Why did Purplebricks work in the UK but fail in the US?

In the UK, paying an estate agent a fixed upfront fee whether or not the property sells has some cultural and historical precedent — UK sellers understand that agencies charge for the marketing and listing service separately from the outcome. In the US, the "no sale, no fee" commission model is deeply ingrained: sellers expect not to pay unless their home is sold. The cultural expectation made the fixed upfront fee feel like an unacceptable risk to US sellers.

What ultimately happened to Purplebricks in the UK?

After the international losses, the UK business went through restructuring and leadership changes. The original founders departed. The COVID-era property boom briefly revived revenues, but post-boom normalisation and competition from other disruptors reduced the business. In 2023, Strike (another hybrid agency) acquired the Purplebricks brand and customer base for nominal consideration.

Did anyone succeed with a flat-fee real estate model in the US?

Companies like Redfin have used a modified model — charging lower commissions but requiring upfront refundable deposits in some markets. Pure flat-fee models in the US have found limited success because the "pay only if it sells" model is too deeply embedded in seller expectations. The US model appears to be moving toward lower percentage commissions following the 2024 NAR settlement rather than toward flat-fee alternatives.

← All autopsies

// HALL OF FLAME · STARTUP AUTOPSY

Founded	2012
Closed	2023
Country	UK
Sector	Proptech
Total raised	300
Collapse type	Fire Sale
Founder	Michael Bruce, Kenny Bruce

Purplebricks (Global Expansion)

"The UK flat-fee estate agent that conquered Britain, then lost $200M expanding to markets where the model did not translate"

$300M

RAISED

—

EMPLOYEES

132

MONTHS

overexpansionFire Sale

Distressed acquisition below last-round valuation

// Fatal mistake: Assumed the fixed-fee estate agency model would translate to US and Australian markets without validating that the "no-sale, no-fee" cultural expectation of those markets made upfront fixed-fee payments structurally unacceptable to sellers.

Key Events Timeline

2012-01

FOUNDING

Purplebricks (Global Expansion) founded

2017-06

LAYOFF

First major layoff round

2023-06

ACQUISITION ATTEMPT

Fire Sale: Purplebricks (Global Expansion) ceases operations

🔥 Hall of Flame 58%🏆 Hall of Fame 55%

Purplebricks disrupted UK estate agency by charging a fixed fee of around £1,000 regardless of whether the home sold — eliminating the percentage commission that traditional agents charged.

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More Proptech →More from UK →More overexpansion failures →Raised: 300

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