EYE NEWSFLASH: Purplebricks sells 76% of properties it lists, says analyst

Purplebricks sells 76% of the houses it lists, “well above the national average”, a new note to investors said this morning.

Analysts at Investec Bank said that its independent market survey report “confirms that Purplebricks sells the majority of instructed properties, “contradicting some recent desktop analysis” – a reference to recent claims by Jefferies that Purplebricks sells just over half.

Investec said that its independent survey ties in with Purplebricks’ own figures, adding: “This is an important vindication of the model”. EYE asked whether ‘sales’ meant completions, and a spokesperson confirmed that this is the case.

Received wisdom is that most volume agencies would consider it very good if they were to sell over 60% of their stock.

The Investec report goes on to say: “While the incumbent estate agent industry does not like it, our survey suggests Purplebricks really does sell houses and converts instructions into sales at a high 76% rate; an attractive probability of selling for vendors.”

Investec also concludes that Local Property Experts “do a good job and are actively involved in a high proportion of house sales.

“Feedback is overwhelmingly positive on the role of the Purplebricks LPE and ability to service their customers.”

Investec is a house broker to Purplebricks – which is also advised by Peel Hunt and Zeus – but used an independent firm for its research.

The survey was done by VIGA, a digital research consultancy. It used its own “access hub” to identify 513 Purplebricks vendors across the UK, who were asked 25 questions in total. Of that 513 sample, 76% of the homes sold. The time taken to sell was under three months in 33% of cases; three to six months in 55% of cases’ and six to 12 months in 12% of cases.

This left 24% unsold. Of these, 42% were taken off the market – and of these,  one half were taking a break. A further 34% were sold by another agent; and 10% of sales fell through.

Two-thirds of vendors said the LPE played an active role in the sale while 33% said it was the vendor themselves who took most of the responsibility. Nearly half, 48%, strongly agreed that Purplebricks was good value for money and a further 33% agreed: 84% said they would use Purplebricks again should they need to sell their homes.

The survey also looked at a broader sample of 1,591 respondents, not all Purplebricks customers, who had sold or tried to sell in the past three years.

They were asked what was important when choosing an agent to sell their homes.

The largest criteria was cost, at 78%; this was followed by the agent’s presence on Rightmove and Zoopla, at 59%. No sale, no fee was seen as important by 48%. Face to face contact, local knowledge and experience were all cited as rather less important.

Factors which were seen as far less important – by 28% or less – were referrals from friends and family; having a local office (important for 25%): and reviews on sites such as Trustpilot and allAgents.

Investec said the Axel Springer investment was a “positive endorsement of the Purplebricks disruptive hybrid model” and gave Purplebricks a buy rating.

Investec also said in this morning’s note that “online agents, and Purplebricks specifically, can take a meaningful and lucrative chunk of the traditional estate agency market in the UK and internationally”.

It also forecast Purplebricks earnings at £93.5m this year, but with an EBITDA loss of £10.2m. It forecast earnings of £257.3m in 2020, with EBITDA profit of £16.5m.

 

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82 Comments

  1. ArthurHouse02

    Can someone save this for referring to in 2020. Wonder how the enforcement of GDPR will effect PB earnings?

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  2. smile please

    is that 76% who list with PB sell OR pb Sell 76% of its listings, big difference.

    also that still at best a quarter of people who list with them lose their money.

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    1. Philosopher2467

      Good point well made. Excellent ‘slight of hand’ and propaganda. Herr Goebels would be proud. Dubious and doubtful that 76% of lists get sold but highly likely that 24% of what they sell fall through.

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  3. Bless You

    thats not bad seeing as 100% of their sellers are “………! ” (fill in the blankety blank yourself)

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  4. Eastsidestory90

    Its absolutely amazing if true and would clearly show that having the ability to leave a message on an LPE’s mobile at 3am is a real game changer.

     

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  5. David M

    I would say that should read that “76%  of properties listed on PB do sell……”  wither or not that is down solely to the actions of PB is not clear or recorded.

    But then a buyer who pays a fee up front is more likely to sell than a vendor who makes no financial commitment and is testing the market…….

