easyProperty has relaunched as a hybrid agency service vowing to “paint the country orange”.
It says it is now the second biggest online player behind Purplebricks.
The agency, which launched in 2015 ‘among the dinosaurs’ at the Natural History Museum, went on to deploy a public stunt which featured a funeral procession marking the supposed death of the high street agent.
However, it will now be high street agents selling the online option.
Following huge losses posted in March, the easyProperty business has restructured following a ‘merger’ with GPEA, parent company of the Guild of Property Processionals, and Fine & Country.
The £60m ‘merger’, backed by Toscafund Asset Management, sees the establishment of eProp Services as the holding company for GPEA and easyProperty.
Jon Cooke, new chief executive of easyProperty, admitted mistakes were made at the time of the first launch and that the focus should be on the consumer rather than “competitor bashing”.
He admitted some agents had mentioned the funeral procession marketing campaign during meetings.
Robert Ellice, founder and former chief executive, remains with the firm as commercial director, while Hatched founder Adam Day has been recruited as head of operations and has been leading the training.
Since the ‘merger’ in June, easyProperty has divided the country into territories and Guild and Fine & Country agents have been offered the chance to apply for an exclusive licence covering a set area.
The licence, costing £500 a month on a 12-month rolling contract, lets an agent use the easyProperty branding and technology to provide an online offering if a vendor would prefer that route.
Agencies won’t offer the online service through their own website but can instead mention the service when talking to vendors and refer them to the easyProperty offering.
Vendors can also go direct to the easyProperty website.
Sellers – who will pay between £295 and £1,500 – will be referred to a local property professional who would be an employee of one of the licensed agencies – who can provide a market appraisal in a vendor’s home and help with the listings, floorplans and photographs.
Over the past 84 days easyProperty has signed up 333 licensees and has 368 local property professionals during training seminars. In comparison, Purplebricks’ latest accounts showed 540 Local Property Experts, while YOPA shows 74 local representatives, and eMoov ten.
Cooke said there had been a mix of Fine & Country and Guild agents opting to buy into the service.
Property enquiries, viewing requests and bookings can all be made online and easyProperty’s contact centre also helps with sales negotiation and progression.
The local property professional can also help with viewings, depending on the service a seller opts for.
Vendors can choose from three easyProperty products – easySpeed, which offers an auction-style service for £295, easyStandard for £825 or easyPremium for £1,500.
The licensee will share some of the revenue if a vendor goes for the easyProperty service.
A lettings service is also being worked on for launch in October.
eProp Services has appointed private equity veteran Mark Phillips as chairman and experienced fundraiser Iain Manley as chief finance officer.
EYE asked if the appointment of individuals experienced in fundraising meant easyProperty would one day go for a public listing, but Cooke said they were focusing on its current offering for now.
Adverts relaunching the service will be run on television and radio, starting on Sunday during ITV drama Victoria.
It is going to be such fun watching all these cut price agencies spanking shedloads of dosh to try and win market share for their offerings.
The joy is that each new one that comes along and piles their investors’ millions into ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ TV ads simply further dilutes the finite supply of business that is available to them at any one time, leaving the bulk of the market still dealing with proper estate agents.
And the more of these cut price outfits there are competing against one another, the less effect each individual one is likely to have.
Full service,viable fee level, agencies should find it increasingly simple to differentiate themselves in the market place.
Good luck PB, emoov, Yopa, easy, and all the rest of you. You’re gonna need it in order to survive long term. Which most of you won’t.
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What happens if both agents are called to the property….massive conflict of interest…. Govt.. needs some new rules and quick..public getting slaughtered financially and stressful using these online cowboys.
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No worse than clients inviting Countrywide brands out without realizing.
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yes but it will be the same person if only have one valuer? Also not thought through. Purplebricks staff must get it in neck all time with pay anyway model…stsy well away,, people getting more aggressive.
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Did someone say good ( other people’s ) money after bad?
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So…..not only are they inviting Fine&Country etc to charge vendors less money, they have to pay £500 a month for being allowed to do so????
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Sounds like a really smart business move. I pay easy for the licence fee regardless and then I do the local marketing for them earning only a proportion of the fee received. Oh and to boot I undermine my estate agency by promoting a cheap alternative.
Gosh where do I sign.
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The second biggest online player ? in terms of what ? losses ?
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Love it laughed out loud!
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Hahaha. Just snorted tea out through my nose!
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Paying £500 per month and a share of the fee to dilute your own local brand!? I can’t believe PROPER Agents are falling for it! #facepalm
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I think, if these companies, some headed by market leading marketers and millions in the bank, have been unable to make a profit for the last 5 or so years of trying what makes you think you’ll be able to turn a profit for your own business offering this service (which most consumers don’t want) with a £500 license fee to pay and only getting a portion of the fee.
Youd probably need two listings at their highest fee to compare to 1 of your normal commissions.
i just can’t see it working personally, but would be interested to see results and if these companies that opt in lose revenue.
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Are all these companies chasing share price profit rather than operating profit?
if so,would it make sense for YOPA to buy out the OTM management shares for a similar amount and mirror the easy property deal?
Much cheaper than paying for local branches and local experts?
Indeed, licence holders have to pay them £500 PCM to lose money on every deal?
Stay firm
It may dawn on the regulators one day that no sale, no fee should not have been allowed to be disrupted?
If so disruption over?
#levelplayingfield
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It is interesting to note that if you use the property search facility on the easyProperty site then the ‘assigned’ local Agents ‘normal’ property stock comes up.
Also interesting that the properties are not duplicated on Rightmove.
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Indeed Malcolm
Potential future branded Portals in their own right?
May have to drop the no online only rule for at least one company though?
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these guys are soo lost! they have a marketing team with no experience of agency and directors who are too scared to spend money, a couple of years ago they thought it would win them market share to give away free tea towels to potential clients!!!! tea towels!! they’re an on line agent, why tea towels. surely a mouse mat or something more relevant. the brand had so much potential having the ‘easy’ name but they have just wasted it…even purplebricks said at one point when they started they would be they’re biggest competitors! and less than a year later they had dropped of the planet.
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Follow the Yellow Brick Road….. oops? …..look, it’s jam-packed with all the others!
Aisle 3 Sir/Madam? ……Yes, Budget Property Listing Aisle…. today’s “Special” …..Dunno really? …..nothing Special about from them apart from their ability to hoover money from Investors?
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