Zoopla.co.uk launches new live online property auctions in UK

- Transformational marketing and revenue opportunity for UK estate agents -

Zoopla.co.uk, the leading property website, has today launched the UK's most comprehensive live online property auction platform for buying and selling residential property, in partnership with Real Estate Disposition Corporation (REDC), the world's leading property auction firm.

The first online auction of approximately 150 homes will begin on February 11, ending on February 14. Thereafter live online auctions will take place regularly running four days at a time from Thursday afternoons to Sunday evenings when the auction closes and contracts are exchanged with the successful bidder.

Initially focused on repossessed properties, the service will also shortly be available to estate agents across the UK, providing them a new, fast and effective additional route to market for any of their property listings. Zoopla.co.uk will not charge its member agents anything for listing properties in its auctions and in addition to receiving their standard commission from the seller when the property is sold through the online auctions, agents will benefit from a further 0.25% of the purchase price as a referral fee which will be paid by Zoopla.co.uk.

The service will allow agents who advertise on Zoopla.co.uk to add any properties they choose into the new auction service, whilst continuing to market them and offer them for sale in the normal way. Properties may be added to the auction service up to 30 days prior to the auction commencing, during which period prospective buyers can arrange viewings via the agent and carry out due-diligence. Over the coming weeks, automated functionality will be introduced to allow Zoopla.co.uk member agents to seamlessly opt any of their properties into the auctions.

The innovative online auction platform, offered by Zoopla.co.uk, will provide agents with the ability to offer vendors a unique, additional route to market, which should result in maximising the sale price achieved and reducing the time on market, along with providing agents the opportunity to boost their commissions by approximately £500 per average transaction.

Agents and vendors will agree a reserve price before the property is entered into the online auction and successful bids will be binding on the buyer. Only properties represented by estate agents, lenders and developers will be permitted on the auction platform located at Zoopla.co.uk/auctions. Private sellers will not be able to participate.

Alex Chesterman, CEO of Zoopla.co.uk commented: "We see live online bidding as the future of property auctions and our innovative offering as one of the most exciting developments for estate agents in the UK for years. We are delighted to be partnering with REDC, the world's leading player in property auctions, and their expertise in online property auctions combined with the Zoopla.co.uk audience creates a unique and transformational opportunity for our agent members to maximise the price achieved, reduce the time on market and significantly increase their fee potential."

Greg Spiro, Executive Vice President International Division of REDC, added: "We are very excited to partner with Zoopla.co.uk, the UK's most innovative and fastest growing property website, to make live online property auctions a reality in the UK. We currently successfully sell approximately 1,000 homes, worth over £50 million each month via our online auctions in the US and we are looking to create the largest online property marketplace in the UK for buyers and sellers to transact openly and transparently."

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For further information, please contact PR Team on [email protected] or +44 (0)20 3873 8770.

Notes to editors

About REDC

Since its launch in 1990, REDC has helped tens of thousands of families and individuals purchase homes at affordable prices through its unique auction process, establishing the company as the global leader in real estate auction marketing. Since 2007, the company has sold more than £4 billion worth of property and in 2008 alone, auctioned 32,800 homes for more than £2 billion.

REDC's real estate auctions have gained tremendous appeal and popularity among buyers and sellers, even in today's difficult economic housing environment. In fact, thanks to REDC, the auction industry now plays a major role in property sales. REDC is a fully licensed real estate auctioneer, which has its headquarters in Irvine, California and offices in Dallas, New York and London.

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Hello. We're Zoopla. A property website and app.

We know you're not just looking for a place to live. You're looking for a home.

Yeah, we've got over a million properties for you to browse.

Tools that let you filter them in all kinds of clever ways.

And reliable house price estimates, so you can be sure you aren't paying over the odds.

But we know you're looking for more than that.

Because that first flat won't just be a 'great investment opportunity'.

It'll be the feeling of starting out on your own.

That extra bedroom won't just mean another £20K on the re-sale price, it'll mean having your sister over to stay.

And that bungalow won't just be a way to release some equity, it will be a chance to spend more time with the grandkids.

We know that searching for a home is about more than just checking its price, location and features (important as all those things are).

What really matters is how it makes you feel.

We know what a home is really worth.

So let us help you find yours.

Zoopla is part of Zoopla Limited which was founded in 2007.

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