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  6. OnlineEA

    This is ridiculous, asking circa 500 vendors whether they’ve sold is not a true reflection of a true completion ratio!

    Anyone can manipulate a data set to their own agenda. PB haven’t helped themselves here.

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  7. AgentQ73

    Sample size of 513 for a Nationwide company against Jeffries who used pretty much the whole country.

     

    I would guess they asked a nice round 1000 and 487 didn’t respond, would be interesting to know how many of those who didn’t respond sold.

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    1. The Blame Game

      Balance is needed.

      You are ignoring the fact Jeffries have been frequently exposed for biased reporting against their clients competitors….

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      1. AgentQ73

        Maybe so but if the Jeffires report was incorrect why did PB not publish the correct figure ?

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  8. Secretagent1239

    76% is still a laughable figure for a supposedly professional agency to be selling at. Would you want to give your property to a company that only sells 3 out of 4 properties that come on the market with them? Most certainly wouldn’t. It’s an absolutely appalling success rate, but they don’t care because they don’t take commission and can find other ways to charge you.

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    1. Bolty37

      Secretagent I would say it’s a good instruction to sale rate for any agency whether online or on the high street. And let’s not forget the number of sellers who withdraw from the market due to failed chains or changed circumstances. I’m pleased that PB has some positive press at last!

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  9. mrtickle

    513 is not a representative sample in the slightest.

     

    You can’t say PB sell 76% of properties it lists based on that.

     

    Lies, damned lies, and statistics.

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  10. Room101

    Still not hearing or seeing the word “COMPLETED”

    Selling and completing are two very different things.  Local board on one of my routes has been, For Sale / Sold / For Sale / Sold and back to For Sale again since pre christmas 2017 with Purplebricks.

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    1. dompritch134

      Try reading it again , the report even gives the figure of the percentage which sell with an other agent.

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  11. dompritch134

    That is pretty impressive results right there, congrats PB on producing such a dynamic model of estate agency and we all  look forward to continuing growth for years to come.

    Chris Wood may be stumbling over his 50% completion figures on Saturday?

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    1. Room101

      dompritch134 – no one at PB has said completed, except you. The statement reads verbatim;
       
      It goes on to say: “While the incumbent estate agent industry does not like it, our survey suggests Purplebricks really does sell houses and converts instructions into sales at a high 76% rate; an attractive probability of selling for vendors.”
       
       

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    2. Property Pundit

      As the self-appointed master spotter of bias Dominic, surely even you can join the dots here. Desperate stuff from a fading and increasingly irrelevant listing company.

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  12. Room101

    …waiting for cyberduck46 to clarify these misleading figures.

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  13. ARC

    Oh this will be good I can see some gaskets being blown.

    I don’t really understand it but come on folks let the show begin!

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  14. Philosopher2467

    How much stock has Investec bought?

    who from and these are the same Investec that bought 5% of countrywide at 50% more than the current share price.

    Stunts like this are very worrying if Investec are the stewards of your pension!!!! Do they know what they’re doing or, is it just guess work?

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    1. P-Daddy

      Investec are the house brokers….along with Peel Hunt. All observers should note that they are selling the story for their paymasters, so will paint a positive picture. They will have targets on coverage and ultimately the direction of the share price. Jefferies aren’t acting for them and will need the air of publicity for their investment activities, hence why they are negative about this bit of disruptor news (as far as investors are concerned). Dog eat dog. Maybe they were thrown out of a pitch to PB, maybe they don’t like Woodford as he is a competitor as well as major shareholder…maybe a broker lost out on a house through them 🙂 who knows what their agenda is, but this is why you get mixed messages in the markets

      There are lots of figures out in the domain, so now they must turn this in to ££££’s Turnover is vanity…profit is sanity as we all know. On the question of facts, they earn £1,138 per customer, so users of their service need to be aware there are extra costs other than the headlines.

