Industry-first as Zoopla teams up with iamsold to support agents selling properties at auction
15th July 2020
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Zoopla will support agents as they build a relationship with iamsold and market their properties using the Modern Method of Auction
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Consumer marketing campaign in coming months will highlight the benefits auctions bring to both buyers and sellers
Zoopla, the UK’s most comprehensive property destination, has launched a partnership with iamsold, the UK’s largest property auctioneer.
In an industry-first, the partnership will help agents expand their services and commercial opportunities by selling properties via the Modern Method of Auction. It will also educate homemovers about the benefits of buying and selling properties at auction – speed, security and transparency.
Currently, only 2% of property transactions in the UK are completed via auction1. Auctions enjoy high completion rates compared to traditional sales, 25% of which fall through, costing sellers £400 million in fees2, and jeopardising millions of pounds in agent commission. This fall through rate means 79% of sellers find the process unfair.3
In contrast, the Modern Method of Auction, where the whole process is completed online, offers a range of benefits for both agents and homemovers alike:
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The online bidding process is transparent and secure, benefitting all parties
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Buyers can use a mortgage to fund their purchase, just like any normal transaction
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Buyers and sellers are pre-vetted to ensure a higher completion rate (95% completion rate on sales agreed compared to 75% for traditional sales4)
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Fixed timescales are outlined to deliver faster purchases (completions take up to 56 days compared to 14 weeks for traditional sales)
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Agents benefit from a timely, guaranteed and sizable commission
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Online auctions are a great way to refresh and market stale inventory
Zoopla members can register their interest here to learn more about the value of the partnership.
Commenting on the partnership, Andrew Marshall, Zoopla’s Chief Commercial Officer said:
“Our mission at Zoopla is to be the agents’ champion and by partnering with iamsold we believe we are doing just that. Our research shows property auctions are misunderstood by many agents and consumers alike but we are confident that in iamsold we have a partner that can help us bring auctions to a whole new generation of homebuyers who might have only ever seen them on TV.
“The benefits of selling at auction for agents are clear. Faster sales, higher completion rates leading to an increased rate of return. It’s also a great way to bring to the fore properties that might have previously struggled to get the attention they deserve. We firmly believe that all of this, combined with Zoopla’s reach and recognition, will be a winning combination for agents in the months and years ahead.”
Jamie Cooke, managing director of iamsold, added: “We founded iamsold to offer an effective solution for vendors needing to buy or sell properties quickly and securely, and during the last 10 years have grown a strong network of over 2,500 estate agent branches. The future of auction is online which is something we have pioneered, so it’s incredible to see this recognised by Zoopla as they expand into this territory with our partnership.
“Although the Modern Method of Auction has many benefits, it’s little known amongst the public, with just over a quarter of UK homeowners who we surveyed recently5 aware of it. However, in the current climate there is a sudden need to move for many due to unexpected lifestyle changes. Millions of homemovers visit Zoopla each week and with this partnership we hope to make auction a mainstream way of moving and arm more agents with this solution to go to their clients with.”
Founded in 2007, Zoopla is a successful property marketplace offering services to renters, buyers, sellers and landlords. The company returned to private ownership in July 2018 after a purchase by a group led by global private equity firm Silver Lake. Since the purchase its leadership team has been implementing a focused strategy investing substantially in talent, technology, marketing and sales to help Zoopla enhance the service it offers consumers and to meet its ambitious growth plans.
iamsold is part of the iamproperty Group. iamproperty was founded in 2009 and the Group offers end-to-end services to estate agents including auction, conveyancing, compliance and moving services all under one roof. The property group is headquartered in Newcastle and employs over 200 people.
iamproperty has completed over 16,500 residential property sales since its inception, making the business one of the fastest growing property companies, and the largest auctioneer in the UK. The company has a nationwide network of over 2,500 estate agency branches offering the Modern Method of Auction, other auction solutions and services to consumers, and is a clear market leader in online auctions with over 60% market share.
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1CIL CDD report, Management information iamsold internal report
2Zoopla Consumer Survey (Feb 2020)
3Zoopla Research & Insights (March 2020)
4The average completion rate on sales agreed for properties auctioned through iamsold is 95% compared to the private treaty average of 75% (the latter is data from ‘Improving the home buying and selling process’ by Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government).
5iamsold commissioned a piece of research with OnePoll earlier this year on UK homeowners. 26 per cent of those surveyed were aware of the Modern Method of Auction.
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For further information, please contact PR Team on pr@zoopla.co.uk or +44 (0)20 3873 8770.
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