Proptech startup to expand in Portugal

Portuguese proptech startup Sherlock is to expand its business to Cascais, Porto and the Algarve after successfully launching in Lisbon.

Based at Second Home in Lisbon, the company founded by partners Chris Wood, James Coop, Philip Ilic and Tariq El Asad has created a new model for estate agents and property sellers to have a fixed rate and save money each time they sell a house.
“We have studied many different real estate sale business models based on technology and we believe that the fixed rate is the fairer and more transparent model as well as being more robust.
“We propose a structure which has a low and easy-to-understand rate and so we have chosen a fixed-rate business model”, co-founder Phil Ilic tells the online news service ECO.
Sherlock found that one of the main problems in the real estate sector in many countries, including Portugal, is that it is very slow and complicated. The startup has found a way to make the process as easy and uncomplicated as possible.
Launched in November 2018 during the Web Summit, the idea from the four founders arose from their own experiences: all of them had bought or sold properties in Portugal.
“We were really dissatisfied with the offer service and especially with the very high cost for selling an apartment”, he continued.
Estate agents in Portugal generally charge a 5% plus VAT rate, which is the equivalent of €16,000 in taxes and rates on average for each home property sale in Lisbon.
“We don’t feel that this is a fair price taking into account that it reflects the low offer value,” he adds.
The company was founded therefore with the expressed aim of focusing on clients’ individual experiences and coming up with innovative ways through technology to reduce transaction rates.
“We think we’re on the right track to achieve these goals with our consistent five-star valuations whereby we save home sellers more than 75% on transaction fees when they sell their properties via Sherlock” explains Ilic.
According to the company’s estimates, the sellers save, on average, around €12,000 per year.