UK number 2 property portal Zoopla has entered a partnership with prominent auction supplier Iamsold. The partnership is designed to benefit Zoopla’s agent customers by giving them another option when selling properties. Agents will be given the choice to sell via the modern method of auction whereby prospective buyers must submit bids during a limited time window and the highest bidder must pay a reservation fee before exchanging within 28 days and completing within a further 28 days. The benefits of this method include a much higher completion rate (95% according to Iamsold figures) compared to traditional sales (75%) and much quicker transactions (Iamsold transactions take on average 56 days compared to 14 weeks for the traditional method). This is not the first time that Zoopla has tried to move into the auction game. A 2010 partnership with a traditional auction provider was hastily shelved.
Speaking about his company’s partnership with Zoopla, Managing Director of Iamsold Jamie Cooke said:
“Although the Modern Method of Auction has many benefits, it’s little known amongst the public, with just over a quarter of UK homeowners who we surveyed recently aware of it. However, in the current climate there is a sudden need to move for many due to unexpected lifestyle changes. Millions of homemovers visit Zoopla each week and with this partnership we hope to make auction a mainstream way of moving and arm more agents with this solution to go to their clients with.”
Portals partnering with auction companies is nothing new, and it seems that there is a genuine desire across many markets to explore ways that auctions can remove friction from property transactions. Last week we covered how Aussie online auction platform Openn Negotiation broke $1 billion in property sales generated and in Ireland online auction provider Beagel’s numbers show that auctions are seeing increased demand there as well.
