# Purplebricks Scraper (`crawlerbros/purplebricks-scraper`) Actor

Scrape UK property listings from Purplebricks (purplebricks.co.uk). Search by location with price, bedroom, and property-style filters; fetch full property details by ID; get location suggestions.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/crawlerbros/purplebricks-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Crawler Bros](https://apify.com/crawlerbros) (community)
- **Categories:** Real estate, Automation, Lead generation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $3.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## Purplebricks Scraper

Scrape **Purplebricks** — the UK estate agent's live property listings at [purplebricks.co.uk](https://www.purplebricks.co.uk). Search homes for sale by location with price, bedroom, and property-style filters; fetch full property details by ID; and look up valid search locations. HTTP-only via the site's public pages and JSON endpoints. No auth, no proxy.

### Data Source

Purplebricks is a UK online estate agency (purplebricks.co.uk). The original company ceased UK operations in 2024, but the domain and brand were relaunched under new ownership and the site currently serves live for-sale listings across England, Scotland, and Wales (verified during development, 2026-08). No platform swap was needed.

### What this actor does

- **Three modes:** `search` (location-based), `byIds` (full details), `suggestLocations`
- **Filters:** price range, bedrooms range, property style, sort order
- **Rich listing data:** price, address, postcode, bedrooms/bathrooms/receptions, photos, description
- **Full details:** floorplans, video tours, tenure, council-tax band, local expert contact, auction dates
- **Empty fields are omitted**

### Output per property

- `id` — Purplebricks property ID
- `title`, `address`, `shortAddress`, `postcode`, `location`
- `marketPrice`, `priceText`, `priceQualifier`, `minimalAdvertPrice`, `maximalAdvertPrice`
- `bedrooms`, `receptions`, `bathrooms`, `carSpaces`
- `style` (style code), `styleTitle` (e.g. `Detached house`, `Flat`, `Apartment`)
- `description`
- `imageUrl`, `imageThumbnail`, `imageCount`
- `sold`, `underOffer`, `toLet`, `hasExtras` flags
- `closingDate`, `distance`, `rentFrequency`
- `expertName`, `expertPictureUrl`
- `sourceUrl` — canonical property page
- `recordType`, `scrapedAt`

#### Extra fields in `byIds` detail records

- `primaryImageUrl`, `primaryImageFullUrl`, `primaryImageThumbnail`
- `imageUrls[]` — up to 30 full-size photo URLs
- `floorplanUrl`, `videoTourUrl`, `portalVideoUrl`
- `tenure`, `tenancy`, `councilTaxBand`, `councilTaxRateAnnualAmount`
- `serviceChargeAnnualAmount`, `groundRentAnnualAmount`, `groundRentReviewPeriodYears`
- `yearsLeftOnLease`, `leaseEndDate`, `sharedOwnershipPercentage`
- `latitude`, `longitude`, `timeZoneAbbreviation`
- `starPoints[]`, `extras[]`
- `auctionDate`, `auctionTime`, `regionType`
- `expertEmail`, `expertPhoneNumber`, `expertRegion`

### Input

| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `mode` | string | `search` | `search` / `byIds` / `suggestLocations` |
| `location` | string | `london` | UK location to search (mode=search) |
| `ids` | array | – | Property IDs (mode=byIds) |
| `searchText` | string | – | Location text (mode=suggestLocations) |
| `suggestionCount` | int | `10` | Max suggestions (1–50) |
| `priceFrom` | int | – | Min price (GBP) |
| `priceTo` | int | – | Max price (GBP) |
| `bedroomsFrom` | int | – | Min bedrooms |
| `bedroomsTo` | int | – | Max bedrooms |
| `propertyStyle` | string | – | Style code (e.g. `9` detached, `27` apartment) |
| `sortBy` | string | `relevance` | `relevance` / `highestPrice` / `lowestPrice` / `newest` |
| `includeSold` | bool | `false` | Also return sold properties (mode=search) |
| `maxItems` | int | `50` | Hard cap (1–1000) |

#### Example: 3–5 bedroom houses in London under £1M

```json
{
  "mode": "search",
  "location": "london",
  "priceTo": 1000000,
  "bedroomsFrom": 3,
  "bedroomsTo": 5,
  "sortBy": "lowestPrice"
}
```

#### Example: full details by property ID

```json
{
  "mode": "byIds",
  "ids": ["1911812", "2075626"]
}
```

#### Example: find a searchable location

```json
{
  "mode": "suggestLocations",
  "searchText": "manchester",
  "suggestionCount": 10
}
```

