A leading high street agent has admitted that his business would be “crucified” without the current portals.
Asked about Rightmove and Zoopla’s importance to his business, Richard Barber, sales partner at WA Ellis in London, said his firm would struggle without Zoopla brand PrimeLocation, and Rightmove.
He said: “It is nothing to do with money, and everything to do with exposure.
“We under-estimate the power of the portals at our peril.”
Barber was taking part in an often fiery round-table debate on online agents versus traditional models, where both high street and online agents accepted – with differing degrees – the power of the current portals.
Barber, whose firm is supporting Agents’ Mutual, said he is confident the launch of the new portal next January “would diminish” the power of the existing big two.
He said his firm would pull off Rightmove “because in London, PrimeLocation is king”.
Barber also made it plain that he was not opposed to online agents, and felt that the high street could and should learn from them.
He picked out some of the online agents’ offerings, such as giving statistics online to sellers about viewers’ feedback, and said: “We [high street agents] tend to think we know it all, but we don’t.
“These guys are breaking new ground.”
Elsewhere in the round table – hosted by software company VTUK and chaired by Eye’s Rosalind Renshaw – things became heated when the high street agents queried online agent Russell Quirk’s claim to sell properties at virtually their asking price.
Nick Salmon, CEO of Eye and formerly an agent with a 30-year track record, wanted to know which asking price – the original, or the latest reduction.
Jamie Lester, of Haus Properties in west London, raised the tempo further.
Lester said that a two-bedroom maisonette in a road that he knew well on his patch, was listed as sold subject to contract by Quirk’s eMoov at £565,000.
But Lester claimed that the true valuation of this property was £889,200 – a difference of £324,200 – something that only agents on the ground, and with intimate local knowledge, would know.
Brighton agent Paul Bonnett, chairman of Team, also advocated the standing of “boutique” local agencies knowing their areas. It was pointed out that Team uses its own bespoke multi-listing software, with members likely to be less reliant on the portals than others.
Meanwhile, Quirk agreed that online agents would find it hard to function without the property portals – but maintained that they could do so if necessary.
He said: “It would certainly be a lot harder without Rightmove and Zoopla.”
However, he was outspoken regarding Agents’ Mutual, which has said it will ban budget online agencies.
He said: “It doesn’t stand a candle in a wind’s chance. I give it a year.” He said he was still considering mounting a legal challenge to its ban.
Michael Bruce, of hybrid agency newcomer Purplebricks, said: “We could certainly exist without Rightmove and Zoopla, but it would be harder work.
“Agents’ Mutual saddens me, because it is a closed shop. Whichever way you look at it, this is not in the best interests of the consumer. Agents’ Mutual should be inclusive.”
Elsewhere in the wide-ranging discussion, Jan Hytch, parter of Arnold Keys in Norfolk, said that part of the value of traditional agents was that they could “interpret” viewings.
With online agents mostly getting sellers to do their own viewings, she felt this was a drawback for consumers choosing an internet model. Barber agreed, saying that intuition had a large part to play for traditional agents conducting viewings and trying to get the best possible deal for their clients.
Hytch also said that having a mailing list was still invaluable – “gold”, as she described it.
Simon Gerrard, of Martyn Gerrard in north London and NAEA president, agreed: “Only 50% of our inquiries come from Rightmove and PrimeLocation.”
Adam Day, of online agent Hatched, said he had launched eight years ago and had built up his business by cold-calling private sellers, travelling huge distances to visit properties, and then getting referrals.
His business is now turning over £1m a year, but he did not think he would be able to launch easily into the online market today. Day thought that had he not launched when he did, he would still be working in a high street agency.
Quirk said: “There is an online transformation coming. It is no longer about costs but service.”
Eye would like to thank VTUK’s Peter Grant for putting on the round table debate and all the participants for an unusually interesting debate – and one that is likely to be worth repeating in a year or two’s time.
Below, Richard Barber of WA Ellis
Comments (60)
When people talk about "online agents", do they also mean those without a shop front? We operate from a serviced office in Edinburgh, but don't get passing trade so portals are very important. But even shop fronts wouldn't claim they could survive without a portal.
One thing that should be remembered in light of Agents' Mutual is the situation in Scotland, especially the east coast. For many years, the estate agency (sales) market has been a closed shop with solicitor-estate agent firms being the dominant force, and their lawyer only Aberdeen/Edinburgh/Tayside Solicitor Property Centres accounting for about 80% of the market. It's near on impossible for a low or mid-end estate agency to enter the market, with the exception of the established high end firms such as Savills and Knight Frank. Even the few vaguely successful sales agencies have converted into law firms to join the solicitor grouping.
