So easyProperty is now a thing. At least it will be when it launches on September 15th.
What does this mean for the lettings industry? Extra charges if a tenant’s furniture is over 32kg and cheap letting fees followed by charges for the pens, ink, and each sheet of paper in your contract. Okay so joking about this is pretty easy but on a serious note – what happens next?
Robert Ellice, CEO of easyProperty, says they will “bridge the gap between what estate agents currently offer and what consumers want; a transparent, convenient and cost effective service that gives them complete control.”
Wow – what a claim, guaranteed to rile just about everyone already working in the business. In that one sentence he’s attacked every single agent currently in operation by claiming they don’t offer any of their customers what they want. So it seems pretty clear easyProperty aren’t looking to make friends with the industry – they’re following their easyJet model and promising tenants drastically cheaper services.
It hasn’t escaped our attention here either that the timing of this launch couldn’t be more planned – in the midst of a fierce agency fees debate, it seems easyProperty are about to offer exactly what the consumers want, right when they want it.
So now we’re thinking, isn’t that just good business?
We work with agents everyday here at InventoryBase and our default reaction to easyProperty is to be protective of the smaller independent businesses we have great relationships with – let’s all hate the corporation swooping in to ruin everything. But what if they don’t?
What if they increase competition, make the industry more hungry for tenants. Force others in the game to improve by focusing on their own USP’s and going above and beyond when it comes to delivering an exceptional service.
That’s how a free market works, if easyProperty takes a large chunk of the market, isn’t that their right?
Swinging backwards and forwards on this I feel it will come down to who does it better – not cheaper.
Like the current revolution that’s happening in many other industries like food and clothing – the push for everything to be cheaper for the masses has allowed more and more artisan businesses to rise up and say ‘ this is my product, it’s fantastic, and I’ll give you exceptional customer service if you buy from me’. In these industries middle-of-the-road isn’t cutting it anymore and perhaps that’s exactly what the lettings industry needs too?
What do you think?