May 2 2023
South African real estate group, Only Realty Property Group, has acquired a majority shareholding in Leadhome, one of the country’s newer real estate agencies.
Co-founded in 2015 by Marcél du Toit, Leadhome tried to innovate in the South African property industry through introducing a fixed-fee pricing model, in contrast to the standard estate agency percentage commission model. The group’s management has said it has employed technology to optimise many of the functions performed by traditional agents. Leadhome employs around 90 agents and 40 support staff and has a presence in Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Durban.
Only Realty is a residential property platform. The group lists homes for rental and sale. It also provides services to estate agents who can list themselves on the site.
Its founder and CEO, Grant Smee said the takeover would let the group leverage the Osmosis technology platform developed by Leadhome. Only Realty’s broader national reach would improve. He said that Leadhome was the latest in a string of property company acquisitions for Only Realty Property Group, preceded by Frankie Bells Real Estate, Adrienne Hersch Properties and Halbe Properties. Smee said that he wanted to build the largest network of independent estate agents in SA.
“Leadhome has a solid track record of property sales, having sold over 10,000 properties since their inception in 2015. Their data-driven approach to property acquisitions and marketing will be a hugely valuable addition to Only Realty’s national strategy, enabling us to strengthen all of our agent teams through technology, data and marketing expertise of the combined group. We look forward to this next chapter in our growth and working with the Leadhome team to continue strengthening our presence across SA,” said Smee.
The price of the deal was undisclosed.
alistair@propertyflash.co.za