Purplebricks tops agency market share league table

Purplebricks sits at the top of the estate agency league table in the UK by market share – new instructions – during the first quarter of 2022 compared with the same period last year, new research shows.

Fresh research from property consultancy TwentyCi shows that Strike ranked second in the UK by market share followed by William H Brown in third.

Your Move, Hunters, Connells, Haart, Reeds Rains, Yopa, and Savills feature in the top 10.

Ranked 11-20: Winkworth, Martin & Co, Bairstow Eves, Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward, Foxtons, Dexters, Hamptons International, eXp UK, Wards, and Fine & Country.

EYE is unable to publish specific data relating to the market share of each company, as we have been told that this information is not for external publication.

“[The data is] for internal use only by the organisation that commissions the analysis”, a spokesperson for TwentyCi told EYE.

The table, which you can view below, includes eXp UK for the first time.

The company, ranked 18th, is the third fastest growing ranking agency for new instructions, thanks to significant business growth in a relatively short space of time, having attracted more than 280 agents across the UK since launching in November 2019.

eXp UK’s Adam Day commented: “Breaking into the top 20 UK estate agencies is a fantastic milestone for us to reach so early in 2022. Due to our growing number of dedicated and professional agents, I’ve no doubt that our impressive growth trajectory will only continue.”

Rank Agent
1 Purplebricks
2 Strike
3 William H Brown
4 Your Move
5 Hunters
6 Connells
7 Haart
8 Reeds Rains
9 Yopa
10 Savills
11 Winkworth
12 Martin & Co
13 Bairstow Eves
14 Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward
15 Foxtons
16 Dexters
17 Hamptons International
18 eXp UK
19 Wards
20 Fine & Country

 

Strike claims to be ‘the fastest growing estate agent brand in the UK’

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17 Comments

  1. Robert_May

    Property Industry Eye is a B2B site for property industry stakeholders, the people who come here  to read the articles are informed and have an in depth  knowledge of the subject, some on a national level most on a #local level. Because  of that articles like this are irksome to the audience; making a pointless point has no benefit at all.  Purplebricks  and  Strike are non geographic passive intermediary internet listing firms  different to duty of care and skill estate agency. It is not acceptable to compare national, internet listing firms with #local estate agency for anything other than a marketing and PR.

     

    I haven’t yet got an exact number (yet) but there about 6000 distinct #local markets in the country. covered by  agencies of all business models from national listers down to part time village agents who sell  less than 15 homes a year.

    It would be a long and boring post to  go through them all but market share has to be measured on a #local market level otherwise factual distortion like this provide consumers with the notion Purplebrick and Strike are the biggest when on a #local level, where it matters, their individual market  share hardly registers at all. In some Nest area (activity centre) they have no listings at all

     

    Its a shame we can’t post images, market share analysis is best seen  in table form

     

    Yesterday I was randomly looking at Southport Purplebricks   have a 2.2% market share  (12th in the list of 47 agents in or covering  PR8) Strike were in 17th place with 1.5% market share. The  leading #local agent has 23% market  share and has  sale agreed a 1/4 of all sales.

     

    If someone wants to make a point make it fairly and combine  all of the listings in a group; all of Connells/CW, all the brands of Spicerhaart, Lomond Group , PFG, The Guild and Team. Compare apples with apples and the results are very different indeed

     

     

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    1. Robert_May

      Looking  in detail at the best of the best performing Purplebricks  on their best Nest territory  they are 11th market share with 2.8% over-all, 4% of available listings, 2% of agreed sales.  The #local market leader has  19.7% over-all, 14.1% of available and 22.3% of sale agreed

      The best market share branch  for Spicerhaart is in 2nd place on their best Nest*  with 11.8% over-all  15.4% available 10.4% sale agreed. The #local agent there  is 21.8% over-all, 9.6% available,  26.5% sale agreed.

       

      It is difficult for #Local agency to get its voice heard, it is difficult to counter investor funded TV advertising campaigns but the detail and the facts are now available to counter contrived claims that are simply and deliberately misleading.

       

      I’ve built a system to make #local fact simple and accessible, it operates at conversation speed which means without  waiting for a report to compile, without drawing a breath its possible to call BS on  a lot of the stuff that’s claimed.

       

      ( * a Nest is where 3 or more agencies have a #local branch-  Braunton; a village 5 miles from Barnstaple is a separate Nest area to  Barnstaple. Each Nest has mostly unique area  listings but there are some (Venn  diagram) intersecting areas in between)

       

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      1. Ric

        HEAR HEAR…

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        1. jeremy1960

           

           

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        2. Robert_May

          As I know your patch Ric how about I share the  sort of counter argument # local agents need to arm themselves with  in preparation for the inevitable re -run of the Argyle and Bute claim campaigns where  it appears some agents have sold more homes than actually exist.  ( a few years back one particularly bold portal plonking agent  managed to sell 105 homes in 12 months on an island that’s got less than a dozen properties belonging to the national trust)

           

          SK7 outcode is  Wagland (where all the footballers live) there are currently  nearly 500 properites on the market in SK7 shared  between 52 estate agent and passive intermediary listers.

          Purplebricks have 3 properties for sale and 9 properties sale agreed in the whole of SK7

           

          SK7 is actually 2 distinct Nests; Bramhall and Hazel Grove,  there are 6 #local agents  based in Bramhall and a different set of #local agents 3 miles away in Hazel Grove.

           

          The market leader in SK7 has   27 properties for sale and  40 sstc    the 2nd place agent  has 18 for sale 54 sstc and the 3rd agent has  13 for sale and 47 under offer.  Purplebricks rank 11th Strike are 13th  with 2 for sale and 7 sale agreed.

