CIELA admits failure to gain momentum and support – Closes March 31st
March 21, 2018
Having sat with Charlie when CIELA was an idea boiling away in his mind, We are sad to share the following:
It is with great disappointment that I write to you to inform you that with effect from 31st March, CIELA will permanently cease to exist.
CIELA’s plan was to raise industry standards, starting by offering help to agents with compliance, or publishing details of agents who refused to comply.
Privately, many members confided in me that they did not want CIELA to help weaker agents, and that instead it would be better to let them fail. My view is that that would not do anything to help the industry’s reputation, nor raise standards.
CIELA’s success was always dependent on uniting independent agents, and initially as you know we were targeting the malpractice among corporates and online agents.
However, most members said in the end that it was other independents who were the biggest problem.
CIELA was never in a position to be able to take sides among independent agents, and despite being in a viable position to continue our work (and being only days away from the release of the compliance checker), it has become clear that there is a fundamental flaw in any proposition that seeks to unite an industry that is at war with itself.
There is a minority of strong, market leading independents around the country who need no help in maintaining their success over corporates, online agents and their independent competitors. To these resourceful and resilient agents, CIELA would serve merely to strengthen their weaker competitors. Accordingly, they withdrew their support.
They were never in need of CIELA’s help.
There are then all the remaining independent agents, among whom there is a mixture of highly professional but small businesses, run for long periods by passionate owners, alongside other small agents whose standards most need raising.
Another factor in our decision not to continue, is that the battle against corporates and online agents is already being won, with high profile corporate agents struggling, and the truth about up-front fee agents finally filtering out into the public consciousness enough to slow their growth. The public are increasingly aware of conventional agency being the best bet.
So, the battle remains mostly between the large number of independents who make up the majority of the industry, and with that CIELA cannot help.
I have been predicting for a long time that independent agents would ultimately triumph over corporates, and I see increasing signs of it happening.
Technology will continue to play a large part in levelling the playing field, and allowing the smallest agents access to the best tools.
I have always believed that the best agent for an individual seller or landlord is the one who will take the most time to understand that clients personal situation and needs, and motivations for moving, and then use their experience to market that property in the best way to achieve the right result for that client.
Agency is the delivery of personal service. Personal service cannot be delivered online. You cannot commoditise personal service, and for that reason I believe that the human touch in agency will never be replaced. Movers need help.
Perhaps CIELA made a small difference after all, perhaps not. But it was a thoroughly worthwhile attempt which was insightful and eye opening, and led to me meeting many more great agents.
In the 20 years I have been working with agents, the single most successful strategy I have witnessed is the focus on building a personal reputation as the only agent to go to in your town. No amount of advertising, gimmickry or clever ideas will be more effective in getting people to recommend your business than looking after your customers so well that they rave about you.
I wish you all the very best and thank you very much for your support of CIELA’s efforts.
Charles R Wright
Founder – CIELA
You May Also Enjoy
Landlords and tenants advised to work together to get through extreme heatwaves
With some areas set to be hotter than Portugal this week, lettings and estate agents across the UK are issuing advice to protect properties ahead of extreme weather Prolonged periods of hot weather across the UK are placing additional pressure on homes, from overheating and poor ventilation to damage caused by extreme temperatures. Today, lettings…
Read More 
Nearly half of UK home listings fail to sell
A London estate agent has warned that thousands of homeowners across the UK are pricing themselves out of the market by setting asking prices that no longer reflect what buyers are willing to pay. The warning comes after new analysis by Zoopla, covering more than two million property listings between 2023 and 2026, found that…
Read More 
Lowest number of new build developments coming to market since 2017
New analysis from the UK’s largest property platform Rightmove reveals that the number of new build housing developments coming to market is at its lowest level since January 2017 The figures are despite the government’s target to build 1.5 million homes over the course of this parliament Higher mortgage rates continue to set a challenging…
Read More 
What Every Estate Agent Should Tell Clients Before Moving Day
For most estate agents, the job is done once contracts are exchanged, completion takes place, and the keys are handed over. For your client, however, that’s when one of the biggest challenges begins. Moving day has the power to turn months of excitement into an incredibly stressful experience, or a smooth finish to what has…
Read More 
Breaking Property News 9/7/26
Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X. PropTech is evolving but WhatsApp is still winning the Property transaction battle A home-moving process that a decade of PropTech failed to fix Thought leadership by Olivier Jauniaux Founder of NestLink There are a particular series of messages, somewhere in every property chain, that decides whether…
Read More 
Heatwaves haven’t diminished love for south-facing gardens
The latest research from Yopa reveals that despite 81% of people saying they have been avoiding their garden during the recent heatwaves, south-facing gardens continue to be the preferred orientation of choice for UK homeowners, attracting house price premiums of over £20,000 on average. However, the insight from Yopa also suggests that should heatwaves become…
Read More