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Future for Online Only Estate Agency is looking bleak

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Posted on Thursday, November 1, 2018

Emoov, which owns both Tepilo and Urban, was last night apparently up for sale. The business is said to be in a very precarious position and suggested the 'rug has been pulled' the Property Industry Eye has revealed.

Sources from the Property Industry Eye said that despite recent fund raising there is not enough money to run the business and that the chief investor had "shrugged their shoulders and folded their arms" with £5-£10 Million needed immediately just to keep going! The source said: "They have hung us out to dry"

Another source is reported to have told the Property Industry Eye that Emoov is "completely screwed"

The owner and founder was planning to float Emoov, however following fundraising of £9m in the summer of 2017 and a merger with Tepilo and Urban it appears the outlook is bleak.

To add further misery to the state of the online only sector Purple Bricks shares sank to a low of 177.7p.

Comments:
The Online Only sector of estate agency has long been derived by local area estate agents for some time. This has resulted in many people thinking it is just sour grapes on behalf of the traditional business which were worried about their future. However, what we have known for some time is now starting to ring true.

As the housing market starts to slow just a little in recent months the thought of paying a slightly smaller but no refundable upfront fee starts to become less appealing. Despite the crazy adverts stating ridiculous savings it, in reality, usually amounts to a just few hundred pounds saving over a local agent.

This is something which is controversial as the industry has, over the years gone by, had a bad reputation for very high fees and very little work done. However, that was a different time and not all agents are the same. As with any industry you have the good, the bad and the average. The 2008 recession/financial crisis (call it what you will) changed things, it changed the world and how we perceive it and certainly how we do business. It made everyone work harder, smarter, modernise and the good agents survived leaving the poor ones behind or out of business….survival of the fittest and the best so to speak.

The simple fact is that when the market is a little harder to sell in, that is when local modern true estate agents will shine. You can no longer rely on simply listing the property and hoping it sells because you are paying that online only fee no matter what happens. As we are now seeing with the potential failures of some of the biggest names in online only world, a good modern estate agent can actually make a huge difference to the result. Hopefully, as an industry, we can rebuild a reputation that has taken a hit over the years and once again become a respected sector.


Comments by Chris Bloore
Source Article: Property Industry Eye
November 1st 2018