      The other metrics are all up. so any business owner would be happy with that! But the business has to be enduring,  The question is that the empire building overseas stretches even their not insignificant resources, and therefore the costs are rising and so are the losses across the whole business. Then there is the change in the market, which flattered them and others. Now the grind is on. Other call centre and uber style employee businesses will start hitting the wall and yes it will be the survival of the fittest. PB have proved the case, but not their value! They have a very clever investor/allegiance with this new shareholder, but are they trying to be too many things to too many markets! Watch to see what happens with the USA, that is potentially the achilles heal. If I only knew how to retrieve articles, it will be interesting to see where this is in 18 months…

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  15. MrPat

    I cant help myself from replying to this.

     

    Investec Bank are investors in Purple Bricks, a little biased I would say.

     

    You don’t need an analyst to work out the figures. Rightmove today say they have 2733 listings with 1195 under offer.  My maths says that is 44% of its listings that they agree sales on.  Out of the 1195, industry average of cancellations is around 25-30% so those houses that proceed to contract are around 836 to 896.  That means around 1897 have wasted their money by paying up front or around £1.89m

     

    High Street agents sell around 60-65% of their listings and around 40-45% proceed to exchange.  They only get paid when the house sells.

     

    Bored with hearing about the “Purple Revolution”.  I’ve been in property for 37 years and there will always a cheaper option in the market place but part of me likes the idea of getting paid to list a house then sitting back and doing nothing!!

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    1. Garret2

      Not saying your wrong but when using Rightmove you need to look at all their satellite offices to make that calculation.

      They have around 17,000 properties for sale.

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      1. MrPat

        Understand, that was a Rightmove search for London plus a 40 mile radius stats but its similar in their other regions – certainly a better represntative sample than 513! Also means that those clients who have wasted money by paying up front is a lot more!!

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    2. The Blame Game

      Balance is needed.
      You are ignoring the fact Jeffries have been frequently exposed for biased reporting against their clients competitors….

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    3. Dom_P

      I don’t like PB, but for the purposes of fairness it’s worth considering that the 44% percent you mention refers to a snapshot of the stock as it exists today; they may go on to sell more (or less) of that available stock.

      To truly calculate the percentage you would need to know how all of those properties are disposed of, i.e. sold/fallen through/withdrawn/sold through other agent etc.

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      1. MrPat

        Yes, but those stats will never be available.  In simple rough terms, and in all the markets I have worked in, High Street Agents who value 10 houses will list 6 and contract on 4.  Online agents have no where near this ratio.

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        1. Dom_P

          Fair point I guess, hence why it is so easy for them to quote whatever they feel like!

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  16. Housing TM

    The ASA will have a field day if they try to use that statement as fact, I will bet the blood of my first born that if the sample was random then the 76% is the % of homes sold not just sold by Purplebricks.

    78% of the “independent survey” said the cost they paid for the sale was their main concern!!!! not how much they sold their property for? Who are these people? I want to sell them double glazing 🙂

    Only 10% of sale fell through? 513 surveyed, is that an odd number? 100% of this random sample completed the survey!!!

    Aliens have landed in Brighton and are eating ice-cream on the beach, is just as likely, was the survey done on the 1st April?

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    1. Property Pundit

      This survey is about as useful a PR tool as the (on-going) mumsnet debacle.

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    2. Philosopher2467

      Lies, damned lies and stats!

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  17. Hillofwad71

    So 24% of vendors are subsidising  cheaper fees for others So that means  there is a 1 in 4 chance you pay the fee for nothing  Its like saying 3 out of 4   make an insurance claim

     

    That % is not high enough to justify paying the fee

     

     

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    1. Property Pundit

      #£1000 coin toss still applies IMHO.

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  18. surrey1

    I sold one for them. Their client asked for my advice following a total flop. 15% off the price which was soooo demonstrably wrong and they found a buyer. Perhaps I should put an invoice in. Including that they’re still at circa 20% conversion in my patch.

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  19. Property Pundit

    It also forecast Purplebricks earnings at £93.5m this year, but with an EBITDA loss of £10.2m. It forecast earnings of £257.3m in 2020, with EBITDA profit of £16.5m‘.

    Incredible how just one sentence can pretty much remove any credibility from the whole survey/report. More nonsense. Tiring.

