From the AFR:
“Broke” real estate agents are quitting British disrupter Purplebricks in droves as the fixed-fee agency’s low-margin, high-turnover business struggles to achieve enough sales amid a slowing Australian housing market.
Research by The Australian Financial Review found at least 27 agents had quit Purplebricks Australia since March with overall agent numbers now down to 88 from 105 reported by the company in October when it filed its British interim results.
Purplebricks territory owners (franchisees) and agents, who spoke to the Financial Review, said they were struggling to make a living and were preparing exit paths after the $100,000 to $180,000-a-year salaries they were told they could earn failed to materialise.
Minsky much? Its like the eager stockbrokers with a ticket to operate “qualification” at the height of the tech bubble. Clipping tickets is a hard business dontchano?
Paradoxically, the whole industry needs to be revised to a fixed fee based service, instead of relying upon ever increasing property values to fund the next 3 series BMW Lease.