Purple Bricks – Reviews and Complete Guide

How Does Purple Bricks Work?

Operating UK-wide, Purple Bricks is a very well-known agency. With no “shop fronts” to speak of, the company sells property purely via its online platform, with “Local property experts” acting as on-the-ground estate agents.

The company’s site operates similarly to Rightmove and Zoopla. Users search by location, filter by property type and sort by date. You can also narrow the search down to focus on lower or higher value properties.

However, instead of acting as a third party platform – displaying properties up for sale via other online or high street estate agents – Purple Bricks only lists its own properties.

As a home buying company, we frequently receive enquiries from sellers who already have their properties advertised with Purplebricks.

As well as the attraction of their free basic plan, Purplebricks have invested heavily in marketing in the past.  Despite recent controversies, they remain a household name for many.

Average Sale Time

It is not clear how long Purple Bricks takes to sell when compared with estate agencies.

In 2023, the organisation publicised that they were able to sell “10 days faster” than competitors. However, Property Industry Eye has since pointed out that the data used was gathered during a market boom.

It is worth noting, however, that if Purple Bricks do not sell after ten months, they will continue to market the property for you until it is sold (i.e. completed).

You will still be required to pay their set fee, but they will continue to provide their services at no additional cost. We would highly recommend reading the small print and confirming this with their agents before moving forward.

Our speed of house sale tool shows how long properties take to complete in England and Wales, from listing to displayed as “sold” on HM Land Registry.

The Purple Bricks Property Selling Process

1. To begin selling via Purple Bricks, you as the homeowner must first arrange a valuation with the company;
2. A Purple Bricks property expert will then send through a free valuation, explaining how much they feel your home is worth in the current property market;
3. You can then instruct Purplebricks to place the property on the market. Any inherent costs will depend on your chosen package;
4. The company will then visit your home to take pictures (if requested) and then set up your property listing. This may include floorplans and a description;
5. As and when buyers express interest in the property, you can choose whether to manage visits on your own or request accompanied viewings with Purple Bricks. You can also access in-person and virtual viewings;
6. Once you have accepted an offer, the company’s Post-Sales support team will assist you with all the necessary processes.

Purple Bricks’ Conveyancing Service

Purple Bricks does not include conveyancing in its fees. However, they do have their own selected conveyancing specialists that they encourage clients to use.

If you choose to instruct your own solicitor, you will not be eligible for the online estate agents’ Pay Later with Conveyancing service. You may also incur a service charge.

Be aware that estate agency sales are often slow relative to using a sell house fast company, traditional auctioneer or modern method auction company.

Purple Bricks’ Property Valuation Process

It’s very common to see overpriced properties marketed under the Purplebricks banner. Much often comes down to local experts making speculative valuations in to win business.

This can sometimes work in your favour – particularly in a strong (or “sellers”) market. However, unrealistically priced houses often end up staying on the market for longer than they should.

Before listing your house with Purple Bricks, it’s worth undertaking some detailed research yourself.

Check out our guide on how to value your house for FREE, using HM Land Registry sold price data.

Remember, you decide what asking price you should list your home for – a decision that should be made on the back of checking the real facts.

Purplebricks Fees

Previously, the company charged £2,999 in the Greater London area – and only slightly less for other regions.

The organisation formerly offered two plans named “Classic” and “Pro” – with the first charging the amounts mentioned above, and the section (which included viewings and a range of other provisions) – setting Greater London customers back £3,999.

However, following a change in leadership and significant price revisions in 2023, Purplebricks launched a free basic plan.

Under the new arrangement, sellers can also opt for a paid “Boost” package for £899 – which includes photographs, a floorplan and a premium Rightmove listing, or a “Full House” package for £1,499 – through which Purplebricks will provide mortgage advice as well as managing and hosting all viewings.

As before, there are optional extras available for all packages – including an Energy Performance Certificate (for £119), elevated photography (for £99), drone photography (for £199) or digital enhanced photos, a floorplan and a 360 visual tour for your property advert (£699).

Hosted viewings will set Purplebricks property sellers back £899, while an additional price of £599 covers inclusion on the Rightmove UK website, with the cost of a “premium” listing requiring payment of £125 and “featured” properties charged at £149.

Purplebricks Costs vs. High Street Estate Agents

One of Purple Bricks’ main selling points is their clients’ cost savings when using their services.

Relative to high street estate agents in certain parts of the UK, the difference is not massive.  However, in London and the south, the savings are notable.

It’s important to note that if the house doesn’t sell, Purple Bricks will keep the fee. This means that if change your mind or you can no longer sell, you cannot claim anything back. Also, with traditional estate agents, there are no limits or costs for viewings.

It’s worth noting that most other online estate agents (excluding ourselves) adopt a similar pricing model to Purple Bricks.

Purple Bricks Houses for Sale

The Purplebricks Property Search page is the main place to find properties.

Here you can enter the town, city or postcode as well as the radius, property type, minimum/maximum prices and bedroom numbers.

