NEW TO THE MARKET
Two Gold Coast entrepreneurs are hoping to shake up the property game with a new Tripadvisor-like platform for reviewing real estate agents
TWO Gold Coast entrepreneurs looking to launch a Tripadvisor-like platform for real estate agents say the industry must open up to negative feedback as a way to address poor service.
Gold Coast property heavyweights including Andrew Bell, head of Ray White Surfers Paradise Group, and Harcourts Coastal managing director Dane Atherton say they support anything that enhances transparency in the industry.
Jordan Hrovat and Jack Murphy have developed startup rating platform Nestler, which they say will be an open forum for criticism of real estate professionals unlike industry giant RateMyAgent (RMA).
RMA has been enormously successful since it was launched three years ago with 150,000 reviews lodged in the past 12 months.
However the site rates 97 per cent of Queensland-based agents as 4.5 star or above.
Mr Hrovat said that was largely because the reviews were on an invitation-only basis, meaning the agent had to invite the homebuyer or seller to submit a review.
“As a consumer you want to go on a site and get an accurate depiction of the service, so if you’re hiring a five-star agent, you want to see five-star service,” Mr Hrovat said. “A rating review platform does not have much credibility if it is invite only. If you’ve had a negative experience, it is unlikely the agent will ask you to share it.”
Mr Hrovat said Nestler – which will initially be a rating platform for tenants, property managers and investors – will provide an open system for consumers to leave reviews. The system will be protected from abuse through measures that include the requirement to provide supporting documentation if a review’s authenticity is challenged by the agent.
Gold Coast independent agent Kylie McGufficke said RMA’s system was “farcical”.
“You choose the people that will give you a great review,” she said. “I‘ve heard of agents giving clients a bottle of champagne in exchange for a fivestar review.”
Mr Atherton defended the RMA invitation-only system, saying agents needed to be sure the platform would not be manipulated by people leaving “frivolous or unsubstantiated comments from someone who missed out on buying a house”.
“Rate My Agent does a great job of stopping that.”
However, Mr Atherton said technology platforms were always evolving and finding ways to improve experiences.
“We would support anything that allows consumers to do their research. Any self-respecting agency that does a great job would be silly not to.”
Mr Bell said Ray White welcomed customer feedback and had a Net Promoter Score which measured customer experiences and their willingness to recommend Ray White services or staff.
“We would welcome any
WE WOULD WELCOME ANY SYSTEM THAT IMPROVES TRANSPARENCY FOR THE INDUSTRY RAY WHITE BOSS ANDREW BELL
system that improves transparency for the industry,” he said.
“Ray White Surfers Paradise Group has always placed a very heavy emphasis on accountability for our clients.”
RMA CEO and co-founder Mark Armstrong said the company was opening up the rating system beyond its invitationonly structure.
“The reason why it is inviteonly is because when we started it was open slather and we had no idea who was posting the reviews and the agent had no idea either,” he said.
“Some of the reviews were disgusting, just full-on attacks on the agents.”
Mr Armstrong said RMA this year would open up the website to all reviewers, as long as they were either the buyer or seller involved in a transaction. RMA would also introduce a score for agents based on the number of properties sold and the amount of positive reviews.