Countrywide’s £995 Online Deal – Are they shooting themselves in the foot?

April 7, 2017

“A high street agent that lets you sell online!” is the tag line Countrywide are using to launch their onlinr package through their High Street Agencies.

The promo stuff Countrywide are chucking out on social media is all about “giving choice to our clients”

I dont dispute it gives the client a choice. I have a lot of love for the Countrywide brand and the people that work for it. My concern though isn’t for the client (they already have a huge choice of estate agents ) …

… no my friends .. my concern is for the company and employees working at Countrywide. My fear is this .. what if the  Countrywide online package really takes off … and I mean really takes off? The very thing Countrywide set up (their online offering) could end destroying the very thing (the High St operation) it was designed to protect (ie everyone uses the online package instead of the high street package – meaning offices will close and people made redundant).

Watch this 3 min video with my thoughts on the thorny subject ..

Now of course, I could be wrong? .. In 2016, the Countrywide’s market share of the UK property market was 9.1%  (figures from Countrywide Investor Relations and Land Registry combined). If Alison Platt  and her team come back to the City in three years time and says they had retained their High Street market share at 8% to 9% and on top – with their online package  got an additional 5% .. then their overall market share would have increased to 13% to 14% – which would be impressive .. my only fear is they still only  stay at the 8% to 9% market share range – but half of that going the full fat High Street fee route and half of that on their diet £800/£900 fee offering .. meaning same market share + same costs but lower income.

Interesting times ahead!

Kind regards

Christopher Watkin

Christopher Watkin

I teach, guide, support, mentor, consult, counsel, partner many hundreds of UK Estate and Letting Agents in their quest to grow their estate and lettings agencies business. Old school techniques of touting, landlords wanted leaflets, ring us for a free valuation, we have sold this in your street leaflets don't work anymore. There are too many competitor agents .. meaning cheap fees are epidemic, overvaluing is almost a norm to get the stock and don’t even mention about the online/hybrid threat. So a few years ago, I set about looking around the UK and spotted that certain agents (not many mind you) in certain towns were still seen as the ‘go to person on property’, the person the newspaper editor rang up every week for a comment and I looked at what they did and they were doing some thing quite remarkable…. Only one thing but they were doing it so well .. and reaping the reward in terms of decent listings and decent fees, happy staff, decent sales pipeline and exchange income, managed lettings portfolios in the many hundreds .. but more importantly, they really enjoyed the job… they enjoyed getting up in the morning and people looked up to them Over 400 agents around the UK are on a mission to change the way our Estate and Lettings agency profession is perceived and looked upon, doing it town by town, city by city. I guide these 400 agents, teach them, mentor them and support them to be seen in a different light, to be seen as the ‘go to person for property’, actually be the ‘local property expert’ and prove it. Christopher Watkin 07950 147 572 christopher@christopherwatkin.co.uk

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