NEWSbeat
ONLINE AGENTS iSold could change the business
movewithus is advising estate agents to be aware of the change posed by the emergence
of discount online-only estate agents. Earlier this year, research revealed that two-thirds (67 per cent) of estate agents believed that Tesco’s iSold would have an impact if rolled out nationally. New entrants to the market, such as iSold, a partnership
between Tesco and Spicerhaart, who charge a flat fee, could make estate agents re-evaluate their business and charging models. movewithus reveals that iSold is slowly moving its offering nationwide and whilst the number of properties being marketed is still small, it is likely to total several hundred by the end of the year. iSold is offering sellers a fixed price of just £999, including VAT, and claim this is a saving of up to £3,700 on estate agency fees for a £200,000 property, or £8,400 on a £400,000 home, based on a two per cent commission rate. Potential sellers are unlikely to be put off by thoughts of limited distribution as the properties of
iSold.com’s clients will be advertised on all of the major property portals, including, Rightmove; Primelocation; FindaProperty and Zoopla.
Rescue for collapsed chains SALES
Property Portfolio Rescue (PPR) has launched its new ‘chain-saving’ proposition
designed to secure a fast sale when a chain brakes down. PPR can now work with advisers
and estate agents to save ‘broken- chains’ by completing the property purchases in a quick timescale, sometimes less than 48 hours. Government
figures suggest that one in three chains fall apart, leaving all those affected waiting for the broken link to be fixed in order to proceed. Sellers are stranded at the eleventh hour with the likelihood of another five months-plus wait for a new chain to be created and no guarantee that the chain won’t break again. Nick Hopkinson, Director of
Property Portfolio Rescue, said, “At any given time around two- thirds of UK property transactions are part of a selling chain so if one party falters or withdraws either through choice or changed financial circumstances this can have a devastating effect on
6 OCTOBER 2010 PROPERTYdrum
everyone else in that broken chain. Re-building broken property chains typically takes months and causes major financial and emotional distress. Increasingly PPR is being contacted by both mortgage advisers and estate agents in order to save property sales which, in today’s environment, are often taking place in order to reduce the seller’s debts. If a buyer has pulled out, this type of seller does not have the luxury of being able to hang on perhaps waiting months for another buyer. It is in this
situation where PPR’s chain-saving service may be a lifeline; we can step in and buy the property to keep the chain alive and ensuring the seller has the money quickly. PPR will commit both time and resource, looking at each deal individually, to ensure we can help as many chains survive as possible. We can guarantee a quick and discrete purchase and we would urge any advisers or agents who have clients in such a position to contact us immediately to see if we can deliver the right outcome for all concerned.”
www.propertyportfoliorescue.com
Simon King, movewithus online
director, said, “Estate Agents are no strangers to competition although they need to be aware of any change to their business. There is little doubt that clients may look with interest at a new style of fee and agents can rightly point out that, whilst iSold charges
an upfront fee, they will only charge customers following a successful sale. We also advocate that agents continue to highlight the quality of their service and the client experience. This, combined with a strong online presence, will distinguish themselves from new entrants into the market.”
PORTALS Rightmove website goes mobile
Rightmove has launched a new mobile internet website for the growing smartphone mobile internet market. The mobile site is tailored
for smartphone handsets and features all UK homes for sale and rent that are on the
Rightmove.co.uk main site. The site has GPS functionality allowing users to pin-point their location and map out available properties around them. Saved properties can also be synchronised with an existing Rightmove account. Miles Shipside, Commercial
Director, comments, “The mobile sector is growing into a key component of Rightmove’s offering. We have observed patterns of traffic during the summer months whereby on hot days our website traffic dips but iPhone traffic jumps, as people are home-hunting outdoors rather than inside at their computer. Home-hunters want access to Rightmove wherever they are, and now with the new mobile site more people can search our properties on the move than ever before.”
The Rightmove mobile site comes a year after the launch of its award-winning iPhone app which has reached around 800,000 downloads. The new mobile site will enable Rightmove to capitalise on the growing non-iPhone segment of the smartphone market. Smartphones account for just under 75 per cent of all new
handsets in the UK, and include the popular Android phone. Shipside adds, “The move to a full mobile website is the logical next step following the success of our iPhone and iPad applications, and allows us to extend the reach of our agents’ properties even further.”
www.rightmove.co.uk
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