City analyst Anthony Codling, working in conjunction with industry consultant Robert May, has given Purplebricks a damning ‘underperform’ rating.
This morning, Purplebricks issued a statement to the London Stock Exchange strongly contesting the research and providing a trading update saying that last month it agreed sales on over 4,600 properties and took 6,160 instructions – up 66% year on year.
In yesterday’s research note, Codling says Purplebricks shares should be worth 94p, rather than the 453p that they actually closed at yesterday.
Last night, Purplebricks said that Jefferies’ previous analysis had been wrong – and so, it insists, is the latest. This morning’s stock exchange announcement also condemned the research.
Codling was speaking yesterday afternoon at the Guild of Property Professionals conference in London.
His presentation to the agents, who are being offered easyProperty licences, was apparently delivered after markets closed, and entitled “Facts, Fiction and Forecasts”.
It is unclear whether the City might have got wind earlier of what his report might say. Yesterday the Purplebricks share price fell 36.8p (7.51%) according to the London Stock Exchange. The fall is cited in today’s Stock Exchange announcement, where Purplebricks says it “knows of no reason for the share price fall other than the research note published by Jefferies”.
Codling made very clear the reasons for his rating.
He told the 400 delegates that using Purplebricks is a “£1,00 coin toss – you have a 50% chance you will have saved on fees depending on where you are in the country, or a 50% chance you will have spent £1,000 and not sold your home.”
He then said, jokingly, that this had led him to make a submission for new words in the Oxford English dictionary and showed a slide that said simply “fee misery”. According to EYE journalist Neil Gerrard, who was at the conference: “That was the bit that got laughter, followed by applause.”
In the new Jefferies report, it is claimed: “Purplebricks does not disclose how many homes it sells.
“Our research sample found that it had sold 51.6% of the homes listed in November 2016 within ten months, a similar success rate to the overall market, but below the company’s claim of 88%. Unlike the traditional market, those who don’t sell still have to pay PB’s fees.
“PB’s latest results reported that its average revenue per UK customer was £1,138.”
Codling went on to say that Purplebricks is “an impressive disruptor” and that the speed of growth and the scale of its ambition were admirable: “No one can doubt that it has disrupted the markets in which it operates and we can see the attractions of the revenue growth from its upfront fixed-fee model.”
However, Codling added: “We found that 51.6% of those who instructed PB to sell their home in November 2016 had sold their home within ten months.
“These odds are finely balanced, but with around £1,000 at stake it is a close call for home owners who will pay the fixed fees whether or not they sell their homes.”
The ten-month timeframe, as the report says, is relevant because at that point the deferred payment option kicks in.
In his report, Codling refers to a Radio 4 interview in October 2016 when the then Purplebricks CEO Michael Bruce is on record as saying that the company sells 88% of homes within ten months and that it sells more houses as a percentage of those taken to market than any other agent in the UK.
However, said Codling: “We have benchmarked PB’s performance over the last 14 months against the performance of more than 7,000 different estate agency brands in the UK.
“Our analysis suggests that PB’s success rate is near the middle of the pack. However, although only just over half actually sell their home, everyone has to pay. With a traditional high street agent, the home owner only pays if the agent sells their home.”
Codling’s report concludes: “A review of PB’s accounting policies raises concerns to us that either its contractual obligations to its customers end with their home being listed on the major property portals or that revenue may have been overstated and deferred income provisions understated in its audited accounts.”
Today, Codling is likely to say much the same thing at the conference for Fine & Country agents.
Interestingly, though, his speech yesterday looks to have made the Guild nervous: a press release issued late yesterday afternoon detailed some of what Codling said, but did not mention Purplebricks by name, simply referring instead to a “certain online DIY agent”.
In reaction, Lee Wainwright, UK CEO of Purplebricks and formerly of Countrywide, said: “Jefferies’ latest analysis is a marked improvement on its previous estimate of 14%, which it later conceded was wrong. Today’s analysis is still wrong.
“The reason this analysis is incorrect is that it’s based on just one month’s data and does not include properties which have exchanged, have reached SSTC, or are on marketing breaks (ultimately we will market properties for as long as it takes to sell).
“There will still be sales that have completed but have not yet been uploaded to the Land Registry and there are also those properties that are still available for sale which will sell after the ten-month period.
