale.
It is a shame that this was directed at the few cases where traditional agents charge for selling when the client changes their mind rather than 1000s of call centre users who are charged for not achieving a sale?
I would disagree that with your comment “This is why the Government and regulators must insist that these models have to offer a no sale, no fee choice?”
The govenment should not start telling a business what it can and can’t charge for. Look at lettings and the tenant fee ban. The govt meddle too much as it is.
from your quote:
“As the Ombudsman said yesterday – no one likes to pay a fee for not achieving a sale.”
hahaha at the Ombudsman – how about reverse that thought and apply to lettings – no one likes to be told thet cannot charge but still have to do work – ie tenant referencing and right to rent checks.
Cant quite believe how at a franchise show ewe move have ‘britains most trusted estate agent’ over their stall…. how do you get away with such rubbish?and what if usa system is clunky… ?? it creates jobs and takes money from peoples equity.. all you are doing is trying to kill an industry to pay for your flights to usa and talk more rubbish. .
‘hundreds of millions in investment’
Mr Q might have added the words ‘and b*gger all profit so far’.
It is nice to see the Yanks are ahead of us again. Never heard of him or online only?? I do wonder how long it will before he is completely forgotten here.
They know a thing about service over there so it’s not really surprising that they can’t understand a business model that relies on no service, no support, no advice and no results.
What a Buirk!
Good grief!
Quirk proving yet again why some people don’t like the British. Maybe the American system is outdated, maybe it isnt, but highlighting a model that has been running in Britain for many years and has yet to make any money as the virtuous way forward is hardly a glowing endorsement. Maybe he would be been better staying here and figuring out why his own company cant get any market traction than going on a “fact finding trip” (holiday) and moaning about other companies who are doing things succesfully