Purplebricks and Yopa unleashed a blast of advertising in the national newspapers at the weekend.
Purplebricks took out full page advertisements in the Saturday and Sunday papers to say “a big thank you” both to its customers and to Local Property Experts. It said they had helped Purplebricks “change an entire industry for the better”.
Separately, this morning Purplebricks announced to the stock exchange that following the purchase of 3m shares, media giant Axel Springer now has a 12.5% stake in the issued share capital of the company. It simultaneously announced that the purchase of Canadian online estate agency business Duproprio/ComFree has completed.
Over the weekend, the distinctive Purplebricks adverts were mainly white space with no images, and headed: “Save yourself from commisery.”
The text, with CEO Michael Bruce’s name at the bottom of it, said: “To the many thousands of customers who believed in us and trusted us to sell their home, we want to say thank you for helping us achieve what we have so far.
“According to new independent research we sell our customers’ homes and help them complete faster than any of the top ten estate agency brands in the UK.
“Which is perhaps why tens of thousands of customers have written us such great Trustpilot reviews.
“We’re now the biggest estate ageny brand in the UK, selling three times more properties than our nearest competitor.
“None of this would have been possible without our Local Property Experts, who give our customers such outstanding service. So, thank you all – for helping change an entire industry for the better.”
Similar points about its growth in the UK were made in Purplebricks’ annual results, published last Thursday for the year to the end of April. The results revealed group losses of £21.3m.
The results also referred to the same research as the advertisements, by TwentyCi. This research is not yet on general release.
The day before the Purplebricks full page advertisements appeared in the national press, including the Mail and Telegraph, Yopa took out the opening double page spread in the Mail, emphasising: “Don’t pay a penny until your home is sold.”
It also stressed the role of its local estate agents, saying they “obsess over making your move as pain-free as possible. They know the area, the right price, and the best way to sell your home”.
Yesterday, Yopa’s most ambitious advertisement yet took the form of a four page wrap-round of the Mail on Sunday’s Event magazine. It featured Mo Farrow, saying: “Got a Mo? Book a free home valuation.”
The advertisement also cited some Trustpilot reviews, and claimed: “We don’t just have customers, we have fans.”
Investors in Yopa include the Daily Mail and General Trust.
- In Australia, where Purplebricks posted a loss of £11.8m but expects to be profitable within a year, a new media report suggests that in the cooling market LPEs are struggling to make enough money. One agent told publication Domain that she would need to list six to eight properties a month, but in the current market could only manage two to three. Purplebricks told Domain that it offers income support where necessary and said its proposition is attractive in a slow market because of its fixed fee. https://www.domain.com.au/news/purplebricks-flatfee-agency-model-leaves-agents-living-month-to-month-20180708-h12c78-751478/
Comments (41)
“According to new independent research we help them complete faster than any of the top ten estate agency brands in the UK.”
This my friend is because us “traditional” estate agents are doing all the leg work for you. We do all YOUR sales progression ourselves because if we dare try and contact your company switchboard to chase a sale through we would get absolutely nowhere!!!!
I have just received a windfall. If I invest in Purple Bricks shares, would anyone care to predict how they will perform over the next 3 years?
Badly. And bookmark this prediction too.
“3. They’ve pretty much single handedly disrupted an entire industry and created such a vast gap between themselves and their most obvious competition.”
I cant help but agree with Mike Bidwell on this point, PB and the other onliners have disrupted the market, lower fees being the most obvious factor, however I do believe that whilst the market was easy going all agents were basically order takers. Now tougher times are ahead we will all have to earn our money by actually getting back to basic estate agency and this is where PB and the likes will start to lose out.
They are here to stay and I for one will just be looking after my area and clients as best I can and that in the long run will ensure we continue to trade and make a decent living.
I concur with most of the comments about the poor quality of some of their LPE’s, the dreadful after sales, inconsistent property presentation (not forgetting that the same can be said about the high street) but let’s fast forward to the future and try and understand why investors are still piling the money in:
1. Very high public brand profile and surprisingly high perceived levels of trust and confidence – not helped by the general public’s widely held (and often justifiably so) dim view of the ‘more expensive’ alternatives.