"People go where the stock is" – utter nonsense .. Globrix had all the stock, the failed NAEA website (I forget it's name now) claimed to have 85% . Neither had any users … Why ? Because people go to websites they have heard of and are comfortable using . I wonder why in a market much bigger than ours , financial services , all the loan providers haven't come together and said tell you what lets pull all our deals off money supermarket and compare the market etc and only sell them on our sites . The reason is that they know that people log into these websites and select from what's on them … There is no difference in that in the property world
Danny
I feel you are right – the only way we will find out now is to see what happens after 1 Jan 15. But for those that are struggling now, being on AM is not going to help their business – it may only reduce their outgoings a bit pcm. Being on AM will not increase exposure – the properties have full exposure being on RM, Zoopla and Primelocation.
Businesses will do well when they have the fundamentals of good estate agency practice squared away – not just where their properties are advertised.
"Meanwhile, Quirk agreed that online agents would find it hard to function without the property portals – but maintained that they could do so if necessary… He said: “It would certainly be a lot harder without Rightmove and Zoopla.”"
Meaning WHAT exactly, Mr Quirk – that you would have to increase your fees in order to provide anything like a service that vendors should expect of an Estate Agent, perhaps?
You're deep in that territory already.
Between you and your PR chappie Stephen Whassname, you couldn't promote free cash giveaways…
Hi All,
Didn't take long for a AM / Online agent story to fire up the masses!
Given that most of my posts tend to be war and peace like, I will say this as concisely as I can!
DVD's and CD's – Not really in the same bracket as a £500,000 house purchase. The worst that could happen when ordering a DVD or CD is that it doesn't turn up.
Control of the stock – People go where it is, if it isn't on an on-liners website, no one is going there, if it isn't on RM or Zoopla, no one is going there.
AM is the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, break up the duopoly and put a serious dent in the on-line uprising.
Competition is good, wherever it comes from. It shouldn't be underestimated as it has a habit of creeping up on you. It keeps you honest and makes you look forward, not backwards.
Don't miss your opportunity to cause your own disruption people, because sitting back and letting it play out, might mean you won't be in the game when it's finally played out.
Take action and you have a chance, take no action and your fate is in the hands of others; better to have the control than hand it to someone else.
One thing about buying and selling a home is that people do actually like to interact with people. You can email, e-shot and text alert all you like, but nothing beats a phone call and being given that extra bit of info and feel for the property, which often leads you down another path and to a home that you would never have dreamed of.
Picking from a list, will get you what you think is best, but won't actually get you what was best for you.
There needs to be a blend of the old and new.
Yes, we all need to evolve & innovate, because if we don't and can't provide a reason for the public to engage with us, then they will go elsewhere and there is always someone waiting in the wings!
Not very concise, but I never am!
PeeBee, I can't believe we haven't had your input yet!
a blend of the old and new is exactly what I have been referring to Paul and totally agree. Hybrid is the way forward – give them what they want and cater for as many tastes as possible but keep one thing constant – exceed clients expectations in service delivery and offer great value for money.
Fees can come down but not at the expense of profit, when fixed costs are reduced… 🙂
Genuine question JAM01 – Do you not think the public want a high street office?
The savings that online agents give is not on the office but the quality of the staff and the wages.
To employ a good negotiator I set aside 40k in my business plan as I have to pay a reasonable basic and commission and car. I hope to actually pay them more as means I have a better member of staff. My staff then attend viewings, progress sales, obtain valuations and list houses etc
An online member of staff will probably be paid circa 16k with no bonus or car and is in effect an admin assistant. Just listing properties on the internet.
This of course does change if you are a one man band looking to just bank a couple of grand a month listing properties. if that's your plan then go with it.
Think the above shows albeit it very simple terms why a high street agent is still important and offers value for money.
No the public do not want a high street office – they want an agent who will do what they say they will do. You can still employ the great neg but get him/her to work from home or out of the local serviced office, having paid just the min VPA price of £80 – £325 pcm.
If that is not a massive saving for you, then you are different to my previous circumstances. I have two high street branches – 1 x sales and 1 x lettings. I moved there from a serviced office just around the corner out of vanity.
I lost my business as a result. When I was working out of the serviced office with two other members of staff, we were able to focus solely on all of the true EA skills – applicant qualification being key.
We were selling 16 houses per month out of that serviced office.
