Bramzell rushes to support role of agents

PropertyIndex, the pay-per-lead portal thought to have done a deal to list agents’ properties with eBay, has rushed to defend the role of estate agents.

eBay also accepts private buyers’ property adverts, and last week Rightmove warned agents that the use of eBay could be a ‘Trojan horse’.
 
But Lee Bramzell, chief executive of PropertyIndex, said last Friday that private buyers posed no threat to agents.

Bramzell said there was little evidence to suggest that significant numbers of owners want to cut out the estate agent and market their property themselves. The three most highly ranked FSBO websites represent just 0.2% of sale listings in the UK, with many of the properties they list posted over two years ago.

He also claimed: “eBay’s private sale listings have had no impact on the market and are irrelevant in light of the huge benefit to agents of having their properties listed on the site.”

Bramzell said that agents using the top three portals currently expose their properties to an online audience of 4–5 million unique visitors a month, compared with eBay’s 20 million.

Bramzell said: “There is no doubt that current market conditions are reinforcing the value of agents and the crucial work they do.

“More now than ever, sellers need professional advice and support in achieving the best price possible with accurate valuations, negotiation expertise and intimate market knowledge. Agents should not be concerned about the private buyer market which poses no threat to them, and focus instead on providing a first-class service and ensuring their properties are viewed by the greatest possible number of potential buyers.”