Majority of Agents Plan Summer Holiday
The latest research from eXp UK has found that the majority of UK estate agents intend to take annual leave this summer, despite it being traditionally one of the busiest times of the year in the property market.
The survey of UK estate agents, commissioned by eXp UK, revealed that 32% of agents have already been away on summer leave, another 32% have planned it, and 12% hope to take leave during July and August. Only 24% of respondents said they do not plan to take any annual leave during this period.
Among those planning to take leave, 38% expect to take between four and seven days off, while 27% anticipate taking eight to fourteen days. Just over a fifth (22%) plan to take 15 or more days, and 14% expect to take only one to three days of leave.
While most agents (73%) have been able to take their full desired length of leave, 17% had to shorten their time off, and 10% have not been able to take any leave at all. Similarly, 78% of agents reported being able to take leave at their preferred time, but 10% had to reschedule, and 12% have not been able to take any leave when they wanted.
When asked about reasons for not being able to take leave as planned, 45% said their business was too short staffed, 30% cited the unaffordability of going away during the peak holiday season, 15% reported being too busy with client workload, and 10% said their leave request was denied.
Regarding pressure while on leave, 39% of agents said they felt no pressure to stay available or responsive, while 24% experienced some pressure, 20% felt a lot of pressure, and 17% reported not much pressure.
The findings highlight the challenge estate agents face balancing the need for rest during summer with high client demand and business constraints.
Adam Day, Head of eXp UK and Europe, commented:
“It is encouraging to see that most estate agents are prioritising their well-being by planning annual leave this summer despite the busy market.
However, the data also shows that many are facing operational pressures such as short staffing and workload demands that impact their ability to take leave fully or when they want.
The industry should recognise these challenges and work towards supporting agents’ work-life balance and this is, of course, one of the aspects that make the self-employed model so appealing. At the very worst, self-employed agents are free to manage their workload from the pool of their sun soaked hotel and it’s this flexibility and work life balance that has seen the model gain such strong traction across the UK in a short period of time.”
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