Sello, a new hybrid real estate agency was launched by CEO and co-founder Macintosh, with David Murphy and Craig Hewett who are both founding investors. Macintosh held senior roles at Macquarie Bank overseeing real estate funds management, risk management, product development and project management. David Murphy runs his eponymous agency in Mosman. Tech entrepreneur Craig Hewett co-founded Wego.com, a leading online travel marketplace.
The service is available to owners of property in the greater Sydney region and the flat fee includes premium marketing.
“The Australian real estate market has remained low-tech and unchallenged for too long,” Macintosh said.
“Our objective was to design an intelligent online solution which delivers unprecedented control and visibility for property sellers – and Sello is the result.”
Like Purplebricks, Sello’s real estate agents charge a fixed fee of $7,550 to home sellers. The portal allows sellers to monitor the progress of their sales campaign via a web-based dashboard at any time. The agents will also work remotely and eradicate the need for traditional shopfronts.
“We saw an opportunity to address the problems of a lack of transparency and sellers feeling like they’re not in control of the transaction,” Macintosh said.
“Our platform delivers a higher quality service to sellers and maximises efficiencies to drive down operational costs, resulting in significant cost savings.
“Traditionally the sale of a property has attracted exorbitant costs and statistically Australians remain unsatisfied with the level of service during the sale process. Sello simplifies the process, reduces the cost and, importantly, delivers increased transparency and control to sellers.
“Sello shouldn’t be confused with a DIY agency – property presentation is critically important, which is why professional photographers are engaged, high-quality print brochures and premium online listings are secured for every property,” Macintosh explained.
“In addition, we supply fully hosted inspections and conduct buyer negotiations on behalf of the vendor.”
“Sello champions consumers with transparency, control and convenience. It’s the sophisticated real estate tool that combines the best of human and tech, optimised for efficiency and delivery at a fraction of the cost.”
Sello sold a property at Bronte Beach in Sydney’s east within two weeks. Macintosh said the vendors saved $15,500 in traditional agency fees.
“We recognise the power of digital marketing and are committed to further innovating the real-tech market,” he said.
Based in Sydney, Sello has plans to grow Australia-wide.
“Our founding team is the perfect blend of investment banking, real estate industry expertise and online consumer technology. We’re confident that Sello will be embraced and help lead the Australian property market into the future.”
