WEEKLY NEWS ROUNDUP – 22/07/2022
A roundup of the week’s top property and proptech news stories in partnership with Proptech-X
“Working Better Together” Coadjute report has been released
According to ‘Working Better Together’, a new report by Coadjute, both professions see real opportunity from building greater respect, trust, and openness in the relationship.
London, July 19 2022—Based on a survey of nearly 500 UK property professionals, the ‘Working Better Together’ report provides insight into the complex and changing relationship between conveyancers and estate agents.
The findings reveal both parties overwhelmingly agree (82%) that the relationship has changed, and despite the challenges they face, nearly half are confident (42%) the relationship can be better.
The survey of almost 500 property sector professionals also found:
- Better communication and cooperation will lead to better outcomes: both estate agents (36%) and conveyancers (27%) believe improving how they communicate, and work together is key to improving the home-buying process.
- Feeling unappreciated is a source of angst on both sides: out of the total conveyancers and estate agents surveyed, 16% feel undervalued, and 15% feel overworked.
- Technology is strengthening ties, but better skills and processes would make work easier: 68% of conveyancers and estate agents surveyed believe technology has had a positive impact on the relationship but believe simpler processes (26%), more skilled people (24%), and access to the right information (17%) are most critical in making work easier.
- Customer satisfaction and job satisfaction go hand in hand: 21% of the total conveyancers and estate agents surveyed view client satisfaction as the most enjoyable part of their job. Closely followed by building long-lasting client relationships (19%) and working with property peers (15%).
- Referral fees are a major concern for both parties: 67% of conveyancers and 51% of estate agents surveyed feel referral fees have had a negative impact on the relationship.
- The more senior in the industry, the more optimistic about the future: 72% of those in the industry 15+ years are most optimistic about the future of the relationship, compared with only a quarter of those in the industry less than 5 years.
Dan Salmons, CEO of Coadjute, concludes: “It is clear the difficulties of recent years have created even greater challenges for both conveyancers and estate agents and the relationship between them.
Although they play different roles in the property transaction, our findings show that fundamentally they share the same goals and frustrations. Encouragingly, our survey results also show the genuine desire across the industry to overcome the obstacles and move forward.
I believe this points the way to the future both professions would like to see: a more seamless property market, where buying and selling a home becomes a less stressful —even enjoyable—experience for all involved. That sounds like something we can all agree on, and a worthwhile goal for the industry to work towards.”
European proptech iDWELL launches in the United Kingdom
European proptech company iDWELL, a leading light for the next generation of digital property management solutions, is launching in the UK following a steady expansion across the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) where over 900,000 apartments are already being managed with iDWELL’s CRM and its corresponding customer app.
Founded in Vienna in 2017, iDWELL is one of the DACH region’s leading digital communication platforms for property managers. It features a unique integrated maintenance ticketing system and has recently received a Series A investment from London-based technology venture capitalist Flashpoint.
Expansion into the UK market is the next logical step after the company has forged great European success thanks to its powerful features, such as maintenance ticketing, full email and communication integration, automated workflow and separate landlord- and tenant-facing apps.
Within the next few years, iDWELL will be the leading digital solution for the Property Management Sector in Europe.
The Austrian proptech digitises complex and time-consuming administrative work and communication in property management. The company was founded in May 2017 by Alexander Roth who graduated in Business Administration.
In 2018, the company received a seven-figure investment from Gateway Ventures (formerly primeCROWD) and won the Innovation Challenge of the Vienna University of Technology and Austrian Real Estate Association (ÖVI) in 2019.
The company already serves well-known customers in Europe, like Otto Real Estate in association with Knight Frank, and Zurich Real Estate. In order to initiate its expansion outside the DACH region, a mid-single-digit million amount was collected from international investors.
Alex Roth, Founder & CEO of iDWELL, says: “Our powerful CRM platform, exclusively developed for the property management sector, has the potential to grow internationally, and we’re thrilled that we are now available in the UK.
“We will offer close support to property managers when transferring over to our product, digitising their processes and making them more efficient in order to save time, resources and money.
“The feedback from our first UK customers and appointments has been excellent, so we are looking forward to supporting more customers to solve their issues and help their business grow.”
Alex Abbott, Leader of iDWELL’s UK team, says: “iDWELL is an outstanding product and ideal for the UK market where digitisation in the property management market is a big topic. We’re confident that this is exactly the right time to be launching and that iDWELL is now the best property management CRM on the UK market.”
Propertymark: Summer market shows signs of cooling
In the latest Propertymark housing report, the first confirmed indications that high demand is easing across the UK were observed. However, some sellers may have pitched their prices too high for the current market, says Nathan Emerson.
In June, new buyer registrations per Propertymark member branch are close to what was seen in the winter with a peak over Spring. Propertymark says this is “what estate agents would expect from a traditional market.”
To support this trend, data indicates that the average number of viewings per property has fallen to 4.4 in June, previously 6.2 in April. This reduction of 29% is interesting, to say the least.
When it comes to sales agreed, there were nine on average for each Propertymark member branch in June, echoing the previous two months and in line with the pre-pandemic average, which is based on 2010-2019 figures.
Propertymark reports that sales agreed as a percentage of stock remains high – 33% in June – compared to pre-pandemic average of 17% of stock sold in June. Again, this is taken from 2010-2019 figures.
The report is quick to point out that buyers are starting to get homes under asking price. 27% of its member branches have reported that most sales were completed below asking price. In March, the figure was 15%.
Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark, comments: “For the past two years agents have seen a relentless market which defied patterns that we as practitioners had become accustomed to. However, this summer is seeing seasonal trends return. This cooling down is allowing the number of homes available to buy to recover, and interestingly, a subtle but telling change is in the prices being achieved.
“Compared to March 2022, this month has seen a 12 per cent increase in the number of agents reporting that the majority of their sales were agreed below asking price.”
Hammock secures ICAEW Technology Accreditation
London, UK. 18th July 2022 – Property finance platform Hammock has been accredited by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), recognising its position as a leading provider of property finance management services to accountants and their landlord clients.
Hammock’s innovative products and services have been accredited in the newly created category titled ‘Finance Software for Property Rental Market’, further highlighting the growing need for solutions and services in this corner of the market.
“We are delighted to have been formally accredited by the ICAEW to help accountants and their landlord clients get ready for MTD” said Manoj Varsani, founder and CEO of Hammock. “For accountancy firms of all sizes, the upcoming MTD for ITSA changes will have a significant impact on the way they manage landlord clients. We want to help firms unlock the opportunities that these new regulations create and, of course, minimise the challenges.”
The ICAEW’s Technology Accreditation covers a range of products, all designed for the accountancy industry. Each is independently evaluated through a rigorous process.
Craig McLellan, Commercial Business Manager at ICAEW, commented:
“We are delighted that Hammock has been accredited by the ICAEW. It is important that we continue to give members the ability to review independently evaluated software. Supporting the growth and delivery of property finance management services to accountants and their landlord clients”.
Varsani added: “Through this accreditation, Hammock’s offering is rightly recognised as being market leading for practitioners looking to better service their existing landlord clients, or acquire new ones, during this time of digital transformation.”
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