“I know, given my background of 28 years as managing director of high street estate agents, that the performance of Purplebricks is considerably ahead of that achieved by traditional agents and that’s why more and more consumers are choosing to use us.
“Since we launched just under four years ago we have completed on more than £10bn of UK property and by injecting competition into the market have helped to drive down the average commission rate charged by traditional agents.”
As a broker, Jefferies says it acts for Countrywide and LSL, and also for Zoopla.
Guild and Fine & Country agents are part of the same group, GPEA, as online agent easyProperty.
It has been known for months to EYE readers that Robert May has been working on numbers on behalf of Jefferies.
The full Jefferies report can be found here.
This morning’s statement by Purplebricks to the London Stock Exchange repeats that the Jefferies research is based on a month’s data and does not include properties yet to be registered plus other properties.
It says: “Purplebricks firmly refutes the criticism in the research note of its revenue recognition policy and stands behind both the fully audited results and the accounting policy itself.”
Purplebricks goes on to give a trading update, as follows:
- 6,160 instructions in January 2018, up 66% year-on-year resulting in further overall market share growth
- Agreed sales in January 2018 alone on 4,618 UK properties
- Online market share increased in January 2018 to 77%
- Purplebricks has now sold and completed on over £10bn of UK property
- Australia continues to build and remains on-track
- The US is proceeding to plan and work continues at pace towards launch in New York
- With a few key months remaining the board of Purplebricks is pleased with progress and confirms trading is in line with the board’s expectations for the year ending 30 April 2018
Figures need to be independently verified. There are certainly questions raised in regard to the time it takes to register at the land registry. It’s also questionable how properties can be tracked from listing to completion when full details such as flat number and postcode are not provided.
But those points aside this seems to demonstrate that Traditional Agents charge more on average and provide no better results on average than PurpleBricks. Rather a damning report on those taking a percentage of the value of your property when they sell.
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RNS Just out reiterates 78% and states the report is inaccurate and misleading.
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Did you pair not read the bit, where the City analyst of the year said,
…We have benchmarked PB’s performance over the last 14 months against the performance of more than 7,000 different estate agency brands in the UK.
It was a level playing field analysis, so all results will have applied to all analysis of over 7000 agents involved. Properties not yet listed on Land Registry, fall throughs, marketing breaks etc that you are quacking on about, applied for all 7000+ agents involved.
And yes you are right cyberduck46 it is a damning report! Especially when 100% of those instructing PB pay 100% of the time when very nearly half of them fail to sell with PB.
Dom – you usually are a fanboy of inaccurate and misleading statements? Does this mean you have woken up and wont stand for it any longer?
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Agents could kill pb in their areas when they need to. No one is fighting back yet because it gives them headlines. I feel the industry is still just watching at moment.. it hasn’t worked… well it has but their mkt cap should be #trading like countrywide not Amazon.
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I don’t get it mr ducky,
commission only agents charge more but don’t charge if they don’t sell, purple patch charge no matter what the outcome.
that is the point !
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You do talk tosh. Suddenly you are an expert on other agents overheads and how they mange their business finances and charges. Instead of having ago at agents and trying to promote PB (your employer) all the time. WHY are you not asking the same question … PB to disclose its sales for verification? It is after all a PLC that is being accused of manipulating data to hold up its share price. That is fraud if discovered “with intent”, at best evasive to mislead!
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Hello, ducky. And dom-boy. Can’t have a show without Punch – can we…?
May I take you, ducky, back a mere 24 hours – to remind you of yesterday’s posts on this very subject…
You:
“Great January listing figures for PurpleBricks according to my proxy. Up from 2179 in January 2017 to 5062 last month.”
Me:
“On a day-on-day basis, some 6025 “listings” were added to Zoopla – according to me… I don’t have a proxy.
Of those, only 4661 remain ‘live’ on Zoopla (as of 1100 today).
Many of them are RElistings.”
You don’t need to state it for the record – I’ll simply take it as a ‘given’ that you concede my number-crunching is superior to that of your ‘proxy’.
BUT then you come out with something ridiculous today like
“Figures need to be independently verified.”
and go on to do your damnest to turn this latest desperate attempt at fudging figures into a positive for your pet company and a damning negative for the rest (some 95% of the whole, just to remind you) of my industry. OUR industry – seeing as the vast majority of who you are posting to are employed within the property/Estate Agency industry. Unlike yourself – according to you.
