John McGrath attacks 'unsavoury' defecting agents - and pins hope on new real estate app

John McGrath attacks 'unsavoury' defecting agents - and pins hope on new real estate app
Jonathan ChancellorDecember 7, 2020

John McGrath, the founder and executive director at McGrath Estate Agents, has urged his remaining 700 plus estate agents not to let the recent defections "quash our dreams and progress for long."

In an internal letter, leaked to Property Observer, he said a small group of people had not just left the company but sought to unleash a full-frontal attack.

"They actually started this process long before they departed and whilst we were paying them handsomely and confiding our plans with them."

He said "for that reason, I have zero respect for any of them."

"This attack has predominantly been targeted at our Sydney Inner City Company Owned offices.

"The damage will be mainly felt in those precincts until we replace them (with better people with integrity I can assure you!)."

He noted because McGrath was a public company, the events "will make this seem like a bigger deal than it is."

"For most of us the best way to deal with this is to remove it from your mind and conversations and focus on the most important job of looking after your clients and customers as you always do."

"The thing that annoys me more than anything else is there is sooooo many amazing stories of great success and personal growth inside the business and on behalf of our clients that this unsavoury group seeks to nullify and mask that with their dirty tactics and mudslinging.

"But I can assure you that nobody will ever quash our dreams and progress for long. 

McGrath said he had been spending most of the summer break working on progressing the new agent app.

"I believe the Agent App will be the most revolutionary piece of technology in the Australian real estate industry.

"It will, when complete, reduce the amount of work involved in listing and selling a property (initially for sales but then PM also) from about 4-6 hours per listing to less than 15 minutes."

The agents that defected from McGrath are set to launch their new company, The Agency, next week.

Due to the loss of the 36 agents, McGrath shareholders have been told to expect a weaker revenue in the second half of this year.

John McGrath attacks 'unsavoury' defecting agents - and pins hope on new real estate app

John McGrath attacks 'unsavoury' defecting agents - and pins hope on new real estate app

John McGrath attacks 'unsavoury' defecting agents - and pins hope on new real estate app

Jonathan Chancellor

Jonathan Chancellor is one of Australia's most respected property journalists, having been at the top of the game since the early 1980s. Jonathan co-founded the property industry website Property Observer and has written for national and international publications.

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