The founders of Alexo Property Brokers – two business partners with extensive professional experience in real estate – made a decision in 2012 to sell their established franchise in Cape Town’s City Bowl, and pioneer a completely fresh approach to property sales. The core pillars of Alexo would be built on lessons learnt from the dying model of the traditional real estate agency. The motivation to rethink the agent’s approach to property sales, began with an internal desire to rectify the negative connotation attached to members of our industry; to remind ourselves of who the true client is (the Seller who pays the commission); to challenge the traditional sales methodologies that have been entrenched (and remained unchanged) for decades; and to prioritize business integrity over quick money.

Often when we think about success stories like Google – a single place to search for information about anything; or UBER – a taxi service that owns no taxis; one cannot help but say that in hind sight, the solution was obvious. Simple, but obvious. The creation of Alexo Property Brokers had the same notion – do what feels right, while truly, whole-heartedly putting the Sellers’ needs first. Listen to one’s gut, and hope that one’s moral compass always points to True North.

In the years leading up to the launch of Alexo Property Brokers, many debates were had amongst the founders, their staff, past clients and other professionals in the industry as to how they could break away from the typical tell-you-anything-that-you-want-to-hear to get a mandate or sign an offer, sales approach that is so heavily engrained in the South African real estate industry and its operators.

As our business evolves, we will continue to question everything that we do to ensure that we are operating in the most efficient manner possible, and in the best interests of our Sellers, Buyers, and the public at large. Change had to start with someone, and we sincerely believe that through our interactions with hundreds of Sellers and Buyers each year, our message will spread, and our influence will be felt amongst the communities in which we operate. Hopefully in time, our presence and methodologies will put pressure on other estate agencies to adjust their actions, attitudes and fees for the real benefit of every South African citizen.