Yet you soak up anything that is thrown at you with a Purple banner across it – not one thought of requiring ‘independent verification’.
Ably abetted, of course, by the other member of the #PrupleBricks_Massiv – who takes his place as the aftershock that follows your earthquake… the parry to your lunge… – or in this case the resultant stickiness of a f@rt gone wrong.
The pressure from cranial constipation is causing you to hallucinate. You and your #fanboy_rival dom-boy really need to take your heads for a well overdue 5h!te.
You’ve had it here now, boys. You put up a good fight – but you’ve been beaten by your own corner’s mistakes.
They fed you banned substances and you greedily swallowed them down.
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Duck & Dom… it’s hard to fathom your logic however here’s a simple task…. gallop back to PurpleDonkeyHQ, get the real/honest/actual Sales Figures and post them here with Proof for all to see, then you can step off the Naughty Step….. otherwise you’re just 2 people talking in riddles.
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I’m sorry but everyone that’s on a downer with PB you should get a life.
Instead of slagging us off why dont you take a look look at yourselves? If you have the time to berate us then shouldn’t that time be spent more wisely?
As for the ****** who said we sell properties cheaply well that’s just stupid!! The public will pay what that want for properties and everything finds its level. The outdated and old method of the high street will always exist but the Countrywides, Connells etc….. will see a decline in profit.
Youre all all so stuck in the past and tbh you should get a life and instead of disrespecting us just concentrate on your own customer service. So much of what is said on here is incorrect.
Just grow up you idiots.
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OOOHHH… someone’s had meat for their din-dins tonight – haven’t we?
Go toss a coin. You’ve got a 50:50 chance of being right – which is far higher odds than your rant being taken as anything other than the words of a lager-fuelled blowhard.
Your flimsy walls are crumbling around you. Best you bale out before the roof caves in – and find yourself a nice little village that’s lost its’ resident idiot.
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Ah how sweet, now we see the true level of the class of a PB employee.
So anyone on a downer with PB should get a life. ie anyone that doesn’t follow your brainwashed lies is wrong huh?
Our customer service is rated one of the highest in the area, we’ve won awards for it. So please don’t lecture the genuine, hard working, accredited, professional, caring, motivated, diligent and genuine people that care about their livelihoods.
Disrespecting? Nonsense, the adverts your company spout against other agents are pure vicious vitriol, don’t be surprised to get bitten back. Especially calling people “idiots”, you bottom dwelling purple pimple.
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Quags… Have you actually read articles and comments on any agent / property sites whatsoever???? I have read many comments by a lot of traditional agents, which are just as defensive. Read comments on here alone! There is a clear reason why PB and others are doing so well – get your head out of the clouds, get a reality check and get with the programme.
Both traditional and online have a space in the market, but like the growth of Amazon, Google, Facebook etc. Online based agents will and are very much a growing part of the market. To belittle the success of PB, is either completely naive, or jealousy – I suggest a bit of both.
Agents have a bad reputation, long before online agents even existed. So suggesting they are the bad guys and traditional are all full of great customer service is laughable.
anonymous165… You didn’t do yourself any favors in your wording, but your frustration at the constant unfounded abuse by traditional agents, is very much understandable.
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Here is one which must be consistentaly contributing to Bricks annual %of unsoldness .Reaching its third year of unsoldness in a few weeks time .I guess the vendor can be thankful that they don’t force him/her to pay an annual fee
https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/40705090
Maybe picture 10 showing flooding/bog doesn’t inspire confidence!
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Statement just released
· 6,160 instructions in January 2018, up 66% year-on-year resulting in further overall market share growth
· Agreed sales in January 2018 alone on 4,618 UK properties
· Online market share increased in January 2018 to 77%
· Purplebricks has now sold and completed on over £10bn of UK property
· Australia continues to build and remains on-track
· The US is proceeding to plan and work continues at pace towards launch in New York
· With a few key months remaining the Board of Purplebricks is pleased with progress and confirms trading is in line with the Board’s expectations for the year ending 30 April 2018
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dom-boy
The figures you are so keen to put forward as an apparent argument indicate that last month PurpleBricks agreed sales on a number of properties that equate to SEVENTY-FIVE PERCENT of the number they listed in the same period.
