Why Do So Few Online Agents Make Any Profit?
Why do so few online agents make any profit? A traditional cold-start agency can attain profit within two years, so why has only a handful of online agencies done it many years after starting up? Andrew Stanton – The Negotiator Magazine 7th January 2020 3 Comments 21,115 Views It is now ten years since the online estate agencies began in earnest but only Purplebricks has posted a profit in the UK, with most of its competitors still working hard to reach break-even and investor cash is burned. But if only the tens of millions of pounds invested in online estate agencies such as Yopa, easyProperty, Hatched, HouseSimple, eMoov and Tepilo had instead been invested in a more traditional model, their shareholders might now be seeing a return. Let us suppose you want to start a brand-new traditional estate agency, how much profit will it make and when and how much does it cost to set up and run? START-UP COSTS It costs £30k to acquire premises and kit the office out and have all the IT hardware, systems, and office furniture in place. Then it costs £18K a month to cover the overheads including a team of four-sales people and their salaries, cars, website costs, and all other costs to run the office and sell properties. A traditional agency trading 50-miles from the capital will then market and sell property in all price ranges, mostly from £200,000 to £600,000, and as the brand matures, they may specialise in both the mid-range and the top end range £800,000 to £1.5m.
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