Pam Golding Property group acquires Eazi.com

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Says Dr Andrew Golding, chief executive of the Pam Golding Property group: "Naturally, we keep a close watch on global real estate industry trends and it seems that internationally, residential real estate sales industries and businesses are being reorganised across at least two different and separate types of business models and customer offerings in specific market segments.

“The first of these is the traditional high ‘touch’, high service, agent/client relationship model which is the cornerstone of the Pam Golding Property group and which will continue to be our core offering, but secondly, over the past two years, we have been following the advance of the online ‘hybrid’ estate agency model, which is a digital offering plus minimal agent ‘handholding’.”

Hybrid agency model

The hybrid agency model has a technology platform that enables buyers and sellers to conclude real estate transactions including: book valuations, change prices, arrange viewings, collect feedback, review marketing data, send messages, make offers and agree sales 24/7. This model uses technology to reduce costs and pass savings onto consumers in the form of lower, flat fees.

Dr Golding says, internationally, this model has started to gain traction and has specific applicability in the lower end of a number of key markets around the world where it is estimated that it has the potential to become a significant sales modus operandi in the future.

Giving consumers choice

“From a South African perspective, while in no way detracting from the personal and professional service and high agent involvement of our existing Pam Golding Properties offering, we believe this investment into Eazi.com broadens the group's access to the South African and African residential property sector by enabling us to take an interest in the high-volume segment of the market, which comprises over 100,000 transactions annually in South Africa alone. This is particularly relevant in the price segments between R500,000 and R2m, to which the Pam Golding Property group has traditionally had limited exposure to date.

“This is not a disintermediation or cannibalisation play but rather a recognition that in specific market segments it is possible to give consumers a choice between a low-cost, fixed fee, low agent involvement, technology-enabled online service or a traditional agent-enabled, high touch, personal service with all its inherent advantages.

“Eazi.com has a well thought through online, scalable platform and a sound business model that we are confident will add significant value to consumers in the South African and African real estate market.”

Models will co-exist

Eazi.com is a Cape Town-based, technology-enabled, fixed-fee service with call centre support which enables consumers to buy and sell residential property for a fixed fee of R29,500 plus VAT, which is only payable on sale of the property.

Adds Dr Golding: “While Eazi.com is currently focused in the Cape Town metropole, and will continue to be managed and branded separately from Pam Golding Properties, given the international trends in real estate, we are confident that the two models will co-exist successfully and enable us to expand the full service offering of the Pam Golding Property group locally, nationally and globally.”