In news this week, on Tuesday Go Gecko Pty Ltd went into Voluntary Administration leading to the closure of 2 Go Gecko stores with 6 more facing a review by the Administrator.

As reported by the Courier, Geoff Doyle CEO and founder resigned ahead of the Administrators being appointed. The article also hints that the administration, resignation and office closures have come as a surprise to the franchisees who were concerned the corporation were putting growth ahead of welfare of each agent.

Some supporters of these low cost real estate models believe they are immune to slumps in the real estate industry, because vendors tighten their belts and look for selling options which are more cost efficient than a traditional agent. But as these closures have demonstrated, this is not always the case and very few real estate business models are totally resilient to property slumps.

Lets hope the Administrators can salvage the situation so the remaining franchisees aren’t significantly affected.