DIY home-selling platform buyMyplace.com.au has launched its own Purplebricks-style fixed-fee model, promising to undercut the cost of using a traditional real estate agent by more than $15,000.
ASX-listed buyMyplace's full-service offering will give vendors the services of a dedicated real estate agent at a cost of $4595.
This fee covers everything from property appraisals to price negotiations. Auctions will cost an additional $895 fee. The new business is launching in Melbourne initially but will expand nationally during the year.
CEO Paul Heath said offering a low-cost, fixed-fee model would complement the existing DIY business and was the "new order and way of doing things".
"Traditional real estate agents, which charge commission, are struggling in a lower-listings environment, while we are growing quickly," he told the Australian Financial Review.
A basic DIY package on buyMyPlace starts at just below $700, rising to $1800 for its top-of-the-line offering.
Mr Heath said more vendors were becoming aware that there are other ways to sell their property, either by doing it themselves or through a low-cost offering.
"In the UK, Countrywide, the country's biggest real estate group, are closing 59 branches over the coming months. In Australia, traditional real estate agents are struggling to maintain momentum," he said.
The new business will be led by Melbourne real estate agent Cameron Fisher, who previously ran Changing Places Real Estate, which offered a fixed-fee commission structure.
Mr Fisher said there was not always a significant difference in the effort and resources required to sell a $450,000 property compared with a $950,000 property, "yet the commission received by the traditional real estate agency is significantly higher, often double".
UK estate agent Purplebricks launched in Melbourne and south-east Queensland in September last year with a $4500 flat fee combined with 24/7 service via an online platform.
Purplebricks recently expanded into Sydney with a $5500 fixed fee and an additional $1100 charge for homes that go to auction.
