The new CEO of online agent Purplebricks in Australia Ryan Dinsdale has started to recruit local property experts and expects to launch the platform before Christmas with a focus on the east coast market.
Dinsdale, who reportedly thinks the Australian non-traditional estate agency market is “virtually non-existent”, aims to replicate the UK firm’s market share success in Australia.
Appointed CEO Australian Purplebricks CEO this month, Dinsdale says the company will recruit “high quality Australian estate agents with local expertise who may feel disenfranchised or disillusioned”.
According to Property Industry Eye, Dinsdale does not have an estate agency background, but has held various marketing roles, including being marketing director for Virgin Money Australia.
On his LinkedIn profile quoted in the report, Dinsdale says: “I am extremely privileged and excited to be bringing Purplebricks to Australia.
“We are changing the way Australians sell real estate, giving them the best experience through incredible service and saving them thousands of dollars along the way.
“Purplebricks has been a huge success in the UK and we believe it is exactly what the Australian public have been waiting for.”
According to Purplebricks, the Australian market is similar to that in the UK, including “a deep seated frustration with the lack of control over sales process and poor value for money”.
Purplebricks claims to be the third biggest estate agent in the UK by client instructions, with 62 per cent ownership of the non-traditional estate agent market – a market virtually non-existent in Australia.
While it has yet to turn a profit (losses in the year to April were £12m, or $A23m), its share price has jumped 40 per cent as its UK revenue and market share have surged. Last year it sold £2.8 billion (A5.4 billion) worth of real estate.
ASA targets emoov ads
In other UK news, the Advertising Standards Authority has had to intervene over the wording of an ad from online agency emoov for the second time this month.
Estate Agent Today reports the ASA banned an emoov ad a fortnight ago following complaints disputing the duration of a fee offer, emoov’s claim the agency covered 98 per cent of UK postcodes and its claim about how much it saved sellers.
Estate Agent Today reports the authority has again acted following a complaint on emoov’s website that stated: “With 99% of advertised price achieved we get you more money for your property”.
Acording to the report the complainant, who cited a previous ASA case where the authority had asked the advertiser to make clear that it referred to the ‘last advertised price’ as opposed to the ‘first asking price’, challenged whether the ad was still misleading.
Emoov, which reportedly disputed the earlier complaint, on this occasion accepted it and according to the ASA, “acted promptly to amend the claim”.
It also gave assurances that the rest of the website would reflect those changes.
“On that basis we considered the matter resolved and closed the case informally” an ASA spokesman has told Estate Agent Today.
