Johannesburg, October 2017 – A cheeky new ad campaign has the outdated real estate agency model firmly in its sights. Launched by Leadhome, a disruptive player in the property space, the campaign uses exaggerated humour to point out that the way we buy and sell houses is in desperate need of a shake-up.
Comprising outdoor, digital, radio, and print elements, the campaign illustrates how unfair it is that the commission from selling your house pays for your estate agent’s skiing holiday or the agency’s fancy new headquarters.
While the campaign relies heavily on hyperbole, its overall points are grounded in reality. Traditional estate agents charge on average 5-8% commission fees for the sale of a property. There are many reasons why the cost is so high. Traditional agencies have built-in and costly inefficiencies such as expensive office locations, large print marketing campaigns, and vehicle branding.
“We believe the traditional agency model places a large financial burden on the seller,” says Leadhome Chief Marketing Officer Romy Zwiers. “Furthermore, it ignores the fact that most people buy their homes online today, rarely-if-ever – visiting an estate agent’s offices”.
And even if a home-seller uses an agent, there’s no guarantee that they’ll be any help.
“Whether you sell a home in one day or one year, whether you take a few buyers or a hundred buyers, whether the agent sits on show many times or none at all, the commission is the same,” points out Leadhome.
The industry has had to realize that the current commission bases of remuneration for services rendered in the real estate industry, being “a one-size-fits-all” approach is no longer acceptable to the man in the street.
The solution to this outmoded way of doing business? Leadhome.
Combining the best in technology and real estate agents to simplify the selling journey, Leadhome can pass significant savings on to the people selling their homes.
That’s because it doesn’t charge a percentage-based commission. Instead, it charges just R29,995 + Vat to sell a property, irrespective of its value. Additionally, sellers only pay once the transfer has gone through.
While the campaign is certain to get tongues wagging, Zwiers is hopeful that it will be taken in the intended spirit.
“We know that there are plenty of hard-working estate agents out there, who deserve every Rand that comes their way,” she says, “we’re betting that they’ll find the ads just as funny as everyone else”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkVyFlfeFmE
Leadhome is a modern estate agency combining the best people and technology – enabling clients to achieve the optimal result when selling their property.