MAIN IMAGE: Francesca Beebé, estate agent at Eazi Southern Suburbs, Ricardo Galant, estate agent at Eazi Northern Suburbs: Belhar & Eersteriver, and, Tanya Naicker, estate agent at Eazi Northern Suburbs: Kuils River
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“I was a traditional agent for 7 years and have been with Eazi since 2020. In my first years as an agent, I was required to generate the majority of my leads and conduct fieldwork by myself. I felt no financial stability, and it was a constant struggle, but I refused to give up. When I joined Eazi, it was a dream come true! I can honestly say that I have had more assistance with generating leads and have gained more experience in my 1st year with Eazi than in all my 7 years working as a traditional agent”, shares Ricardo Galant, estate agent at Eazi Northern Suburbs: Belhar & Eersteriver.
Different strokes for different folks as the saying goes, Galant is part of a growing group of estate agents who opt for an alternative method to selling homes – fixed fees, with a strong reliance on tech support. At present the two largest estate agencies offering this model in South Africa are Eazi and Leadhome.
We chatted to Eazi team members to understand how this model differs from the traditional.
Sellers appreciate transparent, fixed fees
“Eazi was founded to address some of the pain points of buyers and sellers in the real estate industry. The founders, including our CTO Grant Leigh, believed that the industry needed greater transparency and that innovation through technology would enable this to happen. The team also believed that a more affordable offering was possible and that a fixed fee enabled by technology would be the answer”, says Inge Prins, marketing manager at Eazi.
One of the biggest bugbears for sellers has long been negotiations and paying agents commissions. Launched in 2017, Eazi focuses on offering clients fixed fees and commissions through a set of 5 fee brackets, starting from R33 000, which is all-inclusive.
Over the last six years, the team has grown to 50, though currently only operating across the Cape Metro and surrounding Winelands. Listings and sales volumes have grown by more than 400% from 2018 to 2022, and there are plans to expand the Eazi offering to other parts of the country.
Prins shares that, apart from saving clients millions in variable commission fees, most Eazi sales take less than 24 days from listing to a signed offer and, on average, Eazi sells for over 96% of the listing price.
Galant shares that the fixed fee has made it easier for him to get sole mandates, while Francesca Beebé, estate agent at Eazi Southern Suburbs believes that the fee helps to save time, “Everyone knows exactly what will be charged. Traditionally an agent’s commission rate will be negotiated at the mandate stage and potentially again once an offer is signed”.
Using tech to improve the service offering
It’s more collaborative: The bespoke Eazi system is designed to allow team members to work collaboratively with everyone having access to information in real time. This allows the splitting of the roles of buying and selling a home into key components, with specialists handling various requirements and becoming experts in their fields.
Beebé shares “I can handle more mandates and still give the best possible service to my clients. The system and the team support me to do my best, and my administrative burden is substantially less. The system enables me to get on with my job and spend as much possible time with my clients”.
Everything is tracked and transparent: Sellers have 24/7 access to the online system and seller dashboard with the property information, showing any online views, buyer interest, feedback, and offers, etc. There is also an online bidding system where the offer amount and status are displayed on the listing, removing smoke and mirrors in terms of pending offers and creating urgency with buyers.
Beebé believes that “As an agent, we have everything at our fingertips to assist us with capitalising on every lead we generate and enabling us to optimise our time and our sales. I can view all the buyer leads for a chosen property at the click of a button, I can send statistics to the seller in a moment, and I can pull reports and ensure every single lead is followed up on, processed, and assisted without any falling through the cracks. A trail of communication is kept for every buyer and seller so that we can monitor the progress and service given.
“I have been in the real estate industry for more than 10 years – 5 of those working in a traditional role. Without a doubt, the best part about working with Eazi is the online system. The platform makes it that much easier to manage buyers, generate leads from online marketing, and ultimately close offers quickly and efficiently. Sellers also love the online system, as they can manage their listings. In general, securing mandates is also much easier as we have both our low fee and quick selling time as a drawcard for sellers”, says Tanya Naicker, estate agent at Eazi Northern Suburbs: Kuils River.
Generating leads and marketing: “Compared to more traditional agencies where agents are generating leads for themselves through a more direct marketing focus, our centralised hub can do both for our agents. Our technology system and marketing services are also quantifiable, making it easy for our clients to understand why our services are different and better.
Beebé explains “In my previous roles, I was responsible for every component of the listings and sales. So I was limited in terms of what I could take on, and it also made it difficult to ever take time for myself. With the team support, the system automation, reminders, and scheduling tools, it means that my listings and sales continue even when I am not working or busy with something else.
I am also not just dependent on referrals through my network or clients that I have one-on-one interaction with. Eazi’s marketing processes mean my activity and results are leveraged to generate new business on a larger scale”.
The industry is professionalising
Prins predicts that the industry is becoming more and more professional, with more requirements being stipulated by the PPRA, and more responsibility being placed on agents. “All in all, there are more regulatory requirements, and the administration and reporting requirements make it difficult for smaller or independent estate agents to operate because of the cost, skills, and time required. Clients are also becoming savvier, with access to information and property portals. Sellers and buyers have a greater understanding of the property market and can do their research online. Resulting in more questions being asked and agents being held accountable”.
