It's interesting to see that there's not much interest or comment on this offer.
Granted, the business model is simple and there are 4-6 competitors that provide a similar service. The private listing market is still in its infancy in Australian when compare to the US/Canada. I think this provides substantial scope for growth of this industry.
BuyMyPlace will be well positioned after the listing to take advantage of growth in this segment. How many of their competitors will have a marketing budget of $2m? I am betting their competitive advantage will be their brand and mainstream advertising could turn the brand into a household name like, like Webjet, Carsales etc. Just the IPO itself well increase awareness of the brand.
I believe the demographic that will drive this sector is the Baby Boomers and War/Builders generations. These generations are becoming more comfortable with using technology with their financial affairs as banking institutions phase out more traditional banking methods and the realeaste advertising industry moves to predominately online presence.
Over the next few years, these generations are going to be looking to downsize their homes. Let's face it - the traditional realesate industry has not got a stellar reputation. I think everyone has negative realestate story, or knows someone with a negative story. The commission model is dead. The financial planning industry has phased commissions out (with exceptions to certain situations). No longer do people consider it fair or appropriate to charge service based on transaction value. Does it really take double the work to sell a $500k house versus a $1m house. Is it appropriate to receive $25k (in addition to advertising costs!) in commission for selling something?
My thoughts only, DYOR , general advice warning - not tailored to your situation, read to the PDS etc etc..