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  20. Chris Wood

    “You should note that Purplebricks have provided REDACTED with evidence that, rather than the 14% referred to in the report, the actual number based on his sample analysis should have been 91.6%.”” Schillings – Purplebricks PLC cease and desist letter to Chris Wood

    Michael Bruce – “We sell (complete on) 88% of all we list” BBC Moneybox programme

    “We sell in excess of 80% of our listings” Kenneth Bruce Twitter/ Linkedin

    “Pressed by Goldberg as to how the 78% was arrived at, Wainwright said: “Sold subject to contract.”*

    Source PIE: http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/our-78-sales-figure-is-based-on-properties-sold-subject-contract-says-purplebricks-boss/

    “Sell’, as opposed to ‘agree sales subject to contract on’ (or similar wording), is a very clear statement that a company has introduced a buyer to a property who has successfully completed contracts on that transaction.

    It seems that Purplebricks and their own investors are constantly undermining PB PLCs’ CEO own public statements, legal statements and directors statements. These are statements that consumers and investors will base very important transactional decisions on.

     

    *So what is your fallthrough rate?

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    1. dompritch134

      Still harping on about a comment 2/3 years ago? How’s your 14% statement holding up?

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      1. Chris Wood

        Still boring everyone senseless? The 14% statement was not made by me. Which statement by your heroes is true, it seems even they can’t agree.

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      2. Property Pundit

        Who’d have thought SpectrumDom would have leapt on Chris’s input like a tramp on a bag of chips?

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    2. MrLister

      Once again Chris you show your obsession with knocking one particular agent who like them or not are overall doing a really good job. 78% sounds pretty spot on from what I’ve seen and heard over the last year. Cause to congratulate rather than pick holes in.

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      1. Property Pundit

        ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

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      2. Room101

        Once again MrLister you clearly have a bit of skin in PB.

        Something doesn’t stack up whichever way you or PB choose to cook the numbers and she’s a dirty mistress with whom size does matter.

        I repeat;
        If you average the stated UK completions of £5.8bn for 2017 across 12 months.  Based on their April 2017 UK listings of 5497 (source PB annual report 2017) the average sale price of every property sold in April 2017 would had to have been just £112k in order to get a 78% listing to sale completion rate.
        It falls to;
        49% at an average sale price of £180k
        OR 
        39% at the current national average of £225k
         
        Which is more likely, that the whole natural order be suspended or that Purplebricks should tell a lie? 

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        1. PeeBee

          Room101

          In response to your post above – let’s go even further with those figures.

          On 30 April 2017, PurpleBricks’ average Asking Price on Zoopla was £303,112 (based on 12,786 properties ‘listed’ on the site).

          Now – on the basis that PurpleBricks’ supposedly self-appointed and completely independent gob-on-a-stick, dom-boy drew our attention to this statistic the other day:

          “The consumer group analysed data from 10 leading online agents – including PurpleBricks, eMoov and YOPA – and found that online agents achieve 95.85% of the original asking price…”

          then it is reasonable, is it not, to assume that PB’s average sale for that month must have been in the region of £290533.

          That would mean that, based upon your workings, they would only have “sold” 1664 of their 5497 April “listings”…

          …30.25%.

          That’s 39.8% of the 76% currently being pulled out of the hat.

          What all these #numerigicians forget is that old sayings trump their efforts.

          And whatever you try to do with a cake. they simply can’t have it and eat it.

          Ever.

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          1. Room101

            Peebee –

            I give most people the benefit of the doubt, but this lot are talking out of their jacksies.

            If we only count the listings that have gone through to sale minus those still on the market can we get close to a 76% listing to sales ratio?  All we have to do is ignore the listings classed as withdrawn, on marketing breaks, fallen through or sold with another agent.  I’m not even sure we need to try.   Bless em all!

             

             

             

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          2. Quags

            I think these statistics are fascinating.  I think it’s quite telling how the double D’s don’t respond to these calculations based on PB’s own figures.  I wonder why?

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  21. GPL

    Investec states “While the incumbent estate agent industry does not like it, our survey suggests Purplebricks really does….”

    Forgive me, I haven’t read the whole statement yet, because I’m still stuck on the 13th word in the aforementioned statement extract “suggests”??!!!

    Sorry …….”Suggests”? …..let me just confirm ……”Suggests”!

