Agent explains why he is thankful for Purplebricks

A regional estate agent has outlined how the rise and fall of Purplebricks has actually been a good thing for high street brands.

Property consultant Alex Goldstein has claimed the marketing campaigns by the beleaguered online brand have helped other agents up their game, while its launch has also given rise to those using just the digital sector and hybrid firms.

Agents have also improved their sales progression as a result of Purplebricks’ digital offering he said.

But Goldstein added that cutting costs and the digital model only got Purplebricks so far.

Writing for the Yorkshire Post, Goldstein said: “When it came to a property going under offer, the firm fell short, in my opinion, and illustrated just how important this stage of the process is both for getting transactions over the line and living up to what the consumer expects from estate agents.”

He said mass volume Purplebricks-type conveyancing solicitors are out of favour, as agents and consumers turned their attention to greater accountability and communication.

Goldstein added: “The market didn’t want any business to hide behind emails and call centres. If there was an issue to overcome, the market wanted to see people face to face and ‘old school’ communication came to the fore.”

He said that while Purplebricks proved that technology was a tool with upsides, it could never replace people and emotions, adding: “After all, people buy homes, not computers. To base a business model largely on technology was brave, but never took off, as we saw with other online agents.

“So, thank you Purplebricks for trying something new, forcing estate agents up their game and making the rest of us look good.”