Realestate.co.nz hits out at Trade Me fee cut

Trade Me had been embroiled in a standoff with agents who did not like its new per-listing fee structure.

It announced this week that it would offer monthly subscriptions that will cost $1399 per month in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch and $999 elsewhere.

It comes after some agents boycotted Trade Me’s move to a $159 pay-per-listing charge last year. Businesses which stick with the pay-per-listing model will pay $99 if the house is less than $450,000.
Trade Me is believed to have lost market share since it introduced the new fee structure.

Realestate.co.nz’s chief executive Brendon Skipper said his site had 20% more listings than its rival and visitor numbers had grown more than 50% in the past year.

He said it would continue to offer a subscription rate for agents that was about a quarter of Trade Me’s new rates and was not expected to be affected by “desperate fee cutting” from Trade Me.

“We are committed to keeping down marketing costs for home vendors, and we will continue to maintain our low all-you-can-eat monthly subscription price at just $300 +gst for large real estate agencies, and $225 +gst for smaller agencies,” Skipper said.

 “Realestate.co.nz has now proven its significant strength as the official real estate industry website. We are visited by genuine buyers, and we are going continue to grow even stronger in the market over the coming months.”