2. Given the vast sums of money being invested in marketing and global expansion it’s comparatively inexpensive to improve customer care pre and post sale, attract better quality LPE’s (including disillusioned high street agents).
3. They’ve pretty much single handedly disrupted an entire industry and created such a vast gap between themselves and their most obvious competition.
And then what?
They put up the price/modify their charging structure until they reach the tipping point when the business is actually profitable….
What can we all do about it?
1. Go and apply for a job with PB or,
2. Stop digging our heads in the sand and hoping that doing what in the main are the same things as we did ten years ago, in exactly the same way, and to the same distinctly average standard as the competition will see us right in the long term and start learning from what clearly works in terms of rationalising our cost base etc. and most importantly get better at doing the job. Oh and in the meantime,
1. Stop moaning and whinging about how bad PB are (which probably won’t win you any friends in the public domain anyway).
2. Start SHOWING how you can justify better fees because of the results you deliver for your clients and the positive (and valuable) difference that you make to their moving experience.
Therein lies a massive opportunity for us all!
Propertymark NAEA and ARLA both have very clear rules about members who serially mislead consumers (11 times in 3 years and that’s just with the ASA). However, PropertyMark is no longer a members organisation, it is very much a business run by a self-selecting cabal and, that same organisation has taken money from #PURP for speaking at events and, I believe, training/ qualification provider.
PURP is now a customer of Property Mark and Propertymark seem distinctly unwilling to answer any questions on the relationship and any potential conflicts of interests that may exist. Perhaps some other Propertymark members might care to take this argument forward (good luck!).
Picture the scene at every board meeting; ‘so how can we wind up High Street agents this month?’ ‘What laughable rubbish can we spout?’
Prize for the most outrageous spin!
‘Remember anything goes folks as nobody effectively polices us’.
HANG ON… I need some help with this!
Two companies that live in cyberspace…
* that tell all and sundry “It’s all online, innit!”
* that proclaim us Traditional Agents with our outdated ‘Traditional marketing methods’ are destined to go the way of the dinosaur
* that offices and Press advertising ain’t the way today’s business is conducted
… take out ridiculously over-the-top advertising space proclaiming their alleged successes – in a supposedly DEAD AND INEFFECTIVE medium, supposedly to people who therefore won’t give a chuff and would have seen it all online anyway.
WHY?
Anyone?
Ahhh… see that PP beat me to it as I got waylaid in mid-post.
I’ll still leave mine up – if nothing else as reinforcement.
Their actions beggar belief.
Robert May hits the nail on the head above PeeBee.
I just took an instruction from PB.
The vendor lives overseas and was logging on to read the viewers feedback of his flat. More than 1 applicant stated that they thought the PB rep was drunk.
The reviews were quickly deleted from the PB platform. Luckily the vendor had already taken a screenshot.
He left a stinking review on ‘trust’pilot, which got deleted.
?
Don’t you find it a little strange that these digital supposedly ‘proptech’ focused firms should turn to supposedly old-fashioned analogue media like newspapers to get their latest underwhelming message across?
It’s script reinforcement to a jittery investor set, those who still read the weekend papers, the sheep investors who were told 4 years ago they’d miss out on HUGE profits, those lured in by Bruce’s high profile invsestors.
Leave them too it. The average house seller isn’t concerned about anything other than selling their house, all this cobblers will pass them by and they’ll be sat there wondering why they’re one of 12% (yeah right!!!!) who haven’t sold, that they’re the unlucky ones.
haha
I am a little confused here, PB seem very good at attracting investor money and the adverts on the TV seem to be attracting clients but what doesn’t add up is why do these people just believe what PB says. I have no reason to bash PB they do what they do and I do my thing, they aren’t a big competitor in my area but one look at their website gives all the info you need. Currently 37408 for sale, 17926 SSTC less 30% fall through leaves 12548 completions which equals around 33%
I’m not the brightest spark around but I can use a calculator so again how is it that they get away with the figures they quote.
If you tell a big enough lie often enough people will believe it.
I don’t believe it.
If you repeat a thing often enough…etc
Particularly, when applied in conjunction with a pliable ‘trust’ message.
This will deliver, short-term gain until enough people are allowed to cry foul?
