The boss of the eMoov online estate agency has renewed his attack on what he calls dyed in the wool property patriarchs who defend the traditional estate agency business model of high street offices and a percentage commission structure.
Using his website blog, eMoov founder Russell Quirk - who ran traditional branch offices himself between 1999 and 2009 - says arguments of defenders of the offline sales system invoke claims that only having physical offices provide the local knowledge and expertise which allow sellers to secure higher prices for their homes.
Zoopla say they have around 900,000 buyers registered for instant property alerts that ping an email to house hunters the second something meeting their requirements is listed with one of their 12,000 UK agent partners. It's no more relevant for an agent to be local' than it is to book your holiday via a rep that has visited every hotel on the Expedia travel site he says.
Personal customer service, assistance with offer negotiation, oversight of your sale through to completion, valuations..the bits of the estate agency role that are important are not, you might be surprised to learn, just exclusive to a funky Main Street office he goes on.
Because a decent online estate agent does all of this too. All of it. Despite the ever more desperate shouts from the old school that attempt to say otherwise Quirk writes.
The online v traditional agency debate has been fuelled in recent weeks by announcements from heavily-funded players such as easyProperty and Purplebricks that they are setting up internet sales and letting services in the near future.
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Comments
Slagging off the competition shows a weakness in your company. Every company owner will say their way is best but there`s nothing better than local knowledge when it comes to selling property and giving it an accurate market appraisal. Their site states `We can help you set an asking price for your property too if you wish.` I bet their stock is full of the Sarah Beeny fan club who think EA`s are a waste of money and they know the value of their own home.
Home owners may try this way first, then realise they require a local EA who has a list of buyers ready and waiting.
This FONT is rubbish.
Russell Quirk is a mammoth c*ck. He is a failed High Street agent so he hides in the murky depths of the internet. Like I'm doing! Annoying ain't it!
Russell quirk got himself in a lot of hot water when he had his agency in Thurrock. He promised to underwrite all losses on properties bought through him at the beginning of the last recession.it is well documented online. He then went out of business.seems that he is only after a quick buck.his track record proves that.
Slagging off the competition is pathetic whether you are a high street ea or an onliner. Most agents who use this site are out grafting winning their instructions. Mr Quirk sits in his call centre waiting for the phone to ring. I wonder how often he goes out against other agents and gets the instruction He doesn't! They are nothing but a gateway to rightmove, zoopla etc. if you're doing a good job don't worry. They won't be affecting your business anytime soon. I look at what my local rivals are doing, they are the only ones important to me.
thats like saying everyone looks in the paper so why have an office..its called providing a service and internet companies only trade on devaluing our industry.
If we all closed up shop tomorrow and went online cowboys like emoov (get it) would be gone.. your lucky we actually care about our vendors unlike your souless, money grabbing business.
It is of interest that Russell gets so much airtime but alas he's a rose by any other name and as a fellow agent he's entitled to say his piece so quit asking EAT to censor its posts in our favour.
If we don't like it we can go elsewhere as PeeBee points out but funny how even he can't stop returning
A little parity goes a long way but don't do it to please us Nat, do it to emphasise your journalistic ethics.
We 're a fickle bunch who smell BS a mile away because no one does BS better than us so let's stop whining every time someone says bad things about us. Practice what you preach PeeBee otherwise accept that just because this site represents the industry doesn't mean it's here to blow smoke up our a*se!
If an idiot was talking rubbish in the pub you would ignore him, why treat this one any differnetly
negotiating robots, they've already got them, working for SpicerHaart, only without the empathy!
I think the technology for a negotiating robot with feelings of empathy is still quite far off completion.
What is it with EAT giving this lot free advertising and a voice - EAT call themselves voice of the industry - don't think so. Mr Quirk is fee to have his say and is of course trying to big up his own business. There is enough room for both business models - but I challenge the fact that an exclusively online "agency" can ever give the personalised services that many clients, purchasers or tenants want and like. Agents could stand up to Zoopla and Rightmove for continuing to list the aggregators - both companies said they would stop doing so but of course money talks.
Ray Evans
WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!
Instead of putting up with this vexatious anti-agency codswallop wrapped around flashing adverts, Google Ms Renshaw and see what she is up to.
You WON'T be disappointed! ;o)
Hughesy
I have never spoken at a landlord exhibition. And I'm very aware of the Consumer Protection Regulations in their entirety including the implications for high street agents.
Healthy debate is not assisted by false claims.
Well, he would wouldn't he!
(More free advertising for the knockers by EAT)
Bizarrely I attended a landlords exhibition a number of months ago and this chap was speaking. One Landlord (probably an agent) asked him what his thoughts were on the Consumer Protection Regulations and how did it affect his business model. He could not respond as he never heard of CPR's. Whilst everyone deserves a shot at creating a successful business model, whether online or traditional, you should be aware of industry rules and regulations!
You have to remember that this company only release this kind of BS to get listed on sites to help them on google, you can see they are targeting 'online estate agency'. They have probably paid a back hander as well for this. You could dilute the SEO by adding 'Viagra for sale', 'BUY LINKS HERE' etc.
I viewed a place listed by EMoov and it was totally overvalued. The vendor must have set price and Emoov probably just wanted the listing so didn't care if it was going to hang around for months as it fills their site out!!!
Like anybody this guy is just defending his business just like a high street agent would. I am high street agent and it works for me but we don't charge huge fees, no dodgy contracts and lots of great feedback about our office. Lots of my business comes from recommendations and that is down to me as an indivdual and I don't think you would get that from an online agent who is based 100 miles away. But good luck to them