It’s also worth selecting the “Show Sold Subject to Contract (SSTC)” button – particularly as a means to check local house prices. We always recommend using Land Registry data to confirm results.

Purplebricks also advertise houses and flats on major property portals like Rightmove, Zoopla and On the Market. There, you’ll also see a wider range of property types for sale through other online agencies and high street operators.

Purplebricks Reviews

Purple Bricks claims to be the “most reviewed estate agent ever”. Indeed, it has a huge number of writeups on its Trustpilot page.

Positive reviews make up the majority of the company’s feedback on this platform. 83% of users rated Purple Bricks 5 stars, while 7% rated the company 4 stars.

3-star and 2-star reviews each make up just 1% of the total feedback, while 1-star reviews constitute 8%.

This gives Purple Bricks an overall rating of 3.9 stars. Its score has fallen somewhat (from 4.4 stars) since we last examined these figures in 2022, but it remains a very thoroughly-reviewed estate agent.

There are currently 86% fewer reviews of the organisation on Feefo – 18,441 in total. However, the feedback provided is generally more positive. In the past year alone, the company has received 1,432 service ratings on the platform, with 909 5-star reviews, 223 4-star, 54 3-star, 69 2-star and 167 1-star ratings.

Purple Brick’s average rating on Feefo is 4.2 stars.

It is worth noting, however, there aren’t such glowing reviews on Reviews.io and allAgents – the specialist estate agents review site. On these platforms, the company has received an overall rating of 1.3 stars and 1.2 stars from 572 and 491 reviews respectively. There are also very few Purplebricks property buyer reviews across the board.

What’s more, allAgents users have given Purplebricks scores of 39% for sales valuation accuracy and 46% for lettings valuation accuracy – along with just 22% lettings fee satisfaction and 22% for sales fee satisfaction.

Purple Bricks Review on Watchdog

Notably, Purple Bricks featured in an episode of the BBC TV show “Watchdog” back in 2017 where their “local property experts” received criticism for not being “local” at all. One case study revealed that a particular “expert” in fact lived 30 miles away from the location in question.

Due to this, and because it is such a large organisation, Purple Bricks will not have the same local expertise as their high street counterparts, nor is it likely to offer that personal touch.

The watchdog episode also explored issues of false advertising by the company. Indeed, the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has banned many of the statements made by Purple Bricks in the past.

At the time, Purple Bricks’ deferred fee service was also considered to be misleading. The programme commented that it was not initially made clear that, in order to qualify, the seller must use Purple Bricks’ own conveyancing service.

The service also constituted a loan arrangement with an external financial services company, which was also not initially sufficiently clarified.

Purple Bricks – Positives and Negatives

The Positives

Good Reviews on Some Platforms

As mentioned above, the organisation has received very few negative reviews across Trust Pilot and Feefo. This suggests excellent customer service and a well-honed system.

Established and Regulated

Purple Bricks is a highly recognisable brand, regulated by The Property Ombudsman (TPOS) and the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) as well as being a member of Propertymark.

This means that your interactions with this online estate agent will be secure and protected.

Comparatively Affordable

Certain elements, such as a Purple Bricks for sale board, are included in the price of the company’s service.

The company also conducts a full marketing review of your house every 28 days. This ensures that they can actively promote it in the most effective manner.

Despite the upfront (or deferred) costs, Purple Bricks’ property selling services are by and large cheaper than those of standard high street estate agents.

The Negatives

Lack of Clarity

Many of the costs inherent in using Purple Bricks as your estate agent are not made clear on their site – or indeed anywhere online. The situation regarding conveyancing fees is particularly murky.

It’s also hard to clarify just how long they are likely to take when selling your house.

Poor Reviews on Certain Sites

One interesting question is how Purplebricks reviews can be so positive on one platform and so negative on another. The difference between reviews across Trustpilot and Feefo vs Reviews.io and allAgents are clearly significant.

Lack of Knowledge of Your Local Area

So how does Purplebricks compare to using traditional estate agents?

While on paper, the services of a Purple Bricks “local property expert” sounds like a great resource.  It can ensure, for instance, that the organisation can keep up with trends and understand property sales in each neighbourhood.

However, it has been proven that this approach is not always effective – particularly given the lack of real industry experience of many of the staff.

There are More Affordable Options

Purplebricks does not offer “no sale no fee”. There are far cheaper house selling options out there, including other online estate agents and fast home buying companies that can buy your property faster, without charging you a penny!

In Conclusion

While Purple Bricks is a successful estate agent in many respects, its track record is not without controversy – from “local property experts” operating 30 – 40 miles outside of the relevant neighbourhood, to claims of false advertising, legal action and major problems with their associated conveyancing specialists.

As a result, we believe that Purple Bricks online estate agents may be a suitable choice for certain seller types – but not all.

If you are seeking a property specialist with good local knowledge, we would suggest using a local or online estate agency with a proven track record. If you wish to sell your property fast, with no agency or conveyancing service fees, opt for a trusted fast home buying service.