Purplebricks won't succeed in the Big Apple, says UK arm of US agency

A senior figure at the UK arm of American agency Keller Williams has suggested that Purplebricks won’t succeed in the New York market despite its highly-publicised expansion there this week.

Chris Buckler, director of technology at Keller Williams UK, says the US market, and in particular New York, is extremely competitive. 

“Service levels are very high and sellers will choose an agent they know personally or have been recommended by someone they trust. New Yorkers will want an agent who can get them the best deal, and that is unlikely to come from a fixed price budget option in a city where the average Manhattan property costs over $2m” he says.

In what sounds like a British volley in a war of words about the American market, Buckler continues: “Purplebricks will have to invest huge amounts to have any chance of cutting through in New York. Keller Williams is America’s largest real estate agent with over 160,000 agents in the US, and last year alone we invested over £30m in technology development. We expect that figure to increase again this year.”

Buckler says choice is good and that is offered by Purplebricks, but he insists “high quality service will always be the priority for US consumers, just as Keller Williams believes it is here in the UK. That is what sets Keller Williams apart and is the reason why we’re the number one agent in the US and now the world.”

Keller Williams is expanding in the UK and opened its third Market Centre in Glasgow this month, in addition to existing Market Centres in London and Leeds. 

Keller Williams also has over 1,000 real estate agents operating across New York City.