Estate Agent Talk
The UK Property Market is Shrugging off Brexit Qualms
Fresh figures have revealed that the Brexit shadow of uncertainty that was cast over the UK property market has begun to lift. House price growth has risen 0.6% in August, allowing property values to upsurge to a new record high of a £206,145 national average. This spells promising news for anybody who has a property…
Are Your Targets in your Estate Agency fair?
Over the years, I have come to the conclusion that targets are vital to the success of an estate or lettings agency .. but feel sometimes, estate and letting agency bosses focus to much on them to judge their staff. Let me talk about the people closest to the coal face – the Neg. Negotiators…
Christopher Watkin
A VERY simple step could save your agency from throwing thousands of pounds down the drain
We’ve all been there. When a big shining penny so blindingly obvious drops into our laps and screams ‘What the f**k took you so long?!!!!’ Let me explain. Twice this week I’ve had conversations with clients about their PR and marketing plans for the next quarter. Both times I’ve heard words to the effect of;…
Northern Property Markets Proving Robust
Property markets in the North of England have been showing their resilience in the face of economic troubles since the EU referendum. Market analysts say that London and the South East are the most vulnerable property markets at this time, while there are indications that Northern markets may be not just holding up well but,…
Mark Burns
And so it begins. The disintegration of the UK’s largest estate agent
Countrywide have today announced the closure of 59 branches across the country in addition to the consolidation of their London brands by morphing Faron Sutarian into John D Wood, one of the more established of their upper market shopfronts. Alan de Maid, Hetheringtons, Vanet, Fitz-Gibbon, APW Lettings, and CHK Mountford are also being re-labelled and will lead…
10 Ways to Build a Reputable Estate Agency
If you are considering it and you tell a friend or family member that you want to start an estate agency business, what reaction do you usually get? Well honestly speaking, a number of them have had a bad experience or two with some estate agents in the past and they will tell you so….
Things You Should Do Before Moving to a New City
Moving to a new city is a very important step in everyone’s life. It can be due to different reasons such as buying a new house or changing your current job. Before making the big decision on house relocation however, you need to think of arranging some things in advance. Here are the most essential…
In the face of Brexit, What factors add value?
Across the UK, house prices are fluctuating daily amidst Brexit uncertainty. Some days they are up, some days are down, but for a nation obsessed with the property market, what makes for a valuable area? The Open Property Group Investigates. Good Neighbours Good neighbours make an area far more valuable than one that is filled…
Christopher Walkey
Your Nuisance Neighbour Could be Costing You £37,000
Nobody wants to move into a new property and have to deal with any form of harassment or nuisance from the neighbours, but the difference between moving in next to a nice and a naughty neighbour could be worth more than £37,000 to the valuation of an average household. Based on the statistics taken from…
Are Countrywide becoming the floundering Tesco’s of Estate Agency?
10 years ago – Tesco’s could do no wrong, the darling of the stock market, huge profits, they were invincible .. but now, still huge – Tesco’s are not the force they once were. Tesco’s Senior executives were pushed out of the business which also suffered a culture change which was “not for the better”….
Christopher Watkin
Why Agents Should Love the C – Word – A 60 second read
I absolutely loved the Olympics. And not just because Team GB did us proud. For me it was a celebration of some of the greatest virtues human beings can have, hard work, dedication, camaraderie, striving to be better and doing something positive with our lives. All of the above qualities are evident in the vast…
How much could you lose to online agents through complacency?
I believe that perception is everything and at the moment estate agents are having to deal with the perception that some of them don’t give a good enough service and that because of this the public’s expectations are low. What does this mean? Well in my experience when people believe that the majority are giving…
400 ARTICLES on getting more instructions for your estate Agency
Growing an estate agency is hard work. I have walked in your shoes and I know its like pulling teeth to get more stock to sell The biggest problem is it’s getting in front of the house seller in the first place. Looking at the official stats, every agent’s stock is the lowest it has ever…
Christopher Watkin
First Time Buyer Meets Japanese Knotweed
The Guardian recently published an article about a first time buyer encountering Japanese Knotweed on the property he is proposing to purchase. The potential buyer discovered that the property has Japanese Knotweed only after making the offer. The article mentions that digging up knotweed is a thankless task. Although digging up knotweed is not easy…
Estate Agents – 1 minute read – If it’s good enough for Google……..
I think most people would agree that Google is a pretty successful outfit. The undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the internet search has entrenched itself in our everyday lives. The people at Google are smart – very smart. So smart are these digital geniuses that they send out fliers. Yep. They do. I’ve just had one….