    So, Investec issue statements relating to a company apparently on the surface worth 100’s of Millions of £’s ….and they can only deliver “Suggests”? …..NOT “Categorically confirms!”

    Here’s my statement for what it’s worth…..

    “Once again I witness another failure to provide verifiable independent proof of the actual exchanged sales of a company which is apparently valued at Millions of £’s. This being the same company which heavily relies/promotes Customer Reviews which are obtained at the beginning of the actual house sales process – how would those reviews read if obtained in the event of securing a verifiable sale, or failure to sell?

    In this digital/data world we live/work in how is it NOT possible for this particular company to release verifiable exchanged sales data versus properties simply listed for sale.

    Why would any company want to apparently hide its real sales exchanged success.

    What I am witnessing is yet another Online Property Listing Company desperately trying to mimic what real High Street Estate Agents do. This upfront/pay for failure business model is weighted firmly against the Homeseller.

    In my experience most Homesellers are best served by their Local Estate Agent. My best advice for most Homesellers –  seek out & talk to your Local Estate Agent/s, select your preferred “real” Estate Agent and Only Pay for Success.”

     

     

     

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    1. AgentV

      I think there is one clear measure that could be used here;

      What percentage of the properties that you have listed in the last year, where a fee has been charged, have you (not another agentcompleted the sale on within one calendar year of initial listing date?

      Its a fairly easy question, that I am sure they know the answer to…..so why not just answer it……just do 6th April 2017 to 5th April 2018.

      We can all answer if needed.

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  22. Shaun77

    Why can’t these people just use plain, simple language we can all understand. All we want to know is what % of PB listings complete with a buyer introduced by PB. That’s it, it’s not rocket science.

    Talking about the number of instructions converted into sales suggests to me that it’s “sales agreed” and in line with the number quoted on the Moneybox programme Assuming standard industry cancellation rates, this will boil down to around 50% instruction to completion. Given they’re fully aware of the sensitivity around sale agreed/completed and how easily this can be misunderstood by the public (who understandably assume a sale is the same as a completion) why don’t they just come out and tell us. There really is no need for a survey amongst their buyers to discover this information, they just have to look at their own internal stats, so why don’t they!

    Given well established, successful (profitable) estate agents aren’t able to complete on 76% of their instructions there’s no way they will be achieving this. It’s nonsense.

    The other huge alarm bell here is that they only sell a third of their instructions within the first three months. This is shockingly bad news for their vendors as statistically, the amount you achieve for a property seriously declines once you’ve been on the market for more than 8 weeks. I believe the Homeowners Alliance produced stats suggesting that price erosion was around 1% per week after the initial 8 week period, so any perceived “saving” on the fee is swamped by the loss of being sat on the market for an extended period.

    Given how dissatisfied vendors become when not under offer within a month or so, I’m amazed the respondents were so complimentary when two thirds of them weren’t under offer within three months – it just doesn’t add up.

    The other interesting point with this stat is what would happen if they switched to a NSNF model. Undoubtedly, two thirds of their instructions would quit and instruct another agent if not UO within 3 months, the standard NSNF contract length, meaning they wouldn’t earn a dime for the vast majority of properties they list. I imagine this will be the same for all the online NSNF companies.

     

     

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    1. AgentV

      Suggested question;
      What percentage of the properties that you have listed in the last year, where a fee has been charged, have you (not another agentcompleted the sale on within one calendar year of initial listing date?
       

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      1. AgentV

        Sorry for duplicating….. just had to make it comment number#42….that being the meaning to life, the universe and everything of course!

        BSOS23PC

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        1. Dom_P

          AgentV, what is the meaning of the “BSOS23PC” I see on your posts?

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  23. Robert May

    The ratio of sstc/uo to for sale, weekly, over the past 16 months has never exceed 53%, they are currently at 47%. Perhaps the analyst can explain how Purplebricks manage to sell a greater percentage of properties than are being marked sale agreed.

    If the firm does have access to magic completions dust  that completes sales without viewings and offers suddenly the feeding frenzy for their shares is explained.

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  24. wardy

     

    It’s nonsense like this that has me seriously considering getting out of this industry.

