Estate Agent Talk
Cheap Fees in Estate Agency
My good lady wife loves shopping online. In fact, Amazon, they rang her last week to check she was Ok as she hadn’t ordered anything for three days (only kidding .. they rang after two days). She ordered some Gin glasses (not from Amazon) from the internet – you know the ones that look like…
Christopher Watkin
How to increase the value of your garden
A well-designed and maintained garden makes a property stand out and will definitely increase its price. Landscaping is a great way to turn your garden into a magnificent and very special place. Here are some great tips on how to increase the value of your garden and thus improve the state of your house. Take…
Alex Evans
The real cost of expanding or diversifying your agency
The motto ‘speculate to accumulate’ is true – growing or diversifying to capitalise on market conditions is a great way of increasing profits and building a more secure business model. The whole idea of growth, however, is to increase profitability and not see any new income wiped out by set up costs and bigger overheads….
ARPM
Ewe must be joking? – Add some Apple thinking to your agency’s efforts
I attended a seminar a couple of years back which featured Steve Wozniak , the co-founder and original brains behind Apple. He came across genuine, down to earth, and incredibly clever but I was bored by the end of his talk – so much so that I vividly recall wondering why Gangsta rappers don’t attract…
Why Purplebricks wont change the face of UK Estate Agency
If you are an estate agent, most of you are starting to become aware of the creeping menace of the online/hybrid threat that is Purplebricks and their bedfellows, EasyProperty, Yopa and alike. Things are changing in UK Estate agency, in fact things have changed in all aspects of life .. and nobody can deny that…
Christopher Watkin
Redundancies – and why we must fight another brain drain from the industry
Redundancies are almost always a shock and very sad for the people concerned. At the same time redundancies do create new and positive opportunities for both job-seekers and prospective employers. Only months ago, I was writing about skill shortages throughout the estate agency and letting agency sector. It was increasingly difficult for employers to entice…
Falling house prices forecast: what do they mean for London property?
In wake of the Brexit vote, many experts have been publishing market reports and forecasts for the year ahead, with the likes of Knight Frank, Countrywide and Halifax, all indicating a fall in house prices. Lower prices tend to breed uncertainty among buyers, however, they can in fact be an excellent opportunity to access greater…
Enness Private
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