#### Example: apartments only

```json
{
  "mode": "search",
  "location": "greater-london/london",
  "propertyStyle": "27",
  "priceFrom": 250000
}
```

### Use cases

- **Property-market research** — track asking prices and stock by UK city
- **Portfolio analysis** — monitor price bands, bedroom mixes, and listing churn
- **Buyers** — shortlist homes in an area with hard price/bedroom filters
- **PropTech** — feed listing metadata into valuation or demand models
- **Comparative analysis** — compare Purplebricks' agency pricing against other portals

### FAQ

**What is Purplebricks?** A UK online estate agency (purplebricks.co.uk) whose sellers pay an up-front fee instead of a commission. The site carries for-sale homes across England, Scotland, and Wales.

**Do I need an account or API key?** No. All modes use public pages/endpoints.

**Is there a rate limit?** The site is a public consumer site; the actor adds small polite delays between requests and retries on 429/5xx with backoff.

**Why did my search return 0 results?** The location must be a searchable UK place. Use `suggestLocations` to verify the exact spelling, then pass e.g. `location: "london"`.

**What do property style codes mean?** `6` Terraced House, `7` End of terrace house, `8` Semi-detached house, `9` Detached house, `11` Ground floor flat, `12` Flat, `14` Ground floor maisonette, `15` Maisonette, `23` Town house, `27` Apartment.

**Why are `byIds` records richer?** Search pages embed a summary; the `/Api/Propertylisting/{id}` endpoint returns the full listing (floorplan, tenure, expert contact, images, coordinates).

**What does `underOffer` / `sold` mean?** Purplebricks marks listings as sold or under offer on the listing; the flags are carried through to the output.

**How fresh is the data?** Live — every run reads the current public listing pages.

### Limitations

- Search results paginate at 10 per page; large `maxItems` values mean more page fetches.
- The site carries for-sale listings only; rental listings are not served.
- `byIds` returns the current state of the listing; withdrawn or removed listings return 0 records for that ID.

# Actor input Schema

## `mode` (type: `string`):

What to fetch.

## `location` (type: `string`):

UK location to search, e.g. `london`, `manchester`, `edinburgh`, or a full path like `greater-london/london`. Use mode=suggestLocations to find valid names.

## `ids` (type: `array`):

Purplebricks property IDs, e.g. `1911812`.

## `searchText` (type: `string`):

Location text to get suggestions for, e.g. `manchester`.

## `suggestionCount` (type: `integer`):

How many location suggestions to return.

## `priceFrom` (type: `integer`):

Drop properties priced below this (GBP).

## `priceTo` (type: `integer`):

Drop properties priced above this (GBP).

## `bedroomsFrom` (type: `integer`):

Drop properties with fewer bedrooms than this.

## `bedroomsTo` (type: `integer`):

Drop properties with more bedrooms than this.

## `propertyStyle` (type: `string`):

Restrict to one property style (e.g. `9` = Detached house, `27` = Apartment).

## `sortBy` (type: `string`):

Sort order for search results.

## `includeSold` (type: `boolean`):

Also return properties that have already sold (mode=search).

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Hard cap on emitted records.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "mode": "search",
  "location": "london",
  "ids": [],
  "suggestionCount": 10,
  "propertyStyle": "",
  "sortBy": "relevance",
  "includeSold": false,
  "maxItems": 50
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `properties` (type: `string`):

Dataset containing all scraped Purplebricks property records.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "mode": "search",
    "location": "london",
    "ids": [],
    "suggestionCount": 10,
    "propertyStyle": "",
    "sortBy": "relevance",
    "includeSold": false,
    "maxItems": 50
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("crawlerbros/purplebricks-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "mode": "search",
    "location": "london",
    "ids": [],
    "suggestionCount": 10,
    "propertyStyle": "",
    "sortBy": "relevance",
    "includeSold": False,
    "maxItems": 50,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("crawlerbros/purplebricks-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "mode": "search",
  "location": "london",
  "ids": [],
  "suggestionCount": 10,
  "propertyStyle": "",
  "sortBy": "relevance",
  "includeSold": false,
  "maxItems": 50
}' |
apify call crawlerbros/purplebricks-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,crawlerbros/purplebricks-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/vQNAxV9iTBfoQqfVc/builds/yAiFMpkDinhI9Pwqf/openapi.json