SO…?
The floor is yours.
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Never let the truth get in the way of a good story! Fake news possibly? In the words of the ‘Don’!!
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Here is the winner so far listed 19th September 2014 Will they get a cake ?
http://sophieswift.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/smart-ideas-4-year-old-birthday-cake-and-phenomenal-5-year-old-boy-cake-delicious-cakes.jpg
https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/40705090
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I’m really quite surprised that it’s as many as half! That’s more than I thought they would as listing is their revenue creator, not selling. The problem is likely to be though that half of your customers will be disgruntled having shelled out the £1100 pounds or so and not get what they were expecting.
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Of course what we dont know is that how many of the 51.6% that reached completion actually sold through another estate agent. We currently have 2 sales going through that are ex PB instructions. Certain people dont like it when the truth comes out
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With the predictable certainty that night follows day I see that the Dom & Ducky show jumped straight in with the first comments on this story to deny/refute the painful fact that the wheels are wobbling on their favourite purple bus. They really do so generously entertain us all, don’t they.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blppKS-nz9g&list=RDblppKS-nz9g
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Of the 51% that sold, how many sold for less than they would have got with a real estate agent?
We can all give them away….
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Did our well known friends stop up all night to make sure they posted on this story first, so they would get their punches in as early as possible. Love the way they refer to us as trolls when they stalk our industry’s site.
Perhaps they believe their efforts on here will help boost the share price.
I have one question for Mr Wainwright;
What percentage of customers you charge a fee to, do YOU actually then go on to complete the sale for inside 10 months from original listing date?
Easy enough question to answer, especially for someone with over 20 years of experience. Just give us the answer and guarantee it’s true. Then all the debate is over, isn’t it?
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When it comes to the Dom & Ducky I cannot help but recall the words of the words of the Monty Python sketch. I wonder if they are related…
Fourth Bruce: ‘Ow are you, Bruce?
First Bruce: G’day Bruce!
Fourth Bruce: Bruce.
Second Bruce: Hello Bruce.
Fourth Bruce: Bruce.
Third Bruce: How are you, Bruce?
Fourth Bruce: G’day Bruce.
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PB issues a statement that avoids the obvious and easy solution; release the evidence to substantiate the claims they made (both brothers, Kenny on LinkedIn and Michael in the BBC). Meanwhile, two independent sources* have now shown that these claims to be potentially false. Odd, then, that the usually highly litigious Purplebricks hasn’t threatened legal action on either occasion?
*Jefferies and GetAgent.co.uk
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Independent?
Is he not CWD broker?
Did he not claim the conversion rate is 17% previously?
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Shares down 7.5% already. Got your stop loss in place have you dom?
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And GetAgent.co.uk? Simple solution is to submit their evidence to an independent arbiter. I would suggest Tim Harford of the FT and BBCs’ More or Less program. My bet is that the figures will be remarkably similar to those quoted (and I’ll offer better odds than PBs customers have of selling… the toss of a coin)
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Yes he is a broker for CWD and also for “Uncle Tom Cobley” and all.
He says he’s independent but has more faces than Big Ben… and we all know what state Big Ben is in…...
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Domboy. Please read some actual news before you tippy-tap-tap on the keys.
And if you are wondering what to do next an energy drink company (you know the ones who give a short term hit, but are really bad for you) are looking for people. You’ll be a seasoned pro in no time with your experience.
https://www.redbull.com/us-en/tags/cliff-diving/events
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Sorry Dom, apologies, you are ahead of me. Looks like you did a dive this morning at 8am. Same as yesterday.
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Well done. Another fantastic dive this morning.
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What do you expect when their LPE’s only get paid £25 IF the property sells!!
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August 3 2017 – ducky said
“I’m sure Mr. Codling wants more information from PurpleBricks but unless other Estate Agents are publishing their conversion rates then it is commercially sensitive information.”
to which the response from Robert May was
“He is not asking for anything secret he simply wants to see why the numbers contradict themselves 25,000 listings at £1034 the theoretical number of listing based on 83% KPI or 51.2% KPI based on turnover/£1034 to give 41,000 listings..”
Couldn’t get much closer to 51.6% if he tried. 164 properties out, Robert – you need to tweak ‘Ros’ and ‘Gizmo’ a bit, buddy!