Moved into the high street – having to deal with carpet crushers, time wasters, out of the rain/waiting for bus people, and MUCH higher fixed rental, business rate and utilities costs, plus extra staff just to man the place.
No longer needed…full service agents can provide full services without the need of a 'shop'.
Pee Bee has gone to Magalouf for a fortnight.
nope…
PEEBEE'S BACK!!
Normal service is now resumed – sorry and all that for those that were enjoying the peace and quiet…
Paul (Paul H?)
"Didn't take long for a AM / Online agent story to fire up the masses!"
Funny, that – seeing as this ISN'T an "AM / Online agent story".
It is about PORTALS – and AM currently isn't one.
But… as long as there is The AM Collective… EVERY story will be made to be an AM story! 😉
No PeeBee we are two different people I can assure you.
Why don't 'traditional' agents incorporate the 'online' model within their own business and offer a truly 'hybrid' solution for their local marketplace. Effectively 'bolting on' a Housenetwork-type of site onto their own business will facilitate the best of both worlds and assist in any future transition more towards online, but retaining excellent customer service levels at the local level?
I certainly will be doing this when I re-start my agency next year.
Over the past 2 days I have studied in detail all of the main 'online' estate agents. Many now not only advertise online, but a local company-employed agent visits the property, takes the details, produces photography, produces a floor plan, produces virtual tours and writes up the property details.
The vendor selects the package they require, including EPC, a dedicated account manager, offer negotiation, production of memorandum of sale, sales progression to completion, all as bolt-ons.
Many miss the opportunity to utilise an applicant database for e-mail notification to potential buyers when new listings in the local area that match their requirement come onto the market.
That said, online agency has moved on greatly very recently, and VERY quickly, and the only real difference between the High Street model and the main online players is lack of High Street Branch and need to charge clients for their upkeep and for the expense of High Street-based staff.
They do have a local presence though, either as a Field Agent or Local Agent employed by their company and these employees do visit the properties.
Some online agents add on a charge to do accompanied viewings!
Sorry guys and gals, but that is the future of residential estate agency and why the 'hybrid' model, incorporating the best aspects of 'online' and 'traditional' will eventually succeed.
There is no need for a 'shop' on the High Street now. And because of this, their 'hybrid model' costs are many £1,000s less than the traditional, hence they will offer better value for money yet still be able to provide quality agency, with NAEA-qualified personnel.
Jam, what would happen to the new hybrid/onliners in your view if (hypothetically) all high st agents took their stock from rm/zpg on Jan 1st next year?
Wilko
As a hybrid, I will still be offering traditional services so have that base covered.
Also, I would be one of the agents able to advertise on Rightmove, Primelocation & Zoopla, whereas the High St Agents under AM would not be, offering me an online competitive advantage in maximising coverage of the properties on all leading portals, and still having my own office-based local website and applicant database.
No issues really bud.
JM
So you think that RM zoop and PL would still be as effective in selling properties if they only had ,say, 15% of total property on market? The rest having gone exclusively to AM (hypothetically)
It's not a loaded question, it's just you have always been consistant in your posts and are one of the few people who firmly have a boot in both camps (ie professional agency and online agency) and your honest views are appreciated.
Wilko
No RM & ZPG would not be as effective, but it wouldn't affect the ability of my agency to sell property is what I meant.
The best leads we used to receive when I ran my previous agency ending 2012 was from pleased vendors and their referrals, sold boards, our own website, prospecting, local papers to gain market appraisals, leaflets and white label consultants who shared in the sale fee commission for referred property and also the main portals.
When we lost our way a bit and forgot the basics, relying more and more on RM leads, the business suffered greatly.
With a lot of property then going from RM, etc if all independents left it, then the short term impact would be good for those remaining on it, as they would stand out more and for the public, the branding that RM has for example would still drive customers to it.
However, I would be planning to utilise google adwords that drove business to my own business, rather than driving it to the portals. Some local agents did well during the recession, as they had a bvery good brand locally and not down to RM etc.
Driving business to our own business is what is important.
I would offer the online version as part of a hybrid solution, just to get a local advantage as well, as offering the clients (vendors) a 360 degree marketing solution that fits THEIR needs rather than trying to protect my own needs as an estate agent trying to defend until hell or high water, the high st office based bricks and mortar way of doing things in the past.
We have to be progressive and give the customer what they want – excellent levels of service but in a more cost-effective manner.
At the same time, high end clients will still want the high end service, etc and that can be catered for as well.
