The Digital Property Market Steering Group (DPSG) is asking estate agents to help formalise an industry-wide Digital Property Information Protocol (DPIP) to create certainty for all involved in the home buying and mortgage process.

DPSG’s proposed protocol – which can be found in draft format HERE – sets out the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders in the adoption of digital property information and digital solutions across all sectors.

AGENTS’ VIEWS

And now the Group has launched a survey to gauge agents’ views on what information should be included, which stakeholders it should involve – mortgage intermediaries, lenders, legal professionals, surveyors and valuers – and how this information can be presented and in which format and indeed whether the DPIP (‘Protocol’) should have a different name.

Options that are be considered alongside DPIP also include DPIC ‘Charter’; DPIJ ‘Journey’ and DPIRR ‘Roles and Responsibilities’ or something entirely different.

Maria Harris (main picture), Chair of the Open Property Data Association, tells The Neg: “We often hear that the home buying and selling process is no longer working and the inefficiency is having an impact on stakeholders’ profitability, recruitment and retention of staff and, above all, customer satisfaction.”

BIGGEST TRANSITION

And she adds: “The industry is undergoing the biggest transition in its history as we move from a document led, analogue process to a data led and digital one.

“It’s important that the whole industry has the opportunity to shape and influence the protocols we need to enable adoption, achieve interoperability, and to keep us and our customers safe.”

*Unless you choose to leave your contact details, the survey is anonymous – your responses will not identify you or your firm.

The research is undertaken in line with the Market Research Society Code of Conduct. The survey should take around 5-8 minutes to complete. Entries close midnight on 1 April 2024.

Take the survey HERE.

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Cloud-based software system Alto has integrated data-driven management tool ViewMyChain into its Marketplace in a bid to help agents reduce their number of fall throughs.

The ViewMyChain platform is powered by data-led intelligence and gives agents greater visibility, responsiveness to changes and certainty in the sales process.

SPLIT CHAINS

It allows users to look at automatically constructed chains, including split chains, which can help achieve faster completions and reduce fall-throughs.

Ricardo Iannucci-Dawson, Alto

Riccardo Iannucci-Dawson, Alto Chief Operating Officer, says: “We are excited to partner with ViewMyChain to provide our customers with enhanced tools and capabilities with which to navigate the sales process.

“This integration reflects our commitment to empowering estate agents to have everything they need to run their agency, all in one place.”

Paul Halliwell, ViewMyChain

Paul Halliwell, ViewMyChain’s Executive Director, adds: “We are thrilled to join forces with Alto to improve the sales progression process, saving agents valuable time whilst delivering more certainty for all stakeholders.

“Together, we are empowering estate agents with the tools they need to succeed, especially during challenging market conditions when every sale matters.”

ZERO DEPOSIT

Alto’s latest integration comes after The Neg revealed last month how it had teamed up with Zero Deposit allowing agents to offer clients a regulated and automated deposit replacement service as well as helping to speed up end of tenancy admin tasks.

And we also revealed the details of its ‘next generation’ lettings progression functionality, which existing customers can access for free.

The feature speeds up and simplifies the onboarding of new tenants, enabling them to easily complete tasks such as signing documents, paying deposits and ensuring their details are up-to-date.

The Alto Marketplace is now integrated with almost 20 leading proptechs across a range of categories including Goodlord, Vouch, Fixflo and Bamboo Auctions.

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Online lettings agency Hello Neighbour is gearing up to launch a self-service lettings platform that it says will dramatically cut costs for landlords.

The agency was founded in 2018 to combat the lack of transparency and fairness for tenants and landlords in the UK rental sector.

RENEWAL FEES

It already doesn’t charge renewal fees and only bills a one-off fixed fee to the landlord of £1,200 with no additional costs to find and move in a tenant – saving landlords up to 73% of fees compared to traditional high street letting agents.

Its new self-service lettings platform will sit alongside its existing offering and has been designed to give landlords the option of saving more money but still being able to offer quality properties to tenants at the right rental prices.

