A yet-to-launch estate agency comparison site is nearing its crowdfunding target of £50,000.
Invite Agents, which is crowdfunding on crowdcube, had, as of yesterday afternoon, raised £41,570 from 63 investors.
The website will directly connect homeowners with agents to compare personalised quotations and valuations based on specific properties.
It says this approach is different from other agent comparison sites which only present typical commission fees.
The service will be free for consumers and agents will pay a 'transparent' subscription fee to access new clients using the platform.
It has been tested this year by several agents in the Bristol area, including Hunters, Andrews and Ocean.
The platform says it will be using the investment to further develop its offering and launch across Bristol, before a planned national expansion in 2021.
Invite Agents is being launched by Stephen Berridge, a chartered surveyor, property developer and landlord.
Berrdige said he spotted a 'gap in the market' as he still found the process of approaching agents for fee quotations 'antiquated' and 'a little unnerving' despite his industry experience.
You can see Invite Agents' crowdcube pitch, along with its investor video, here.
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Why would an agent want to get involved in an online beauty parade presumably revealing all unique selling points to competitors by doing so?
The last 20 years in agency has seen companies with a similar model come and go. I wouldn't invest therefore.
I remember attending a property exhibition in Olympia as an agent in the nineties and seeing some bloke dressed as a giant fish walking about advertising a property listing site called Fish for homes. I wonder what happened to him?
Buy cheap, buy twice
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