    I’ve always had problems on a local level. The sudo independent wanna-be corporates here are happy to mark up properties as sold the minute they are dis instructed only to archive them a day later. Marked as sold, but never see them hit land reg. According to rightmoves lovely pie charts they sell a lot more than me.
    I have one firm here take generic pictures of blocks of flats, offer them for sale then miraculously sell them a week later, amazingly they sell more than me, quicker than me.
    Not to mention door knockers who have bundles more applicants than me who will all achieve a higher price than I can thanks to their take the pictures with an iphone style of marketing.
    Iv’e always been able to combat this locally. I get the chance to put potential vendors straight. I have the opportunity to show people where they are being misled. But this?
    This is misleading on a huge national, soon to be global scale where richer and cleverer people than me are gaming a system for £ notes. Nothing else. No ethics, no satisfaction for doing a job properly and with scant regard for the rule book. How do I combat them?
    For the likes of Dom & cyberduck. You know there are people like me who set up their businesses, yes to make a living but to also to do a job properly. A bit of job satisfaction, going home after a day in the office knowing that you helped people in the biggest transaction they are likely to make and you did it the best of your ability. Its people like me who you want to out of business.
    Dom applaude this latest bit of spin all you like. We all know it’s not true and so do you. Have some morals.

    I understand the words SOLD or SELL to mean a transaction that has completed.
    PB do not ”sell” 76 % of the properties it lists.
     

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    1. cyberduck46

      wardy,

       

      I’m not in a position to say whether you do an honest days work or not but I can tell you I’ve done my own research and I recommend everybody does the same rather than believing people with a vested interest.

       

      My own research is on a small sample of listings by PurpleBricks (about 200 from memory) and the completion rate that I believe to be correct is a lot closer to what VIVA have stated than what Jefferies stated a while back.

       

      It took me less than an hour to satisfy myself that the claim by Chris Wood, that only 14% of listings complete, was false.

       

       

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      1. wardy

        I have done my own reaserch. I do it every day (albiet for my patch)
        I’m probably missing something here but I can see whats listed and when, I can see when It goes under offer and I can see its completion price and date (3 months later when land reg figures are up) All useless without having the physical address. Let me tell you it’s not 76%, not even half that.
        Thats without addressing the other elephant in the room. PB tend to have 10 months plus to sell (sometimes years) when we generally get 3 months.
        HOW MANY PROPERTIES DO PB SELL AND HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE THEM? These are the only questions they need to answer in order to claim that they out perform us.
        Ironically they are the only ones who actually know. There’s a reason they won’t answer this.
         

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        1. Property Pundit

          Ironically they are the only ones who actually know. There’s a reason they won’t answer this‘. Most of us on here know the answer, the rest are in pitiful denial.

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        2. cyberduck46

          >All useless without having the physical address
           
          I don’t understand. I thought Estate Agents had the physical address on the system.
           
          Just click on the EPC if you can’t see the address from your system. This will give you it, even for flats, which were causing me a problem tracking through to the land reg. at first.
           
          >PB tend to have 10 months plus to sell (sometimes years) when we generally get 3 months.
           
          You might only get 3 months but when somebody switches to you from another agent you will typically list at a lower price and the listing will move right up to the top of Rightmove so there are pros & cons. Your marketing plan should take into account the fact you have 3 months and if you think the property will need longer then you just need to be straight with the client from the outset. They won’t drop you when you fail to sell then.
           
          Just checked my analysis. 222 listings nationally and I’m satisfied the completion rate is between 68% and 75%.

           

          If you provide an email address I’ll send you my data.
           
           
           

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          1. Shaun77

            How do you know these completed with PB and not with a new agent?

            We really shouldn’t all be trying to guess this stuff. PB have the answers and there’s a reason they’re silent on the matter.

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          2. Room101

             
            cyberduck46 analysis 101

            əˈnalɪsɪs/

            noun

            1.

            detailed examination of the elements or structure of something that concludes with an indecisive answer.

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      2. Chris Wood

        You are, of course, right about everything Ducky however; if I recall correctly, it was an independent analyst* of note that made the 14% claim, not me (though I almost certainly repeated it in good faith at the time).

