BREAKING NEWS – top 5 stories 21/05/2021

Estate Agent Networking Breaking News

GETAGENT OMITS PURPLEBRICKS FROM ITS AGENCY LEAGUE TABLES – AS NOT PROPER AGENT

GetAgent founder and CEO Colby Short has gone on record that he feels that online agents are not proper agents, and he recently has produced league tables that omit their existence. I am surprised as Purplebricks in 2018, 2019 (and for most of 2020) listed more property than any other single brand of agency in the UK. Verified by TwentyCi data.

Dwarfing Countrywide plc as was for example, and Connells at that time. It might just be a personal view that online agents are not real agents, and everyone is entitled to their personal view, but as GetAgent propounds to be a comparison site for the ability of agents to sell, can the data be relied upon if the one of the biggest hitters is not on the Colby Short list?

GOODLORD DESPITE ENDS WITH NINE EMPLOYEES WALKING

Nine employees of Goodlord who faced having their salary reduced by 25%, and who could not find a compromise brokered between their union Unite and the management team of Goodlord, are set to leave the business.

More than double this number of employees were faced with a reduction in their salaries, despite living in and needing to commute in to London, as a pre-requisite of their employment pre-pandemic.

OLDER PEOPLE FIND IT HARDER TO GET A MORTGAGE THAN SELF EMPLOYED PEOPLE

A recent survey has said that self employed people looking to raise a mortgage of the size they want can do so typically 70% of the time, whereas people who are 55 years old plus can only do so 64% of the time.

The compiler of the survey says that a more flexible approach should be used, as although age is a factor many people as the get older have other income streams that come into play – such as pensions etc, which are sources of regular income.

SOLICITORS CONVEYANCING BLUNDER COSTS THEM £800,000

Mundays LLP were found to be negligent when they advised and acted for their client. The lapse came to light when the client came to re-sell and realised that some of the land that was included in the original sale, had not be sold to them. Also, there had been an underpayment to HMRC of £40,000 in stamp duty by the solicitor, which was rectified in 2019, plus interest. A full report of this matter appears in The Law Society Gazette, courtesy of Jemma Slingo.

GUILD OF PROPERTY PROFESSIONALS LAUNCHES NEW PLATFORM – FEE STREET

Access to accurate data and property statistics is key for agents who want to focus their marketing approach when looking to win new business. The Guild of Property Professionals is launching a new platform to its Membership called Fee Street.

Which is dedicated to helping agents better understand their local market and win business more efficiently off the back of this. The platform analyses large volumes of property data to identify the streets and localities in the area that have the highest fee earning potential, allowing agents to target their bespoke marketing automatically to the areas with the highest potential return.

Daniel Pepperell, Regional Director at The Guild, says using years of property data, Fee Street is able to provide an accurate overview of a local property market.

“The platform gathers large volumes of property data, giving agents an in-depth insight into what’s happening in their local area. Fee Street is then able to identify the streets and localities with the highest propensity to move which allow the agent to calculate the areas that are worth the most income to their business,” he explains.

Andrew Stanton

CEO & Founder Proptech-PR. Proptech Real Estate Influencer, Executive Editor of Estate Agent Networking. Leading PR consultancy in Proptech & Real Estate.

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