Is a hybrid estate agency around the corner?
Not even the fanciest of crystal balls has been able to predict the future of the property market but one thing is certain – the way people buy and sell property will change over the new few months and years. Already we have seen a big revolution in the way people search for property, with the internet taking over from newspaper listings and posted details, and a third major player in the portal market has recently ruffled feathers.
Online agencies are also growing in number and are attracting attention from investors outside of the industry. Carphone Warehouse founder Sir Charles Dunstone, together with his business partner, Roger Taylor, have recently invested £5 million in an online estate agent, with Dunstone quoted as saying: “We believe estate agency is going to change considerably, with the future increasingly belonging to online estate agents.”
It’s exciting that such an esteemed business leader sees the future of estate agency online. But if only it was as clear cut as that. Many online agents see the advantage of the human touch and offer accompanied viewings via a local network of agents. So not quite 100% online, as there is an element of person-to-person interaction.
And that’s where the idea of a hybrid agent stems. I’ve seen discussions between agents on forums debating the future of the industry – normally on the back of a ‘the High Street agent is dead’ feature or anything about online agency success.
The message from customers is mixed and may well shape the future of agency. They want lower fees, portal exposure and a simple service but they also want face-to-face negotiations, professional staff and the gravitas of a high street brand behind their sale or let. Taking into account staff overheads, office rents, listing fees and the indomitable rise of all things online, agents will probably have to review their physical presence sooner rather than later.
Perhaps the future holds fewer agency offices – maybe a cull of smaller branches and more anonymously-located back offices in favour of agency ‘superstores’ reserved for major cities or towns. Could more staff work from home using cloud computing? Will negotiators become freelance, with flat fees for accompanied viewings and a set commission per transaction completed? Will the UK move towards a more American system, with personal realtors? It’s simply not as black and white as High Street versus online agent.
Agents seem preoccupied with portal wars and listings at the moment but they shouldn’t take their eye off what clients want, how the competition is behaving and what the bottom line figure reads. Perhaps the evolvement into a hybrid agent is the way to address all the above.
* Simon Duce is the Managing Director of ARPM Outsourced Lettings Support
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