The customers of PropertyPal.com have said that from midnight on Thursday, they will no longer add fresh listings for homes for sale to the popular website.
Around 50 estate agencies who claim to account for nearly 80% of the market have written a letter to PropertyPal setting out their position.
PropertyPal is a major advertising tool for agents who are selling homes in Northern Ireland, with agents charged a fee for the service.
It announced the fee changes in a letter to customers dated February 15, with the new charges to apply from Friday, March 1.
In the letter, which has been seen by the Belfast Telegraph, PropertyPal states that its new membership plan with a fixed monthly fee would ensure “value for money” and “cost stability”.
The fixed monthly fee covers property listings across all types, such as residential sales and lettings, new developments, commercial, land and agricultural.
One-off listing charges range from £50 for residential sales to £10 for agricultural and £25 for residential lettings.
Addressing directors of the business, the estate agents said: “We are united in our disappointment and dismay at what is being forced upon us.
“The changes have significant, detrimental implications for our individual businesses and our industry as a whole…
“Given the timescales dictated to us, our membership feels that we have no choice but to take drastic action.
“As such, we need to inform you of our collective intention to cease placing any new listings on the PropertyPal platform from midnight on Thursday, February 29 until further notice. We hope this demonstrates the depth of feeling amongst our members.
“We also hope that you will suspend the implementation of the membership scheme to allow the opportunity to meet, discuss and agree a way forward in partnership.”
One prominent estate agent, who did not wish to be named, said the listing per property would more than double from £18 to £50, while for customers on another type of structure, fees would go up by between 25 to 40%.
They said that with PropertyPal claiming a slightly bigger share of the market than rival Propertynews.com, a former sister business of the Belfast Telegraph, “they think they can dictate a price increase without justification”.
“No estate agents can afford a 40% increase, and everyone will go to the opposition unless they stop this,” the businessperson said.
“Consumers tend to go to PropertyPal as it’s more widely-known but we are the client, not the consumer who’s looking for a house. We pay for it.
“In the case of our agency, our fees would go up from £25,000 a year to £52,000 a year. These are dramatic increases in a cost-of-living crisis with high interest rates. Ultimately, we don’t want to be passing on a ridiculous price hike on through our own fees for sellers.
“The last thing we want to do is inflict pain for the seller, but somebody has to pay for it.”
PropertyPal said in a statement that the changes to its pricing structure were “aimed at delivering enhanced value and services to both estate agent partners and property seekers”.
It said that “after a three-year price freeze” it “still offers the best value for money of any portal in the UK & Ireland”. Errol Maxwell, chief executive officer at PropertyPal, added: “Our new membership plan allows estate agents to advertise all their properties for an average of £20 per listing and provides them with a powerful suite of new tools to support their business.
“We’re delighted that the majority of estate agents have embraced the change and recognise the significant value it brings to their partnership with us.”
PropertyPal was founded in 2007 by Errol Maxwell, still the chief executive of the business.
In 2010, UTV bought a share of the business, but sold its stake back to PropertyPal four years later. It said the business was “no longer core to UTV’s digital strategy”.
Rival Propertynews.com was founded in 2000 and acquired in 2006 by former Belfast Telegraph publisher Independent News & Media. INM was sold to Belgian company Mediahuis in 2019, with Mediahuis selling Propertynews.com to GCD Technologies two years later.