His last words on the subject got it in one…
“Maths always trips up marketing people!”
I knew today was going to be a good one…
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In this case PeeBee, maths has tripped Robert May up and clearly you his #1 fan 🙂 See http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/prototype-property-sortal-launches-could-this-be-the-future/ “Sortal”. That one had me in creases.
£1034 is the average revenue per listing. This includes commission from conveyancing referrals achieved on completed sales.
It also demonstrates Robert May and yourself don’t know what a KPI is 🙂
And while you’re at it, remind us of your qualifications in Mathematics 🙂
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That’s me for this exciting installment of the PB soap opera. Back for the next episode, time permitting.
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Don’t believe that for one minute, as soon as you finished your daily PB breifing you will be back.
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“Back for the next episode, time permitting.”
Never mind “time permitting” – ducky – the entire series could be shelved!
The thought of which springs this to mind – youtube.com/watch?v=T6fVDAjs9f0
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“And while you’re at it, remind us of your qualifications in Mathematics”
No problemo, ducky – here you go…
1977 – ‘O’-Level fail.
If I remember correctly I got a ‘D’.
In my defence – I was told by the Head of the maths department that I “only had to turn up to pass A*”
SO… I turned up – sat and doodled the whole exam… and failed. #Funny_That.
She was wrong. But I still managed 34%. Some of my doodles were obviously based on mathematical principles.
Never bothered with the re-sit. I got a job instead – in the property industry – initially working with figures. Oh – the irony!
I’ve worked with them every day since. At work and at home. My ‘hobby’ is statistics – if you haven’t sussed already. Especially duff ones.
Let’s just say I can hold my own when it comes to putting two and two together and leave it at that – shall we?
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About the same as a high street , but you can never tell with High Street or online as another agent will be instructed after the contract ends , the boards around my area keep changing with other agents all the time so how can you tell
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Question.
If selling a property with this company is a fifty-fifty toss of a coin…
…would some people suggest that makes an argument for their feet on the ground to have a change of title – to LCTs?
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“Codling’s report concludes: “A review of PB’s accounting policies raises concerns to us that either its contractual obligations to its customers end with their home being listed on the major property portals or that revenue may have been overstated and deferred income provisions understated in its audited accounts.”
As I understand it the deferred payment option is by way of a third party finance agreement. Assuming PB get paid once that is signed, they would be entitled to book the revenue in full, as the risk has then been transferred to the third party.
i would have thought that the national culture of paying an Estate Agent later has helped PB sell its deferred scheme and grow its business exponentially. The seller is, after all getting what he “thinks” is a traditional estate agency service with a board, advertising and someone to talk to etc without really understanding that it’s really the internet age “lite” version of a poentially expensive classified ad. (See LOOT).
If they sell say 50% of their listings they essentially have a happy band of customers who have got a great deal for the money.
The other 50% will no doubt rubbish them whilst paying £1000 odd for the privilege..The poor traditional estate agent also gets the same abuse at this stage without banking the freebie.
Either way the PB failure payment subsidises the overall low cost for the successful seller in the same way that higher traditional agency fees compensate for the cost of withdrawn/unsold properties.
Apart from the few reviews of PB there need to be much more evidence and collection of data from disgruntled non sellers (if they exist in droves) having to pay up so as establish the accuracy behind the claims of both the company and/or the analyst.
I had thought that a Twitter campaign using the #PBmetoo would be both appropriate.
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Agents could kill pb in their areas when they need to. No one is fighting back yet because it gives them headlines. I feel the industry is still just watching at moment.. it hasn’t worked… well it has but their mkt cap should be #trading like countrywide not Amazon.
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“No one is fighting back yet”
Ahem!
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Playing devil’s advocate, at least 30% of instructions dont sell or go on to sell with a second agent, why should PB be any different.
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Any they go to pains to say they are the same as other agents.
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You have to give them credit for their ability to manage client expectations. Toilet Duck is their biggest fan – yet they sold his house for less than 87% of the original asking price !
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30%…that is way too high if you use the right strategy for each individual property.
To my knowledge (and I am going to do the exercise over the weekend) our completion rate is over 90% of the properties we are asked to sell!
We are not a big agent…. we only look to do 4 or 5 completions a month during the main part of the year…but we believe we get the very best result on every single one by giving it individual attention!!!