The self-service option will be priced with a one-off fee of £200 and will include rental valuations; advertising across portals Rightmove and Zoopla; property performance insights; online booking for viewings; online offer negotiation; credit checks and referencing; full property compliance; AST contract creation; first month’s rent collection and deposit registration.

Hello Neighbour’s full service option is priced at £1,200 also as a one-fee with all of the self-service options but also comes with a personal account manager; photography and floorplans; accompanied viewings; managed offer negotiation and inventory check-in.

SIMILAR SERVICE

A similar self-service option from Open Rent is priced at £69 but only includes advertising across portals; AST contract creation; first month’s rent collection and deposit registration.

Richard Jenkins, Hello Neighbour

Richard Jenkins, Hello Neighbour Co-Founder and Chief Execuitve, says: “With the ability to save thousands of pounds – another way of offsetting price rises and increasing mortgage costs – our full-service lettings and property management services are a lifeline for thousands of landlords that want to continue letting their properties in difficult market conditions.

“Hello Neighbour’s soon to be launched self-service lettings platform will provide an even more affordable way for landlords to continue renting good quality properties to tenants at the right rental prices.”

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A row has broken out between estate agents and a property portal in Northern Ireland, it has been reported.

PropertyPal, which lists some 60,000 properties for sale and to rent in the country making it the largest, recently increased its fees charged to member agents, moving from a set fee per listing to a membership-type scheme with different tiers.

But in moves that will be familiar to agents who remember the Covid-era ‘Say No to Rightmove’ campaign over its fees, a group of agents have threatened to leave the portal.

The company behind PropertyPal has said that the increase is “aimed at delivering enhanced value and services”.

Errol Maxwell, PropertyPal

In a statement to the BBC Errol Maxwell, its CEO, said he “takes pride in offering the most competitive pricing of any property portal in the UK and Ireland”.

The ‘rebel agents’ involved, who have formed a steering group, have written to Maxwell saying they feel ‘coerced and bullied’, says a representative of the group.

He says that under the new system estate agents could expect to pay 25-45% more per listing on PropertyPal and that due to this, they “have no alternative but to take drastic action” the letter says.

Deadline

“As such we need to inform you of our collective intention to cease placing any new listings on the PropertyPal platform from midnight on Thursday 29th

Maxwell says: “PropertyPal’s new membership plan allows estate agents to advertise all their properties for an average of £20 per listing and provides them with a powerful suite of new tools to support their business”.

“We’re delighted that the majority of estate agents have embraced the change and recognise the significant value it brings to their partnership with us.”

Stephen McCarron

Derry estate Agent Stephen McCarron said any price increase from PropertyPal would be ‘passed on to clients’, something Maxwell has said would be ‘unfair’.

The Neg has contacted PropertyPal for further comment.

Picture credits: PropertyPal/Donnybrook Estate Agents.

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Thousands of more people are now using OnTheMarket to search for property since the portal was acquired by CoStar Group in December with unique monthly visitors to the site rocketing 81% year-on-year.

More than a thousand agents have joined the portal since the acquisition adding 57,000 listings while total monthly leads to agents have also shot up 81%.

14,000 ADVERTISERS

OnTheMarket’s agent office count has also increased by 10% since the CoStar Group acquisition with over 14,000 advertisers now listing on the site.

The upturn follows the implementation of a new sales and marketing program in December, after CoStar stated its intention to spend £46.5 million in the first year of a multi-year investment initiative totalling hundreds of millions of pounds.

Jason Tebb (main picture), President of OnTheMarket, says: “As these results show, we are making tremendous progress with our strategy of becoming the leading agent-friendly platform in the UK residential marketplace.

“We believe that we are now the fastest growing residential portal in the UK In a very small space of time following the acquisition of the business.

“We have initiated the first phase of a multiyear program to drive consumers to OnTheMarket which will significantly increase the quality of valuable leads to our agents at fair and sustainable prices.”

NUMBER ONE

And he adds: ““We believe we can create the number one property portal in the UK, leveraging CoStar Group’s expertise and resources.

