An off-market property app that promises to give house hunters control of their search rather relying in websites or estate agents has launched in Bristol.
Co-founded by former Bristol Bears rugby player Danny Gray, Zump aims to transform the process of buying or selling a property by tackling many of the apparent shortcomings in today’s housing market. 
Since hanging up his boots, Danny has built up considerable experience in both the supply and demand side of the property industry over the past 15 years.
He now believes the time is right for a game-changing app that passes control of the process to house hunters.
He said across all BS postcodes, there are an estimated 114,000-plus people thinking about moving – yet only around 3,250 properties are listed on Rightmove.
The number of homes a buyer can interact with on Zump is 455,000.
Danny, pictured, said: “There’s currently a huge shortfall in available on-market properties meaning many buyers are unable to find what they want, which deters them from continuing their search and ultimately listing their own property for sale.”
“This, coupled with the fact that formally listing with an estate agent is currently the only way to see who might be interested in your property – an all or nothing approach with expensive fees attached – means many people just don’t bother and end up staying put. Zump is here to break this vicious cycle.” 
It is aimed at prospective buyers who have not been able to find the right house, in the right street, school catchment area or simply a property close enough to their favourite amenities, via portals or estate agents.
Its ‘Smart Search’ feature allows buyers to specify certain filters, such as number of bedrooms, value and property type.
They can then go anywhere on the map, press a ‘search here’ button and the map will drop pins on every off-market property that fits the buyer’s requirements in that location.
For homeowners thinking about selling, it offers an opportunity to safely gauge interest in their property, which they can do by simply sharing it on the app with no fees, no obligations and no contracts.
Any connections made between buyers and owners are then supported by Zump’s expert property advisors, who act as a single point of contact for completing the sale.
Zump is the brainchild of Danny and his brother Jamie, who between them have 30 years’ experience in the property industry. This has included the setting up of NEXA Properties, which is a challenger to the traditional estate agency model.
Danny added: “We know there will always be the need for quality estate agents and property portals, but we do believe that some of the problems have remained for far too long. Providing a different solution and more choice is a necessary step in an industry that has remained relatively unchanged for over 20 years.
“Not enough choice and too many barriers for owners to enter the market passively has led to a bottle neck and a chicken and egg scenario, which needs fixing.”
