A Day in the Life of an Estate Agent

Estate Agents should not all look the same

Park up that flashy company car, enter the office just before nine in the morning, stick on the coffee machine, catch up on the voicemails and emails and then simply sit back and wait for the phone calls from buyers wanting to view your listings and valuation requests from sellers. Sounds about right, no?

Lots of consumers feel that it is quite an easy ride when it comes to estate agency, in fact when it comes to paying the commission the usual question occurs of ‘what did you do to deserve that money as you only needed to do a few phone calls and stick my house on Rightmove‘?

There are quite a few engaging and certainly educational videos that have been done by estate agency professionals encompassing what a day in the life of an estate agent is really like with some actually capturing clips during the day in a diary style format to give people an appreciation to what goes on during their working hours.

I myself, going back some years now, did work briefly within this sector as a negotiator / junior valuer and though this was before mobile phones and a computer per desk, though I feel it was still relatively similar to the responsibilities we see today, just that a lot more work required then IMHO due to lack of #proptech inventions.

  • Early morning start, usually around 8:30/45 am arrive at office.
  • Team meeting over tea / coffee to discuss what the day agenda is for everyone, achievements of the day before / week so far, reviews any offers received and any valuations / potential valuations.
  • 9am will be each person starting their days agenda mostly catching up on emails and and voicemails to include replying to urgent requests. Here the well oiled machine, the team, gets in to action and each to their own assignments.
  • Valuations will likely be mid morning on wards.
  • Depending on size of office / department, mid afternoon meetings can take place especially with updates on new valuations / sales.
  • Later afternoon will be catching up on emails and confirming any appointments for the next day.

Of course we are missing out plenty of actions that take place within an estate agency and we must also remember that natural footfall from the public can be quite extensive for high street estate agencies. Without question, any professional estate agency will tell you that it is the team which is the important part of the operation and how well organised and connected everyone is. Each team member will have their own roles to perform so to facilitate all processes from valuations to listing them on Rightmove to offers and completions of sales / key exchange. Varied skills are required for each role. The smaller the office and team then the more responsibilities each person has to adopt.

Roles that you have within estate agency include:

  • Senior Sales Negotiator
  • Negotiator
  • Valuer
  • Letting Agent
  • Mortgage Advisor
  • Marketing / Listings
  • IT / HR (usually remote)
  • Admin

If you search through YouTube and also TikTok you will find many examples of a day in the life of an estate agent videos of which many are quite accurate and factual, some less so and merely a vanity exercise focusing more on the glam side of things. TikTok video example.

Christopher Walkey

Founder of Estate Agent Networking. Internationally invited speaker on how to build online target audiences using Social Media. Writes about UK property prices, housing, politics and affordable homes.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Volume doubles as property market sees strong return of new applicants

Foxtons Lettings Market Index – January 2026 Demand rebounded sharply from December, with registrations up 93% month on month and new renters per instruction up 11% compared to December, reflecting a seasonal uplift in activity at the start of the year. New renters per new instruction fell 12% year on year, indicating that competitive pressure…
Read More
Rightmove logo
Breaking News

Property valuation leads to agents up 50% on last year

The launch of a new valuation product and AI optimisations to the existing product suite led to a significant uplift in valuation leads for agents from Rightmove in January. Valuation leads grew by 50% in January 2026 compared to the same period last year. The launch of Online Agent Valuation towards the end of 2025 helps connect…
Read More
Breaking News

Worst areas for landlord eviction waiting times

The latest research industry insight from LegalforLandlords has highlighted where the longest and shortest wait times are when it comes to court hearing dates for landlords who are trying to repossess their properties, with the most overstretched courts found in the likes of Birmingham, Croydon, and Slough. Having analysed internal data on wait times for…
Read More
Breaking News

726,000 rented homes could remain non-decent by 2035

And that’s without holding them to the updated standard outlined in the recent DHS consultation A new consultation on the Decent Homes Standard (DHS) has suggested that all rented homes, private and social, must meet an updated, more stringent standard by 2035. However, new research from Inventory Base reveals that if the current rate of…
Read More
Breaking News

UK House Price Index for December 2025

The latest UK House Price Index shows that: The average monthly rate of house price growth in December was -0.7%. Average UK house price annual inflation was 2.4% in the 12 months to December 2025. As a result, the average UK house price currently sits at £270,000.   Here are some thoughts from the Industry.…
Read More
Cozy Pet Cat Tree Grey
Breaking News

10 things all tenants need to know when renting now

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 27th October 2025 and will introduce major reforms to private renting in England. The first raft of measures affecting tenants will come into force on 1st May this year. So, whether you currently have a tenancy agreement or are planning to rent this year, here are…
Read More