Best result in last couple of years…140 accompanied viewings, 70 offers, sale price achieved 20% above asking price!
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Sounds like your methods and market place are very similar to my own. I stay small and independent and concentrate on quality rather than quantity….and I’ve been here in the same office for 25 years, so I can genuinely call myself the Local Property Expert. How many PB so called LPEs can say the same??
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Village Agent….. would be good to talk to you. I may have something of a great deal of interest to you!
in@agentv.co.uk
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Very telling that PB havent come out and said ” This is wrong, out of the properties we listed in November 2016 we completed on X amount”.
If they were selling 88% in October 2016 (as claimed) its a heck of a drop off to fall to 51% the month after.
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The ‘LPE’ in my area is exchanging the property as soon as an offer is accepted on it by the seller. sometimes the exchange happens within 24 hours of the property listing. Last year over 80% of the newly listed PB properties were showing exchanged within 2 weeks of listing.
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I love that image painted by the phrase “ …..using Purplebricks is a £1000 coin toss ”!
Thinking about their “pouring milk over your head” Ad.
…..contrast that with an Advert sponsored by The High Street Estate Agency Industry…. “ A Gold Coin with £1000 stamped on it, slowly spinning in the air…. and then the camera pulls away and a Purple Donkey is standing there gazing up mesmerised by the slowing spinning coin….
……then the coin falls to the floor and the words appear on-screen “Heads you Win, Tails you Lose”
…..and the Purple Donkey turns to the camera and says “It’s Tails! ….You Lose ….who is the Donkey now…. You should have Sold through your High Street Estate Agent!”.
…..and the Ad closes with “Don’t be a Purple Donkey”
Go on OnTheMarket….. get your finger out and take the initiative!!! ……one last spin of the dice?
…..or do we have to start Crowdfunding to promote Our Industry because no one else gives a toss! …..other than milking us for Money!!!
….and the door swings open and the Rightmove Donkey Swaggers into the room packed with HighStreet Estate Agents, points and says “ Sorry, who is the Donkey in this Room?!” …..laughes, then strolls out!
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GPL…..What a cracking visualistaion!
Tell Red Door homes….I am sure they can make the advert!
BSOS23PC
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Absolutely Brilliant!!!
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In a universe far away, existed the digital only space, it was faceless and charmless, lacking empathy or understanding, the digital inhabitants muddled through paying their credits regardless with only a with a 50/50 chance of the desired outcome…
AND THEN CAME THE DISRUPTERS
With their new technology ‘ matter ‘
Suddenly things were different, so very different, things were ‘ real ‘ and those inhabitants no longer relied on the flip of a digital coin, the coins were real, you wants heads? Here’s heads or you spend no credit, you want tails or balanced on it’s side? there you go or you spend no credit
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Will this story top the 100 posts before lunchtime?
History has proven a number of key points within estate agency:
Companies that rely solely on web advertising are a reactive market operation – waits for the customer and is not as successful to companies that are pro-active.
A successful large pro-agent has never maintained a better conversion rate of 80% sales completed within a year (property boom). Most only achieve around 65%. The bigger you are the lower the conversion rate as irregularities balance out. Forget sales agreed, it is sales completed that matters, even if you take the money up front (who cares if you sell or not!) as that is what the customer is concerned about.
It is normal to find the average fall through rate from sales agreed to sales completed for a large corporate agent is averaging 25%, the worst can be 50%. The best small agent is 10% but often averages 20%. This would suggest that Codling & May are more in-tune with the real figures that matter to the public.
So here we are with some basic concerns over PB. They say they convert more by doing less, than any other large corporate in history, who are front line and certainly more pro-active. You are having a laugh.
It should also be noted that PB still refuse to disclose Sales Completed after how many years? That has been requested so many times and refused … why? They have the data and it isn’t as good as they want anyone to know as no-one has ever maintained a 100% success rate on sales agreed. So, to get upset when someone does a bit of research is simple for them, POST THE SALES COMPLETED.
Come on PB post the sales completed and have them independently verified. The game is up with your spin, the public and the city want to know the truth. You haven’t done anything to make estate agency more efficient.
It will be interesting to see if they are named in the BBC Radio 5 programme at 11.00am on Sunday 4th May. Don’t need to toss a coin on that one.