We must focus on our business and levels of service, NOT on the main portals. When we concentrate on the portals, business goes down.
I would be very concerned if I worked for Barber because he clearly doesn't have any grasp of the market. We have just completed a great deal of research on our own records and get this:
out of the last 100 properties we SOLD, only 20% of the sales were agreed to applicants who registered via a portal. The vast majority of applicants who purchased a house made initial contact with our offices from:
1. Our own website 35%
2. One of the 5 local papers we advertise in 20%
3. A vendor already selling or under offer with Sterling 20%
5. Walk in or other mediums of marketing 5%
so Barber….how well do you understand your business model? rightmove et al produces more waste than any other medium in terms of potential buyers and tenants which clog up negotiators time from dealing with real and motivated buyers, sellers, tenants and landlords.
Interesting Stats Ben.
I don't know what your website is but from those numbers I would say it's fairly well optimised for your target market.
Now if all agents numbers were like this then nobody would advertise on portals as there would be no need… It's a shame that your agency seems to be an edge case.
Kudos 🙂
Ben,
Looking at your website you are one of the few agents that really do promote themselves!
Little things like attaching a page on your pdf as an advert for your agency is great practice.
Fresh website not cluttered and easy to navigate with relevant info. I am surprised at the 35% sales from your own website their though. That is a phenomenal number – I have never achieved that figure when looking at my stats. Any tips? is it SEO, town advertising, sponsorship or a mixture?
5% walk-in…..
Why have a High Street Branch then? Why not operate out of a serviced office, or 100% online but offering the exact same services as detailed…?
JAM01 – not a great deal of difference between a serviced office or high street branch these days. Also the public like the reassurance of being able to walk into an office and the brand awareness an office can provide is invaluable to a local agent. Often thought of the Hybrid system myself and put a lot of time and research into it. What it boils down to for me at least is I would rather deal with people locally, face to face and offer a service I believe in rather then just list a multitude of listings all over the country.
At some point I may need to change my approach but at the moment I like what I do, I earn well and I am not just reliant on selling houses, I let them, I also provide epc's, mortgages, conveyancing.
if you are committed to this system good luck to you! – hope it works and keep us updated 🙂
Smile please
Cheers – when I said serviced office I meant virtual office, with fall back to use the serviced office facilities when required.
There is a big difference here – virtual office in Canterbury, Kent is £86 plus VAT pcm and clients can be met in there in the break out areas at no extra cost. Rooms can be hired for £40 per hour.
I had a prime central London agency that operated out of http://www.64knightsbridge.co.uk. I marketed properties between £1M – £10M and sold securing fees of circa £42k.
I dealt with HNWIs and they came into the 'serviced office' – were dealt as a client should be dealt with by a 'consultant' at an appointed time, in open break-out area or in a private room.
Cost? £325 plus VAT pcm for Prime Central London, Knightsbridge.
I excelled at customer service and did not need a high street branch in Knightsbridge. So there IS a big different – massive profit margins and flex to operate in a falling market, as fixed costs are so low…
42k per property or 42k total? 1 seaside office I have does in excess of 350k per annum.
If it was 42k per property I would have no hesitation acquiring a Prime London location!
I guess it comes down to ambition and salary expectations. If 40k was a salary you were happy with I would be taking a negs job, lot more fun and stress free!
Not knocking what you have done or want to do but maybe we are looking at different ends of the market
It is an average fee of £42k per sale.
Example – 3 bed ground floor apartment in Mayfair sold at 1.75% plus VAT and sale price was £1.82M.
The Indian petrochemical CEO who was my vendor was referred. The Indian family who purchased, one of 4 they purchased that month, flew in from India twice to view.
Fair to say, they did not give a hoot about me not having window displays or a high street office.
The NEED for those is gone – service levels and applicant and vendor management (knwoing precisely what a buyer wants and matching them to the property that ticks their boxes) is all that is required.
When we rely on portals and applicants to do their own matching, they rarely buy the first property as they fail to accurately match themselves to a property.
Agents that spend time in qualifying buyers in great details, who know what they really do want, what benefits they seek in moving…they are the ones that do well and RM/Zoopla etc doesn't come into it.
