Fixed-fee real estate very much alive
With Purplebricks having recently departed the Australian marketplace, another fixed-fee model, Upside Realty is quietly making inroads by way of its successful recruitment drive to attract quality candidates in line with its growing national footprint.
These efforts have proven successful, with a number of highly experienced sales agents having already joined the unique market offering, which allows vendors to pay a fixed fee rather than a percentage of sale price when selling.
According to Upside’s HR team, new recruits – some with decades’ experience in the industry – have cited Upside’s cutting-edge technology, leading support systems and its internal culture, as among the strongest drawcards for their successful business strategy going forward.
The innovative disruptor is already active in many Australian states, including metro and regional VIC, NSW and ACT with recent expansions into Brisbane, the Gold Coast and NSW Southern Highlands in the last two months.
Upside’s offering differs from its competitors in that it allows agents autonomy, increases job satisfaction by cutting time spent on admin by 75 per cent and provides a pay structure that leaves most strong agents better off.
Victorian-based sales agent Robert Taleski was initially dubious about the model and its offering, after having viewed that of Purplebricks’ – a UK derived model – before concluding it was not one that would work for him.
Mr Taleksi is a leading agent in his area, with 46 sales under his belt for the 12-month period alone prior to joining Upside. He decided to join the forward-thinking organisation as he still inherently believes that a fixed fee model remains the way of the future for the industry.
Having started with Upside in March this year, Rob kicked off the new role with eight sales in his first three months and he isn’t slowing down.
“I was particularly drawn to the small business model Upside offers, not only are you no longer dealing with traditional franchise databases, which can at times be cumbersome and clunky for external use, but you are essentially set up to run your own office and business right from the very start,” he said.
“All head office and network support is remotely provided, along with a patented app that puts all the information you could ever need when out of the office, right at your fingertips in real time for any appraisal presentations and client meetings.”
Having worked in a traditional office for 10 years before joining Upside, he said that the Australian model has stronger prospects than Purplebricks in our domestic industry, which is continually changing to give homeowners a more fluid selling experience.
CEO and founder of Upside Realty Adam Rigby is also an entrepreneur who has accrued some 25 years founding successful businesses in the digital sector.
He says the core principle underpinning Upside’s offering is one that exists to benefit all parties involved in the sales process
“To that end, we are confident that more Australians will continue to sell their properties via Upside for a fairer price, while the proposition we developed to support this will continue to appeal to agents looking to join the next wave for property within a tech-minded global community,” he said.