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100 Posts Woodentop?
It’s a “Toss of a Coin”?
Agreed on PB Actual Sales Data….. one has to assume a large dollop of imagination used…. until they provide the real Proof of their Purple Pudding!
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No Hiding Place Mr C. The devil is in “YOUR” detail.
Inadvertently Mr. Codling has actually added credibility to the PB offering by admitting that all agents only sell around half their stock and PB are ‘middle of the pack’.
So this shocking statistic is the real problem in a market where all and sundry shout for more stock!! What happens to the 48% or so that haven’t sold!!
PB compete with the average agent on presentation so the only decision for Joe public is do I take a gamble on £1,000 paid up front?? Or get the same outcome by paying a bigger fee later.
Spin your way out of that Mr. C…….
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How about using a small dedicated independent who sells over 90% of what he takes on?
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Like it a lot.
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I should have suggested….. To be fair to Mr C’ of Jefferies
As well as pontificating, verbally or otherwise to the property industry’s “Great & Good”, why not join “us plebs” down here in the trenches in an open debate, curtsey of this communication channel.
And discuss with us by responding to our comments, doubts, concerns, rebuttals on your output which, at times is taken to task by readers of this channel.
After all it seems only fair to give you the opportunity to respond.
So please take this opportunity to join in as I’m sure as an analyst constantly seeking truth, you would also through open debate, wish to broaden your information intake and take advantage of this invitation to offer clarity on points you raise and the opinons you make.
I take it you read Property Industry Eye so why not join in.. ps there will not be a fee!
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Just a little unsure as to why you seem to want Mr Codling to debate his report with us, here on EYE.
The report was for the stock market – not for the Estate Agency industry, however much we wish to argue the toss (pun intended) about it now.
I would suggest that where you have posted “…I’m sure as an analyst constantly seeking truth…”, Mr Codling is already certain of what he has put forward as being, in your words,the “truth”… and that he has the necessary evidence to back it up.
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The Emperor isn’t wearing any clothes!!!
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I think what I’m getting from most coverage today ( and presumably the next few days with the Goldberg investigation Sunday 11.00am 5 live ) both digital and print, specialist and general, is that I’m worth £1200.00 before I actually do anything, putting you on Zoopla and Rightmove takes care of that, thereafter the value is in the experience and familiarity with the task in hand, we could do it for free ( purple bricks model ) and leave people out on their own moving on to the next instruction or we charge and get paid accordingly, purplebricks are attempting a volume model in an environment which any true agent knows is anything but, all transactions are bespoke if completion is the desired outcome
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Just witnessed a car-crash.
On the radio.
I can describe every grinding second of it. I knew it was coming – but I couldn’t stop myself from listening for the sickening crunch.
I know exactly who was at fault; the circumstances leading up to the incident – and who needs to be ‘done’ for causing this carnage within our industry.
And I’m appalled that it has been allowed to happen.
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You may of heard a car crash my northern friend, all I heard was sweet sweet music 🙂
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It was, whether we like it or not, yet another hour where our industry was the rabbit in the headlights, mon ami.
People won’t remember the colour of the rabbit. Just that had nowhere to run.
Nowhere
At
All
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I came to terms, reluctantly, many moons ago that what we do for one reason or another is generally up ( down ) there with traffic wardens and politicians, I take comfort however with the fact that everybody hates an estate agent until they need one and then they’re really really grateful that we can do what we do, the PB of this industry even take that away from us because they take the money and run, not even close to half the job for half the fee, a plague on them all, happy Sunday
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Henry Pryor summed it up perfectly on twitter:
Good grief! Purplebricks CEO Lee Wainwright is dying live on @bbc5live in a debate over the success of his online estate agency. Unconvincing dispute of 51% sales. #CoinTosser
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It’s nice to read that Mr Pryor is stating something with real, irrefutable evidence behind it!
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It doesn’t get any better listening to it 24 hours later. Absolutely awful amateurish defence of their figures, methodologies, etc. GIVE US THE NUMBERS!
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All this abuse of PB from the same agents who support for company formally known as a mutual. 3 years on, can someone tell us, how many leads they have provided for any period over the three years? How many agents they have had each quarter? No, I didn’t think so. Support something you know little of the performance, except if’s not been good, and abuse PB, who’s performance in comparison has been good. hmm….
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