        My Blog in 2014 was regarding another call-centre agent who was mentioned on here very recently and referred to a similar but different figure entirely: https://pzwoody.wordpress.com/2014/11/05/online-agents-big-savings-or-paying-up-front-for-failure/

         

         

        * https://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/7/purplebricks-blasted-over-sales-totals-and-speed-of-completions

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  25. PeeBee

    dom-boy, ducky and associates

    Do you think that their alleged “success” rate could be in some way, shape or form something to do with this claim:

    https://uk.trustpilot.com/reviews/5ad8a9ac6d33bc05f895e4a7

    After all – there’s an awful lot of “good reviews” there…

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    1. PeeBee

      ‘David Luck’ wouldn’t be YOUR buyer by any chance would it, ducky?

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    2. cyberduck46

      >Do you think that their alleged “success” rate could be in some way, shape or form something to do with this claim

       

      No, not really.

       

      Sounds more like another one of your conspiracy theories.

       

      Like I say, VIVA’s findings match pretty closely my own research.

       

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  26. Woodentop

    So 26% of their customers have wasted their time and money? and 33% had to do their own house sale!

     

    The trouble with PB and their allies is they have a history of misleading propaganda. 76% conversion rate is about right for a typical high street agent. But as PB do not have the magic wand for sales collapsing through lending, survey, chains collapsing through a number of reasons, one is left sceptical AS TO WHY IT TOOK “Investec”, not independent to ask for a sample of vendors to be screened by VIVA when PB have the full data? This can only lead to one conclusion, unless VIVA have a crystal ball of who PB have on the market …. they were fed selective customers?

     

    Until such time as PB provide the real data (which they hide form view) for independent analysis, anything that a third party can come up with is all based on assumption and at risk of being wrong. Investec said the Axel Springer investment was a “positive endorsement of the Purplebricks disruptive hybrid model” and gave Purplebricks a buy rating. SUPRISE, SUPRISE and a co-incidence … pigs can fly.

     

    It also forecast Purplebricks earnings at £93.5m this year, but with an EBITDA loss of £10.2m. It forecast earnings of £257.3m in 2020, with EBITDA profit of £16.5m. Shameful return for the investment. Lets see if 2020 earnings is correct, requires nearly 3 times the level it does now … another pig has flown?

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    1. cyberduck46

      >This can only lead to one conclusion, unless VIVA have a crystal ball of who PB have on the market …. they were fed selective customers?
       
      Only one conclusion? That shows a complete lack of objectivity.
       
       

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      1. Woodentop

        As PB have 100% data .. the report does confirm a complete lack of objectivity.

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  27. Scottish_Mist42

    The worst thing about Purplebricks is when a client buys from them.  It is truly a horrific experience trying to conclude (in Scotland) missives.

    To the extent that we’ve had several clients back out because it was taking too long and bought something else…….vowing never to attempt to buy a PB property ever again!

     

     

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  28. Woodentop

    Question .. if the Investec claims are found to be misleading (they would be if 76% is incorrect?) …….

     

     

    in 2016 The Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) was introduced to provide a standard regulatory framework across EU member states to prevent market abuse and preserve the integrity of, and investor confidence in, the market for financial securities.

     

    The offence of market manipulation contained in MAR can be committed in a number of ways, including: publishing information which gives false or misleading information?

     

     

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  29. Robert May

    This digital research consultancy?  Viva doesn’t seem to exist outside this story

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    1. Property Poke In The Eye

      They based in Las Vegas.  😉

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  30. Chris Wood

    A quick reminder. Viva claim 76% listing to SOLD which is remarkably similar to PB PLCs’ Mr Wainwrights recently stated claim of 78% listing to STC on BBC 5 Live. Now, I’m no rocket scientist but, I would suggest that

    78 stc

    76 completions

    = 2 fall throughs

    = Fall through rate of 2.56% – Really?!

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  31. Room101

    If you average the stated UK completions of £5.8bn for 2017 across 12 months.  Based on their April 2017 UK listings of 5497 (source PB annual report 2017) the average sale price of every property sold in April 2017 would had to have been just £112k in order to get a 78% listing to sale completion rate.

