99% of Estate Agents are ‘Rude’ ….. and don’t even know it!

Before I’m inundated with ‘how dare you!’ comments please hear me out as there is a serious and solid point behind my headline.

I’ll explain how I’ve come to the startling figure that 99% of estate agents are making themselves seem impolite or even downright rude. And I’m pretty sure they don’t even realise they’re being seen that way.

I’ve bought and sold properties six times in my life. So that’s 12 opportunities for agents to do something to stand out that none of them did. This meant they all missed out on using a massive PR technique that’s so simple to do it’s almost laughable they didn’t do it.

After months of uncertainty a buyer being handed the keys to their new home is excited, relieved and if the agent has done a good job for them, thankful.

No doubt the agents are excited as commissions are banked and relieved deal is done. But are they thankful? In my personal experience it’s a case of if they were they sure didn’t show it.

We moved to the south coast in January so this experience is fresh in my mind. The buying and selling process was pretty seamless and the agents did their job well but with no wow factor.

I got the usual calls from my selling agent, solicitor and buying agent to say we’d completed.

I drove excitedly to collect the keys to what is our family’s dream home by the sea. I was so excited I parked bang outside the agent’s office risking a ticket. I bounded in like a young Labrador with a big ‘I’ve come for my bag of bones‘ type grin on my face.

I was met by a young agent who hardly looked up at me before shuffling around in a safe before handing over the keys in a somewhat bored, matter of fact way. He may well have been giving me a Big Mac through a McDonalds’ drive through window.

It may have been the third or fourth time that day he has handed over keys. But for me it was the first and possibly last set of keys to a home I’ll be picking up. My final impression of that agency was a bad one.

I discussed the idea for this blog with a friend who has bought and sold many times due to her job. I asked her about her experience with agents when the deal is done.

Her experience was consistent with mine and her response just about summed it up. She said: “Think about it this way. You walk into a shop and spend anywhere between £2000 to £5000 and they don’t even thank you! You’d think they’re f@@@ing rude.”

We encourage all of our PR clients to have a simple system in place where they present a thank you card, bottle of decent wine and a nice box of chocolates at the point of handing over the keys to a new owner. It’s pure PR. It gets your agency remembered for the right reasons.

We encourage them to do exactly the same to the sellers of the property. People know people and referrals as we all know are like gold dust. It’s these little extras that get your agency talked about in glowing terms.

By the way the reason the figure in the headline wasn’t 100 per cent was because I bumped into an agent who I knew a few years back. He was walking with a bottle of champagne in one hand and a card in the other.

“Off to a party?” I asked, it was out of office hours. “No just popping round to a house we just sold. I wasn’t in the office when the keys were handed over so I’m going to see them and give them this as a thank you.”

That always stuck in my mind. And I bet it did to with the clients he was ‘popping round’ to see.

I know there must be agents out there who do give thanks so I’d love to know what you do and what kind of response you get.

Feel free to email me at Jerry@propertyprexpert.co.uk

Thank you very much for reading.

Jerry

Alex Evans

You May Also Enjoy

Rightmove logo
Breaking News

Rightmove’s Weekly Mortgage Tracker – 18/09/25

Average rates for 2-year and 5-year fixed-rate mortgages   Term Average rate Weekly change Yearly change 2-year fixed 4.54% +0.02% -0.44% 5-year fixed 4.56% +0.01% -0.05%   Lowest rates for 2-year and 5-year fixed-rate mortgages   Term Lowest rate Weekly change Yearly change 2-year fixed 3.75% +0.00% -0.24% 5-year fixed 3.89% +0.00% +0.12%   Average…
Read More
Planning disputes on new build land
Estate Agent Talk

Slowdown in planning applications and decisions

Property lawyer says “The government have had a year to make improvements to house building and have not made any progress.” Housing Secretary Steve Reed has announced a “building acceleration package” to speed up house building in England after new figures revealed a slowdown in planning applications and decisions. David Smith, property litigation partner at…
Read More
bank of england interest rate
Breaking News

Bank of England’s holds interest rates at 4%

With the Bank of England’s decision to hold interest rates at 4%, here are some thoughts from the Industry.   Matt Smith, Rightmove’s mortgage expert: “A Base Rate hold today had looked fairly nailed on, especially after yesterday’s news that inflation remains stuck at 3.8%. The later-than-usual Budget is very much on the horizon, and…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 18/09/25

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   Exodus of Landlords – means lower supply and increased rents’ MPs have taken the Renters’ Rights Bill a major step closer to Royal Assent, confirming the scrapping of Section 21 “no-fault” evictions and the end of fixed-term tenancies, which will now convert into open-ended…
Read More
Breaking News

Energy Rules Without Power: Tenants and Landlords Both Question EPC Impact

New research from LRG reveals that both landlords and tenants are struggling to engage with the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) system, raising serious questions about whether it can deliver on its intended goals ahead of the government’s 2030 targets. While landlords overwhelmingly support the principle of improving energy efficiency, confidence in the system designed to…
Read More
New Builds 2020
Breaking News

New Build Home Enquiries Double in Summer 2025 

From June to August 2025, Compare My Move’s conveyancing data shows a 120% increase in new build home purchase enquiries compared to the same period in 2024.  This surge reflects not only more people looking to buy homes overall but also a higher share of buyers choosing new builds. On average, 12% of purchase enquiries in…
Read More