Sorry got figure slightly wrong 37408 listing of which 17926 are SSTC. That makes more sense.
So if PB employees are self employed, can i hire one on an as and when basis to work for me?
If so anyone in the South works for PB and fancies it, leave a comment, lets put it to the test.
I just wonder at what point does our industry takes Plonkerbricks & Co seriously?
I know they’re NOT estate agents, however there is power in marketing folks. They keep banging their drum and as an industry we do **** all?
OTM remains interested in itself, NOT our industry.
Locally I occasionally come up against PB and win the business obviously however clients have invited them to pitch? One client was told by the PB LPE that High St Estate Agency was dead?! I smiled and said the client should give the LPE my number and I would show them my offices, staff, very happy clients I sold for etc.
I now have a failed Purplebricks client’s property for sale. It had been poorly marketed??!!!, poorly photographed by Purplebricks and far from a £1000 fee, the client paid over £1800! for NO Sale.
However, another client mentioned “Commisery!” ……I know how little market share they have, however from “little acorns grow…..”
I would love to see Our Industry gather a “Collective Message” that favours no particular agent, merely the High Street Estate Agent.
I’ll give over my industry website to that message if there is collective interest however in the meantime I’ll do something because sitting here doing nothing in a marketing sense against the Fake Agents makes little sense to me.
Any contributions welcome, we are after all THE Estate Agency Industry.
I think you’re spot on. The pb marketing pot is huge, and like it or not, it works. The public are buying into the advertising clap trap they see day in day out. That’s what advertising does.
Lets face it, selling houses and being an Estate Agent is easy. All we do is take a few pictures and post them on line. Why should anybody pay a fee?
Well that’s what the public think!
In reality, they have no idea what we do and they need to be told so as to differentiate ourselves from pb and the likes of.
A collective message is a great idea.
Duty of care and skill! the challenge is to make that sound sexy and make people understand that agency is a series of quite onerous obligations on the agent.
Want to guess who’s taken on someone to do just that? Agency is an industry fragmented by #local competition. Agents get on with agents who are remote from their patch but as the remoteness is removed Agents who get along on social media and forums suddenly don’t get on so well.
If Peebee moved to Cornwall and became a commission zapping rival to PDQ, he and Chris Wood would struggle to get along as they do know. It is #local rivalry that prevents a cohesive message.
The trade associations we used to have always struggled with local animosity and rivalry and used “agents gripes” as a means to dismiss any complaint and avoid getting involved
The portaljuggling investigation made me hero and villain in local disputes but it gave me a clear view of what is going on, showed me an awareness that’s the foundation of a solution.
An ITZA rated office is no surety of professionalism, the lack of one no guarantee of mal-practice. Agency isn’t traditional/ online as was painted by OTM, the lines of demarcation aren’t that clear or easy to see. there is a sliding scale of services from FSBO through to passive intermediaries and on to full service agencies.
The new breed of internet listing, disrupter firms have done a storming job of blurring the lines between what they do and what an agent does. What is needed is a clear and concise message the public can understand. the message has to be one that is clear and factual and needs to set out the differences between whacking a home on a portal and selling it properly.
I’m too opinionated and share the disdain most agent have for what’s going on to be subjective and balanced so have taken on someone to put our message across for us.
I’ll be honest its a commercial venture but there is such a wide open gap in the market to fight so many battles for agency (independent and corporate) right now, someone has to do it properly and for the right reasons. It might as well be me.
>Want to guess who’s taken on someone to do just that?
Robert,
Would you care to provide further details because other Agents may think they needn’t do anything now you’re on the case.
What is it that you are doing and when will it be put into practice?
Just a little skeptical because I’m always hearing of all your plans but can’t even find a website for your company. Are you still working on the “sortal” that you “soft launched” on twitter back in May 2015? That seems to be taking forever if you are.
http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/prototype-property-sortal-launches-could-this-be-the-future/
Your good friend PeeBee was very impressed wan’t he? ‘Seriously – you’ve only been and gorn and done it – ain’t ya? What was it I said a few months back – “build it and they will come”?’
Just looked like functionality already available from Google Advanced Search to me.
>I just wonder at what point does our industry takes Plonkerbricks & Co seriously?
