200 Square, New Zealand’s first online real estate agency, is celebrating reaching 100 unconditional sales, several of which were in Kāpiti.
Over the past two years 200 Square has sold over $38 million worth of residential property in Kāpiti and throughout New Zealand charging homeowners a flat commission rate of $4,500 per property compared to an industry norm of $20,000.
Grant Wakelin, 200 Square CEO, says their business model has saved Kiwis hundreds of thousands of dollars in commission since launching in July 2011 and demand for their services is growing.
“We’re up against some big players in the real estate industry but we’re selling property every week – proving that the model works and that New Zealanders want an alternative to more expensive traditional real estate agents,” he says. “100 unconditional sales is a nice benchmark and an important validation of the business model we’ve implemented.”
At the end of June 200 Square ran their first GrabOne deal, offering $1,000 off the $4,500 fixed commission rate for just $49. On 24 July 200 Square’s 100th sale took place in Karori, Wellington and was sold unconditionally just 16 days after listing. The owner had purchased the GrabOne offer and used the deal to list their property.
The deal was put together with GrabOne Business Development Manager, Sarah-Kate Irvin, whose grandparents sold their home using 200 Square. She said the 200 Square deal was incredibly appealing to Kiwis looking to sell their homes but also demonstrated the broad range of industries working closely with GrabOne to promote their services.
“The unique real estate proposition from 200 Square was an incredibly compelling offer for Grabbies and to be honest, the results exceeded both of our expectations,” she said. “It’s always great to hear our merchants having success after running a GrabOne deal and also demonstrates that we’re offering so much variety alongside popular restaurant, beauty, attraction and travel deals.”
Wakelin said “It’s our vision to have a completely digital real estate market in New Zealand within the next five years so it makes sense for us to partner with a digital business like GrabOne to get the word out about what we’re doing.”
Real estate commentator and blogger Alistair Helm says the internet has changed many industries however real estate seems to steadfastly refuse to benefit from the new efficiency inherent in the digital environment in which we operate.
“It’s great to see a new model challenge the incumbents. When the vast majority of property searching and research is done online why shouldn’t the entire process be online. 200 Square have taken the best of real estate service – professional licensed agents and smart marketing and packaged it up without the excesses of the old model to create a game changing proposition for all property sellers. This company is quietly reinventing the industry – mark my words!”
What is 200 Square?
200 Square is driving fundamental change to the way real estate is sold in New Zealand by charging a flat commission rate of $4,500. The set rate saves the average New Zealand home seller over $15,000 in traditional agent commissions. Properties are listed for sale on the major Real Estate websites automatically, and sophisticated online tools allow buyers, sellers, and agents to communicate and coordinate the sale using the latest technology.
Visit www.200square.co.nz for more information.