    It falls to;

    49% at an average sale price of £180k

    OR 

    39% at the current national average of £225k

     

    Which is more likely, that the whole natural order be suspended or that Purplebricks should tell a lie? 

     

    .

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  32. Property Poke In The Eye

    Purple Tricks cant say these figures are true.  Because they will never know. After 10 months of marketing the property comes off there system.

    Once they take their fee they are out of the picture.

    From my research it’s sitting around 40% completions.

    As I said before these For Sale By Owner sites need their price point around £75-£125.

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  33. Simonr6608

    My first post here on PIE but I do read the news and comments on a regular basis, now I’m not going to bash PB, I have a friend who works for them and he enjoys it but what I will say is that I do disagree with the way they advertise and do find the statements misleading

    With regards to the completion figures I do have to laugh, now my maths is not my strongest suit but these are my findings, I took the listing and SSTC figures from PBs website.

    Listings – 32952

    For Sale – 17512

    SSTC15440 = 53%

    using the industry standard of 30% as the fall through rate that gives 4632 leaving one to assume 10800 complete which is 32%

    enjoy the sunshine and have a great weekend all

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    1. Robert May

      15440 is less than half of 32952 so  the ratio has to be less than 50%, 15440/32952 = 0.468 so 46.8%

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      1. Simonr6608

        As I said not great at maths, that aside the figures are still way short of those being touted by PB and the so called investment analysts. There are also many high street agents that exaggerate their figures as well so it’s not just PB.

         

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        1. PeeBee

          Simonr6608

          First of all, welcome to the ‘sharp end’ of EYE.  It’s good to see new posters and their fresh thinking.  I sincerely hope that we can expect to see more of you, and that you offer your opinions on more of the multitude of issues and subjects that affect our industry.

          In relation to your above comment, there is little doubt – and no denial – that a high proportion of Estate Agents on the High Street fluff up their feathers in some way, shape or form in order to impress vendors and secure business.  It’s easy to claim that you’re best at ‘x’; that you have “the highest whatever” or “the lowest something”.  But talking a good talk and running a good marathon every day of your working life are two completely different things – and eventually people catch on to the ********.

          However, HSEAs have to perform or they don’t get paid.  We can claim whatever we want – if the deal ain’t sealed then we get Jack.  When a company can click on every instruction they take “regardless of sale” (which is a phrase that I genuinely believe is not a ‘bold, precise and compelling’ description of NO SALE PAY REGARDLESS Estate Agency) then the people that they DO NOT SELL FOR – whether it be 12%, 22%, 24% (in the case of this last offering), or 48.4% – have simply gambled a grand or so and lost it.  IF that gamble is on the back of ********, hype and marketing *********** (credit: Jonnie) – then they’ve been scammed – simple as.

          And when every ad break perpetuates the *********** with one, two or three of the likes splashed over the screen, and ‘yer local’ chancer has a window card quietly whispering that they’s the dingo’s danglies, I really don’t think your suggested argument holds more than a droplet that we’re all as bad as each other.

          Do you?

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          1. Simonr6608

            I agree with you whole heartedly, l lose instructions because I just can’t bring myself to be anything but honest with my clients and back up everything with evidence, some come back some don’t. My intention wasn’t to tar everyone with same brush but highlight that there are also some high street agents that are also chancers.

            Love them or hate them PB are here to stay as is their business model and the only way to combat them is to educate the public, as market share shows the majority still prefer a high street full service approach.

            I do believe however if we do our job right and with integrity the onliners will struggle to gain any meaningful market share.

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  34. Property Pundit

    Does anybody else find it strange that in all the many threads about PB that have featured on PIE, I haven’t seen a single PB employee / LPE/ territory owner respond having declared their position with the company? I think the nearest is MrLister.

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    1. Ted58

      I find that odd I quite often think the same

      maybe they are concerned for the consequences of working for the dark side on this forums 😉

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  35. Peter

    “Purplebricks sells 76% of the houses it lists, “well above the national average”, a new note to investors said” “It used its own “access hub” to identify 513 Purplebricks vendors across the UK”

    100% of people love Purplebricks, a note states. They used PIE forum to identify 2 contributers.

     

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