Zoopla has launched a review into its editorial processes after agents criticised a consumer guide published by the portal that encouraged sellers to “get a fee as close to 1% as you can.”
The portal was chastised on social media for encouraging sellers to push for low fees from agents while also charging them for listings.
An article on agency fees and choosing an agent, that is linked to within Zoopla’s guide to selling, said: “If you’ve opted for a sole agency, try to get a fee that is as close to 1% as you can.”
It also suggested an agent may be prepared to accept a lower fee on higher value properties and those trying to build a customer base or smaller independents may be more willing to negotiate.
Industry veteran Bryan Mansell said: “Firstly, a good fee is directly linked to getting the best price and service from an agent.
“Secondly, the strategy from Zoopla to provide a service to their paying customers ( #estateagents ) is clearly misaligned.
“Let's charge them for their stock, then screw them on their fees.”
A LinkedIn post highlighting the contentious paragraph received many unhappy comments from agents and Zoopla’s chief marketing officer Gary Bramall said in a response: “I agree that this missed the mark and doesn’t reflect the service and value agents provide.
“I’d like to apologise for this and reassure you (and all others who have commented and read the post) that agents very much remain valued partners to us at Zoopla.”
The portal has since told Estate Agent Today that its editorial processes will be reviewed.
A spokesperson said: “We’re reviewing our internal editorial processes to ensure that everything we publish goes through an extra layer of checks and we'll be paying particularly close attention to all of our consumer-facing articles, to make sure that they fairly represent our valued agent customers.”
The section on agency fees has also since been revised.
It now states:
When you're looking for an estate agent, you might want to choose someone who:
• can see all the best things about your home, just like you can
• has plenty of experience when it comes to marketing homes like yours
• knows your area inside out, and can highlight all its best bits to potential buyers.
When you're doing your research on estate agents, be sure to:
• check out their existing listings on Zoopla to get a sense of their writing style, photography and videos
• keep an eye out for 'For sale' signs in your area to see which agents have a strong local presence
• look at reviews on Google or their website to see what other sellers say about them.
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How about "You might want to choose someone you can trust - someone that is transparent and values what you value."?
Talk about stabbing your customer in the back! Zoopla is the main portal in our area, we need it. I pay over £900 a month for zoopla and only £320ish a month for On the Market which in fairness offers so much more.
As your paying customer zoopla, any tips on how to get a cheaper fee with you? Or shall we just join cheaper portals that offer more for the money instead?
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