Purplebricks expands US presence to Las Vegas and Phoenix

From next Tuesday, Las Vegas and Phoenix residents will be able to list their homes with Purplebricks for a flat fee of $3,600 and, upon closing, pay the buyer's agent commission, which is standard in US real estate transactions. Homeownrs selling a $261,000 home would save $4,230 using Purplebricks, compared to paying the standard real estate brokerage commission of 5% to 6%.

Purplebricks pointed out that both Las Vegas and Phoenix are fast-growing cities with buoyant real estate markets, with around 61,000 and 143,000 annual property transactions respectively to February 2018 and average property prices of $290,000.

To oversee its operations in Vegas and Phoenix, the company has named local real estate agent Marcus Fleming, who has a decade of experience, as regional director. He will report to the group’s US chief executive Eric Eckardt.

Purplebricks announced last September that it was entering the US market. It started off in Los Angeles, with subsequent roll-outs into San Diego, Sacramento, Fresno and the New York designated market area.

Chief executive Michael Bruce said: "The Purplebricks model has continued to achieve great results on both coasts by providing excellent service and saving home sellers in California, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York thousands of dollars.

"We see tremendous opportunity in Las Vegas and Phoenix, as both markets have ideal demographics comprised of consumers eager to buy and sell homes while saving money."

At 1300 BST, the shares were up 2.8% to 366.40p.