“With the successes of Apartments.com and Homes.com, we have a proven playbook to follow, which perfectly complements our knowledge of the UK market and our differentiated product.”

The Neg revealed in January how OnTheMarket had signed a multi-year listing agreement with Leaders Romans Group, one of the UK’s largest property services firms, to advertise its UK residential sales and lettings properties via the portal.

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In an industry first offer, digital homebuying platform, OneDome, has announced unlimited free digital KYC and AML compliance checks.

This initiative brings banking-grade compliance tools, used by financial players like Barclays, Starling Bank and Revolut, directly to the estate agents, at no cost.

The service, encompassing identity verification, document authentication, live video face matching, and comprehensive AML screening, is available to all client onboarding processes.

It promises estate agents a significant reduction in compliance costs, potentially saving thousands annually, and simplifies the onboarding process with a detailed digital report and risk assessment.

CEO, Babek Ismayil, (main picture) said: “The cost of KYC and AML checks disproportionately affects smaller agents due to volume. Through our platform’s high volume of checks, we benefit from favourable rates, enabling us to offer them for free to the agents we collaborate with.”

OneDome’s Transaction Management services extend beyond just AML checks to provide comprehensive support throughout the purchase and sales process. Their fully digitised transaction management platform and Property Moving Assistants, enhance efficiency and provide a faster, smoother completion.

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Since its launch at the end of 2016, outsourced viewings and inspections provider, Viewber, is celebrating the half a million milestone, with over 500,000 appointments successfully completed.

Founded by former estate agent, Ed Mead, and his property PR wife, Jamie, along with tech entrepreneur, Marcus de Ferranti, the company has grown at an average annual rate of 40%.

Although originally aimed at the estate agency industry, Viewber now serves every aspect of property-related industries in every UK postcode, and has seen the fastest and strongest growth in the auction, fast buy and property management sectors.

It’s ability to provide an experienced workforce at short notice on a national level has fuelled the growth, as well as providing additional end to end services like 360 video tours, listing packs and EPCs, inspections and key handovers.

Proud

Ed Mead (pictured left) commented: “From an idea Jamie and I had walking around a field in 2015, it’s been gratifying to watch it grow into a nationwide business with an outstanding client base and a remarkable team running it. It doesn’t seem that long ago we celebrated our 100th viewing; to have now a clocked over 500,000 viewings makes us feel very proud of everything that’s been achieved’

Former managing director of Foxtons, Peter Rollings, who became the first external investor in the brand in 2017 and now sits on the board, added: “I always knew Viewber was answering an issue agents had and this proves it. I’m impressed and delighted at the momentum the business continues to generate and very excited to see what the future holds.”

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The Government has revealed a further £4 million to help develop the proptech sector, taking the total it’s spent on backing tech for residential and commercial property to £13 million since 2021.

While making the announcement yesterday, housing minister Lee Rowley recounted his first job out of University at the Chesterfield branch of Halifax Property Services as a ‘Saturday boy’, revealing how his branch had a single computer, never mind any proptech.

The building society’s ill-fated foray in to estate agency ended when its 284 branches were sold to LSL in 2010 for £1.

Rowley is now at the helm of Government spending on tech for the property sector, revealing at The London Proptech Show yesterday that the UK boasts the largest proptech sector in Europe and the second biggest in the world after the US, with 900 firms providing services and tech.

The minister said he believed the sector would increase five-fold over the next eight years and then be worth £70 billion.”

To help drive this, he announced a further £4 million for the Government’s existing Proptech Innovation Fund, the cash from which has to date been given to dozens of local authorities to improve the new homes planning process.

The extra money comes at a time when the UK’s slow and bureaucratic planning system continues to be blamed for the ongoing lack of new homes being built.

But not everyone at the show was impressed by the announcement.

Ani Kotecha of the UK Proptech Association commented during a later seminar that the extra Government cash was “a drop in the ocean” compared to the billions being poured into proptech by investors.

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