GPL, whilst traditional agents have sat around and watched, PB have taken increasingly more instructions every year from the UK market:
2015 : 4330
2016 : 19200
2017 : 41211
2018 : 64376
This growth seems to be slowing but I’m sure the company aren’t sitting on their laurels. I expect them to make improvements to their offering and the company have mentioned technological developments a few times of late. “Additionally, we have significant company initiatives in plan for the current year, including increased marketing spend, technology and product developments, which should boost growth as we progress through the year.”
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
You have a very unusual way of communicating Mr Lawson, a way that means no-one wants to engage with you. You couldn’t wait for my reply before engaging the nastiness that is your trademark.
I’ve openly documented all I have said I was going to to and documented things as I’ve achieved them.
I have a growing staff and have done more to better this industry than most.
I’ve done that with my time and my money which is limited so naturally things take a things take a little longer.
You’ll find out what I’m up to when the rest of the public do, till then stop embarrassing yourself with your superiority, envy and nastiness.
Touche
>You have a very unusual way of communicating
At least it’s not all buzzwords and presented in a deliberately complicated sounding way.
>You’ll find out what I’m up to when the rest of the public
I’m not actually bothered what you’re up to. I was thinking more of Estate Agents knowing what you are doing. The people you are communicating with on here. You don’t even have a website describing what your company does. Your twitter account suggests a business with many departments but the time you take to develop products suggests to me me it’s just you and one or two part time staff.
As somebody who’s developed software pretty much from the age of 21 to 50 I think people reading this should be careful when trusting you. That’s why I commented.
>I’ve done that with my time and my money which is limited so naturally things take a things take a little longer.
Well perhaps you shouldn’t be discouraging others from suggesting action and taking steps of their own. Tell them what you are doing and how long it’s going to take so they can decide whether to do something about it themselves.
How’s the product you were offering to Rightmove “free of charge” going? One for ranking Estate Agents? It sounded imminent last time you talked about it.
‘I think people reading this should be careful when trusting you‘
Why don’t you just do one you time-wasting imbecile? Time and again you’ve shown you have no place here whatsoever. Just jog on like that other village idiot who used to back you up.
Hi cyberduck46
Thanks for asking on behalf of Estate Agents but I think you will find that generally speaking Estate Agents arent shy retiring types who need other people to speak up for them or ask questions on there behalf.
Oh but he does have a utility affiliate referral option for agents, pretty cutting edge that is 🙂
The narcissism from him tends to have no bounds cyberduck.
Dom, I just hope that the readership of PIE have enjoyed watching your vocabulary flourish as much as I have with the use of at least one grown up word in each of your pathetic posts.
This is coming from a person willing to waste his time by creating fake shill accounts?
Back under the rock now Dumster. Oh, before you go, you never answered someone’s question about how the sale of your latest project was proceeding. Or can we learn about it from your youtube ‘channel’
… there are no tanks on the streets of Baghdad…. rumble, rumble, rumble. the war is won…… **** right off
The public commentary on Twitter and Facebook paints a rather different picture.
Speaking to a (verified) whistleblower recently who claimed he was given just four days training, no GDPR training, had no CRB checks and yet was given responsibility for millions of pounds worth of landlords property and full access to clients and tenants bank details! Alleged he was told during interview and training they were joining the PB lettings management team but on the day they started were told they WERE the management team! After four days of training.
As i said last week, until this “Market Research” is made public, in my opinion i will presume it is less than accurate. PBs market share appears to be slipping if anything, locally to me they hardly take on anything and if i have the misfortune to be in a chain with them, their section of it is incredibly hard work.
This weekend’s ‘listings’ on Zoopla were down massively on previous weeks… months, actually.
In fact – take away the Xmas/New Year weekend and I can’t find a worse weekend period for them in the last 12 months or more.
34.4% down on ‘same’ weekend last year.
It was there annual conference/cult meeting on Saturday so there will be have no one on the road Saturday or Sunday and I imagine a load of them will have traveled down on the Friday.
“…there will have been no-one on the road Saturday or Sunday…”
Yet they still manage to ‘list’ well over 100 properties.
#Funny_That…
Yawn anyone else bored of the industry obsession with these lot? Can we just get on with flogging some houses.