Member Info for cyberduck

Already something like 98% of enquiries come via the online Portals. However there's not a seamless transition from the portal to the online websites of the Estate Agents. I couldn't believe it when i listed with PurpleBricks and you couldn't just click on my property in Rightmove and then be redirected to my property on PurpleBricks' site so an appointment could be booked. I suppose this is because most Estate Agents are phone based and this would give PB an advantage. Rightmove need to review this and make everything easy for the customer.

And if they don't go well?

It wouldn't surprise me if the shares reached £4 soon. I sold at £3.38 but continue to monitor market share growth in the UK & Australia. I want to see how much they are spending on advertising so will wait until the results at the end of June before deciding what to do.

Just love the url being used "purplebricks-selling-2-5-properties-a-month-in-oz-but-for-below-the-market-price" Nothing about selling below the market price in the article though :) The article does say the properties they have listed are below the average market price though. One of my concerns about the USA was whether Realtors would sign up with PB. I have a property in Florida which is rented out on a long term basis and I'm now looking to sell. All of a sudden the lettings manager with the letting firm tells me she can help me out and she's a licensed Realtor. This might be where PB will attract Realtors from at first. Ones who don't make it their main income but are willing to give PB a try because of their huge advertising budget and platform which allows them more time to find those listings. I actually think the first tranche of LPEs in the UK are employed by PB so that might be the case in Australia too. Listening to the comments coming out over there it's a bit like deja vu. Now look at it here in the UK 509 LPE's as of today and around 1000 listings a week between them. Throw in a few shares and working hours to suit and I bet they're pretty happy. The ones I've spoken to are.

Tradeup. When up at these levels a while back the shares dropped back to around £2.70. The trading statement showed results in line with expectations but some questions raised about advertising costs. There's also data flying around claiming only 56% sales completions which could be negatively portrayed if the national media take up on the story. Like Sain says there's no shame in taking profits even if the rise continues. I'm currently out and am waiting on the results at the end of June to reappraise.

I don't think you can expect LPE's to be available 24/7. Somebody at PB Central around the clock perhaps. All the information is available 24/7 online such as feedback, appointments etc. If you compare to a traditional Estate Agent it's certainly a lot better. Just apply online for appointments, direct communication between buyer & seller rather than have messages relayed. It's like a breathe of fresh air - the whole process so far but that might be just me. I don't actually want an agent to represent me I want to be in control and that's what it gives you.

The other thing he did in regard to viewing the property was to reject my proposed viewing time and propose a new one to me which I accepted. When I turned up there was another viewer with the same time appointment and then one arrived as I was leaving. In the end we didn't put an offer in because the property was a bit too small but the fact others were interested made me feel pressured to decide quickly.

Sain, You misunderstand. He does make himself available but can force customers to book within periods when it suits him rather than open his diary up all day where the appointments would be spread out. It's about efficient use of time. They do tend to open their diaries at weekends to take advantage of the fact that traditional Estate Agents do fewer valuations. If you look at PB's listing figures they do drop at weekends but on a Sunday they can be 30 to 40% of all listings nationally. A couple of weekends ago Zoopla was showing 450 listings in total for the Sunday and 160 of these were from PB.

I went to view a property a couple of days ago and it was a LPE who showed me round. A different one to the one who came to value my property before listing with PB. I took the opportunity to pump him for information and we had a good old laugh at some of the comments coming out from traditional Estate Agents and those with a vested interest. There's on Estate Agent who was 'Small Estate Agent of the year' some years back must spend most of the day now tweeting, blogging, facebooking (sorry I don't know the word for that) and posting on Linkedin about PurpleBricks. I took a look at his agency and he's listing about 1 property a week. Down 75% from this time last year. Losing market share to his high street rivals. The LPE I spoke to said he could work every day if he wanted to but he closes his diary off so that appointments are made when it suits him. The local LPE's all seem to have come on board at different times because they know each other from working together at one of the High Street Agents and he said he could go back if he wanted but it's much better working for PB on a self employed basis. The ironic thing is that if this agent who spends all day online moaning and spinning information would be better off working for PB because he could close off his diary for 80% of the day and play golf the rest of the time.

Good trading statement in a difficult market by the looks of it. Will be looking closely at the reported increase in marketing spend when the results come out at the end of June and the market share data from here on in the UK. Valued for success. Still scared to be invested and scared not to be :)

Buyers outnumbering sellers so far today ahead of the trading statement tomorrow. I was looking back at last years trading statement and it didn't give very much away really. Just revenue & number of LPE's and the growth of those two numbers from the previous year. Also the trustpilot rating and a confident outlook comment by Michael Bruce.

Some very happy employees. 50751 options exercised @ 12.93p and 40603@ 1p You've just got to love the business model.

What is your expected low and time frame?

http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/newsflash-countrywide-and-lsl-both-report-falling-revenues-in-first-quarter-of-this-year/ "In the three months to the end of March, estate agency revenue fell 5.5% year on year. At flagship London brand Marsh & Parsons, revenue fell by 15.8%, reflecting reduced exchanges. LSL, like Countrywide, said it expects to see fewer house purchase transactions this year."

Increase from 444 to 473 LPEs in the last week here in the UK. Decrease from 76 to 74 in Oz. 1106 sales in Oz since launch so nearly $5M if all at the lower rate of $4500 ($5500 includes an auction). Exchange rate has moved from 0.62 to 0.58 since I last checked so £2.89M rather than the £3M I had been expecting. Oz well ahead of Hardman forecasts though.

I remember her saying the experiment with the hybrid model had been promising and that it had not affected the commission based business (or was it the overall revenue? I'll have to check) I'm sceptical but not ready to ridicule her as I suppose it could have attracted new business. Something to keep an eye on.

Or should I say advert? :) https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/4/purplebricks-has-mystery-shopped-over-280-letting-agencies-across-uk 'Richard Jacques has told The Property Investor’s Blog on the Property Solvers website that the hybrid recently carried out a mystery shop of 284 agencies and found the average fee for admin and referencing was £257 per tenant for a standard rental agreement for one property. Jacques says his company - which charges a flat fee of £118.80 per tenant and does not levy renewal charges - offers “a much fairer pricing structure for landlords” as well.'

Sain, do you know if their transformation agenda consists purely of their digital rollout?

Yes, it will be interesting. A very volatile stock with a small float but unusually you can still buy at a price lower than what institutions are prepared to pay. I'm thinking that results will be in line or slightly ahead of broker consensus forecasts and am hoping the announcement will cause another steep rise in the share price as was the case back in December. Peel Hunt's buy recommendation didn't do anything though so I could be wrong. Anyway, a bit of fun for those who like speculative investments. Looks like April is going to be the best month ever for them and it includes 5 weekends. Market share rising week on week if Zoopla data can be relied on.

Sorry that should have been Woodford :)