Should High St Estate Agents set up their own Online Alternative?

August 10, 2016

Countrywide have announced that 25% of their branches will soon offer an online estate agency package as well as their normal High Street offering.

.. but should the rest of the UK estate agents follow suit?

We can either join the ‘purplemenaces’ and commoditise our beautiful profession by trying to beat them … trying to beat them by playing their game and offering our own alternative online offering.

But will that turn ourselves  from ‘estate agents’ into ‘listing agents’? …. and will that turn ourselves from ‘professional property managers’ to ‘glorified rent collectors’ one step up from Gumtree?

Many of you agents out there, think you should fight fire with fire, and set up your own online-proposition, like Countrywide are doing.… but here is the problem,  what if your own online offering takes off and really works?.. you see ..

… if your online model does become successful, you will end up killing the very thing (your High St operation) you set up your own online proposition to protect..

.. think about it .. if you are are going to fight fire with fire .. you might just get burned and end up in the ashes.

Why not fight fire with water .. its what the professionals use?

Want to know where the water is .. see below in the PS section

kind regards

Christopher

christopher@christopherwatkin.co.uk

PS  ……

Water Source 1 – Over 250 articles and posts on beating cheap fees, overvaluing and online threats https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/0_0rJj6gSvqclL15sfJaQvq1

Water Source 2 –  Watch some videos of other agents (and myself) talking about  beating cheap fees, overvaluing and online threats .. https://goo.gl/Zzw4LN

 

 

Christopher Watkin

I teach, guide, support, mentor, consult, counsel, partner many hundreds of UK Estate and Letting Agents in their quest to grow their estate and lettings agencies business. Old school techniques of touting, landlords wanted leaflets, ring us for a free valuation, we have sold this in your street leaflets don't work anymore. There are too many competitor agents .. meaning cheap fees are epidemic, overvaluing is almost a norm to get the stock and don’t even mention about the online/hybrid threat. So a few years ago, I set about looking around the UK and spotted that certain agents (not many mind you) in certain towns were still seen as the ‘go to person on property’, the person the newspaper editor rang up every week for a comment and I looked at what they did and they were doing some thing quite remarkable…. Only one thing but they were doing it so well .. and reaping the reward in terms of decent listings and decent fees, happy staff, decent sales pipeline and exchange income, managed lettings portfolios in the many hundreds .. but more importantly, they really enjoyed the job… they enjoyed getting up in the morning and people looked up to them Over 400 agents around the UK are on a mission to change the way our Estate and Lettings agency profession is perceived and looked upon, doing it town by town, city by city. I guide these 400 agents, teach them, mentor them and support them to be seen in a different light, to be seen as the ‘go to person for property’, actually be the ‘local property expert’ and prove it. Christopher Watkin 07950 147 572 christopher@christopherwatkin.co.uk

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Weekly News Roundup – 19/04/24

A roundup of the week’s top property and proptech news stories in partnership with Proptech-X Table of Contents Ascendix deep dives into the world of the AVM CEO Adam Pigott on tour in Norfolk with tlyfe App VTS Activate Multifamily launches   Ascendix deep dives into the world of the AVM This month Yana Yarotska from Ascendix…
Read More →
Breaking News

Breaking Property News – 18/04/24

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   Scotland to get to Net Zero by 2045 in stunning U-turn Because of its serious implications here in full is the Scottish ‘apology or explanation’ why it thinks it is OK to let the planet burn for the next two decades. Net Zero and…
Read More →
Breaking News

Breaking Property News – 17/04/24

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   CEO Adam Pigott on tour in Norfolk with tlyfe App Full disclosure CEO Adam Pigott and his team are one of my earliest clients, so it is always a pleasure to hear what they have been getting up to. And this week they were…
Read More →
Love or Hate Rightmove
Breaking News

Rightmove’s weekly mortgage tracker

Headlines The average 5-year fixed mortgage rate is now 4.84%, up from 4.45% a year ago The average 2-year fixed mortgage rate is now 5.23%, up from 4.77% a year ago The average 85% LTV 5-year fixed mortgage rate is now 4.77%, up from 4.46% a year ago The average 60% LTV 5-year fixed mortgage…
Read More →
Rightmove logo
Breaking News

Rightmove comment on inflation reducing to 3.2%

UK inflation slowed less than expected last month, making traders and economists more cautious about the likely pace of interest rate cuts. Matt Smith, Rightmove’s mortgage expert said: ‘It’s positive to see inflation continuing to fall this morning, albeit not by quite as much as expected, as the blocks continue to build towards the anticipated…
Read More →
Estate Agent Talk

Multifaceted Rewards of Vineyard Estates: Investing in Vineyard Estates in Provence for a Fulfilling Lifestyle Business

Vineyard estates provide an exceptional opportunity to invest in a lifestyle business that aligns with a passion for crafting something unique, freedom for creativity, and business interests while harmonizing with the rhythms of nature. In Provence, you can invest in winemaking and foster authentic connections with the land and community while enjoying your returns. It’s…
Read More →