          Agents need to arm themselves  with statistics to counter the claims being made.

           

          Purplebricks might be  listing lots of properties outside Bramhall  and Haze Grove but they don’t know the are like we do, they are trying to compete with 12 #local agents who know the area intimately, who sit in the traffic in the morning, who sit in the traffic in the evening, whose children go to local schools. 12 in  500 properties is not market leading around here

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          1. Ric

            I was showing someone yesterday…

            If you look at the agents located in my Village (Bramhall) all have circa 35% and up to 50% of their stock outside of Bramhall…. I have 90% of my stock in Bramhall, as I have another office which deals with the area the other EAs rely on locally.

            Both my offices added together covering the same space typically have more available and sold, which is a constant debate for me with the Rightmove model that it splits my company data over two branches meaning  the 1 office sets ups in Bramhall will boast “the most sold by a Bramhall agent” but if you add my Bramhall & Cheadle Hulme office together, things look different. (usually anyway, although at the moment, we have completed on most sales and stock is poor)

            Problem with SK7 is, SK7 Bramhall and SK8 Cheadle Hulme are the hand in hand areas, and SK7 Hazel Grove is not really of interest to many Bramhall or Cheadle Hulme agents. Likewise most SK7 Hazel Grove agents have very little in SK7 Bramhall, as the villages/areas are so different.

            Anyhow… I tend to focus on, if we are doing what we need to do… then I am fine with the others. Nobody can have it all… but the stats are so misleading both nationally and locally.

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    2. janbyerss

      Rob, I would not get too upset about all the articles about PB here.  As you say this site is for people, in the business.  The general [public do not look at this site do will not be influenced to use PB from here. PIE seem to live PB but nothing we can do about that. All the best. J

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      1. Robert_May

        It’s not Purplebricks I’m objecting to, they’re a busted flush and for all the reasons I put forward in 2014/15 won’t ever distrupt full service agency. What I do not like is the data manipulation where a firm can seemingly  specify stats to support a marketing claim and use that as the foundation of a marketing campaign.

         

        All I’m doing is helping agents think how they overcome those marketing campaigns  with people taken in by them.

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  2. skipdale

    Well said Robert

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  3. jeremy1960

    Isn’t this report just like comparing Amazon with a High Street independent shop? Overall Amazon will have far greater sales but completely different markets.

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  4. Leicestercitystar

    We only have one office and although we sell more houses and instruct more than Purplebricks in the town, they are a competitive outfit. The problem people making a lot of people on property industry I as well is my spend so much time worrying about or talking about Purplebricks and when you do that the rest of your competition will sneak up behind you.

    I completely disagree with the comment Rob that purplebricks don’t have any skill level. As a company yes they are an Internet listing company and do not have the same care and attention generally UK wide the two people that we come up against a regular basis or both Ex William H Brown and Connells branch managers who now ply their trade at PB. They both certainly have a huge skill level and although I don’t rate PB I do rate them as individuals.

    There are 12 estate agent branches in my town and PB as well as Strike and exp and KW. There are more and more small self-employed agents popping up it seems each week and they are a bigger concern than PB.

    My advice is don’t listen to the outside noise just concentrate on what you can do. Worrying about or criticising other agents will take your focus away and you’ll never perform at your best.

    Have a great day everyone

     

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    1. Robert_May

      I didn’t say they don’t have any skill but internet listing is not  full service duty of care and skill estate agency as defined by case law precedent. It is not possible to  have enough #local knowledge and enough applicant awareness to provide duty of care and skill  if one is reacting to portal enquiries.  As soon as an agent loses sight of an applicant register of people  specifically looking in a given area they are immediately robbed of fulfilling  an agents duties to their clients.

      Ex-managers might be very good at what they do but unless they find a way of having agent awareness of every nest they’re attempting to cover they will not be able to compete with the people who replaced them at  WH Brown and Connells- the numbers show that even if their replacements are duffers they are  winning more instructions and selling more homes

      PB  9th in  Leicester (LE1) behind WH Brown,  James Sellick, Haart, Connells, Spencers, Set to Let, Barkers and Belvoir

      Strike are 19th

       

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  5. Woodentop

    League tables like this are misleading and damaging to the industry. Comparing apples with pears. Nonsense table and servers no purpose but to bolster miss selling of share/values?

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  6. AJL20

    Reading the opening paragraph again, it seems that the are market leaders ‘by growth’. The claim is more than a little misleading because they appear to be saying that they’ve been instructed on more properties during Q1 this year than Q1 last year, and the margin by which those instructions have increased is greater than that of any other agent.

    Ergo, if my office had taken on 1 property during Q1 2021, but 2 properties in Q1 2022, I would have seen a 100% increase for the same period. Compelling, eh?

     

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    1. Woodentop

      League tables should be by towns/local areas. That sorts them out, after all it is relevant to the consumer in that market place who isn’t interested in stock 10 miles away let alone hundreds and should stop the misrepresentation of their market ability with apples and pears.
       
      In my area and many other agent’s PB are a non-event agent.

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  7. AJL20

    @Woodentop I agree entirely. My point was that claims of growth/increased business from one quarter to the next  is not evidence of ‘market share’ as claimed.

    Market share is an oft-misused statistic anyway, certainly where I operate. One agent in particular claims that having more stock for sale demonstrates a greater market share. It doesn’t demonstrate success. If anything, they are market leaders in unsold properties – hardly a boast-worthy statistic.

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  8. Gangsta Agent

    There Are Statistics and Then There Are Statistics

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