A fast growing Newcastle auction company is celebrating after announcing a major partnership with 海角视频 property giant Zoopla.
iamsold was formed by two-man team Jamie Cooke and Ben Ridgway in a Heaton front room 11 years ago, after the pair sought to fill a gap in the market for an online property auction company that could bring benefits to estate agents and buyers.
The entrepreneurs have since grown the business – which now forms part of a wider iamproperty Group – into the 海角视频’s largest property auctioneer with a 60% market share, turning over more than £19m in most recent accounts and employing more than 200 people at its Gosforth offices.
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Now the firm, which provides estate agents across the 海角视频 and Ireland with outsourced auction management services, has launched a partnership with Zoopla which will help agents expand their services and commercial opportunities by selling properties through its online auction system, called the ‘modern method of auction’.
The two firms said the partnership will also educate homemovers about the benefits of buying and selling properties at auction, which currently accounts for only 2% of property transactions.
The iamsold directors said auctions result in high completion rates compared to traditional sales, 25% of which fall through, and that its auction method has a range of benefits, including the fact that buyers can use a mortgage to fund their purchase, buyers and sellers are pre-vetted to ensure a higher completion rate and agents benefit from guaranteed, sizeable commissions.
Jamie Cooke, managing director of iamsold, added: “We founded iamsold to offer an effective solution for vendors needing to buy or sell properties quickly and securely, and during the last 10 years have grown a strong network of over 2,500 estate agent branches.
“The future of auction is online which is something we have pioneered, so it’s incredible to see this recognised by Zoopla as they expand into this territory with our partnership.
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“Although the modern method of auction has many benefits, it’s little known amongst the public, with just over a quarter of 海角视频 homeowners who we surveyed recently aware of it.
“However, in the current climate there is a sudden need to move for many due to unexpected lifestyle changes. Millions of homemovers visit Zoopla each week and with this partnership we hope to make auction a mainstream way of moving and arm more agents with this solution to go to their clients with.”
Andrew Marshall, Zoopla’s chief commercial officer, said: “Our mission at Zoopla is to be the agents’ champion and by partnering with iamsold we believe we are doing just that. Our research shows property auctions are misunderstood by many agents and consumers alike but we are confident that in iamsold we have a partner that can help us bring auctions to a whole new generation of homebuyers who might have only ever seen them on TV.
“The benefits of selling at auction for agents are clear. Faster sales, higher completion rates leading to an increased rate of return. It’s also a great way to bring to the fore properties that might have previously struggled to get the attention they deserve. We firmly believe that all of this, combined with Zoopla’s reach and recognition, will be a winning combination for agents in the months and years ahead.”
The iamproperty Group now includes services to estate agents including auction, conveyancing, compliance and moving services and the iamproperty company has completed over 16,500 residential property sales since its inception and has a nationwide network of over 2,500 estate agency branches offering online auctions.