A high street independent is attempting to corner the London online agency market.
Jameson Knight, in Bethnal Green, is launching an online agency offering alongside its traditional model.
Covering the London-wide market, it will offer a flat fee of £599 for sales and £499 for lettings.
Like the Countrywide pilot, it will display properties in its windows and vendors will be able to switch to the full-service traditional agency service.
Launch of the new offering is due at the end of this month.
Jaggy Singh, director of Jameson Knight, said: “We’re expecting quite a positive result, given that the average fee in the area is roughly £5,000.
“In the last 14 days on Rightmove in our core area, 200 properties came online for lettings and 30 for sales, and we’re expecting to receive about 30% of that business.
“On top of that we’re covering all of London with this new service and as word spreads we’re hoping to grow that value.
“We will be emailing our applicant list and also have the facility to text them when new properties come online.
“Essentially we’ll treat all these new properties as we would conventional ones.”
Comments (3)
If you can’t beat them join them! The trouble is this is now becoming a race to the bottom in terms of fees. So what happens if a client has problems, are on the cheap online fee, knowing it is run from the High Street near them and they start expecting answers and support as if it wasn’t the online offering. They can come in and see you and demand you sort things out for £599…or they will complain! This is a slippery slope with Countrywide/independants and online now in the same field. I tell you what, take the advantage away and all serious agents get onto OTM!
Yes we will offer this in the “Shires” you get a free pint of fresh milk with every new instruction we take on in London.
Of course I can for see a few problems like, will the milk be pasteurised. Will it come in a glass bottle or a cardboard box?
As you can there are massive headaches with this on line offering.
The fact that I cant possibly service clients 150 miles away or clients will expect some kind of service (even if it is only £500) is the least of my problems !!!!
To do you see my point ?
This seems a very good idea, I heard only yesterday Austin & Wyatt were doing the same. In fact they also offered the cheaper version with the option of upgrading to the traditional service. If you’re thinking of doing the same please get in touch.