A Top 10 Hot Buyer's board and focusing on those who are going to buy in the next 24/48 hours is key. Then all that is needed is a pen, paper, telephone and the brains we were born with 🙂
We are looking at it from the wrong direction, if I were a purchaser I would want to visit just one or two sites hoping that they list the majority if not all of the properties in my preferred area. That's why we all spend far too much money advertising on these sites because our clients found it easier to find properties and fortunately they also find it easier to find properties through our competitive agents therefore making it even more important that our listings are attractive and competitively priced. The difference between online and high-street agents only really becomes apparent once a viewing is made. We for instance escort all viewings and that’s something the online agents don’t offer and the majority of our vendors want it this way. You will always have some vendors who feel they know best, they can do it all and will instruct the online agent, do viewings and even negotiate the sale.
Online or a high-street is a choice for the vendor, but both should be properly regulated and/or licensed, perhaps agents mutual could look at qualification rather than location prior to accepting advertising
Darren:
Consumers will hunt until they're satisfied they have what they want, whether that's on two websites or twenty.
A company did a survey of consumers property hunting habits online last year at some point and found that a very large majority (something around 90%) would look for as long as necessary on as many websites and in as many newspapers as they saw fit to make sure they're mot missing out on something. They then were able to draw the correct conclusion that whether you advertise on the big portals or not what not relevant as the consumers would (for lack of a better phrase) "look to the ends of the earth" to make sure they were satisfied with the properties they had found. Obviously this does not cover every case but for the most part it rings true. I have to agree with their outcome, when I am looking for something (even small things) to buy, I don't just check Ebay and Amazon, I look elsewhere to make sure I have the best deal. Ebay and Amazon by far dominate the WORLD in retail "portals" yet other retailers seem to stay in business…. Why is it do we think this is so?
I get really sad reading these comments regarding RM, Zoopla etc and the fact that the argument is all around listings and exposure.
The truth is the "Big 2" have made themselves necessary to estate agents. yes we can exist without them no problem but the issue is they are so large there will always be a large percentage of agents supporting them so the argument of agents pulling their stock is a non starter.
AM – has a glimmer of hope as it should help with costing's and create more competition in the portal market, however anybody that things AM will save us all is cuckoo.
What High Street agent need to do is impress on the service they can deliver. We all know what we should do but do we include this in our marketing and valuation pitch? – This is how we can win the fight against online agents, market our strengths and practice what we preach otherwise we will loose or all have to be working from and spare bedroom at home becoming a "Listing agent" as opposed to an estate agent.
"so the argument of agents pulling their stock is a non starter."
Why a non starter….85% of all property to buy or rent is taken off Z and RM and put on AM at a fraction of the cost for users…..where are the public going to look for their property online? What would happen to the online listers?
"AM – has a glimmer of hope as it should help with costing's and create more competition in the portal market, however anybody that things AM will save us all is cuckoo."
A glimmer of hope because of costings? We've moved on from the cost benefit of AM ages ago…It is the ONLY project that can preserve and save the high street professional model.Continue to back rm/z and the online agents will grow like japanese knotweed.
What High Street agent need to do is impress on the service they can deliver. We all know what we should do but do we include this in our marketing and valuation pitch?"
No, I don't know what I should include (and don't) in my marketing and valuation pitch to prevent onliners from getting the instruction so please explain why we and uk agents are losing 1000's of instructions to online agents and tell me what I can exclusively do to stop this.
In my opinion you are woefully in denial of the online threat to the high street and maybe this makes you the "cuckoo" one. But then again, if you do have the revolutionary ideas of what to include in the marketing /valuation and share them with us then we could all be winners!
Wilko – take your pill! (in the nicest possible way!)
Agree with what you say, problem is agent will not commit to coming off RM and Zoopla as other agents in their town will not. We have had this problem for years in my town about the paper. All agents want to come out apart from 1 the largest 1! – they know they will win even more instructions if the others pull out and that is why others are in affect forced to stay in. In theory its a great idea, in practice will be very hard to achieve.
AM does have a chance to succeed and help but we cannot rely on it.
In regards to what we offer that online agents do not, that is where we need to educate the public. Pro -active call outs, viewing tours, open houses, negotiation of offers, if a low offer comes in can we neg down the line for you, checking the financial standing of the purchaser, progressing the sales so it does not fall through, acting as a middle man to keep the sale on track, keep the purchaser at arms length so it does not become personal, canvass for their new home for them……….. lots of things us high street agents do that online does not / cannot.
We should sell on service not just listing a property and focus on the fee. in a town where most agents are 1% I achieve circa 1.5% this is from educating both my staff and the public why we are worth it (you must also deliver).
I am well aware of the threat of online agents which is why I bang the drum to make a difference between us and them.
"I am well aware of the threat of online agents which is why I bang the drum to make a difference between us and them."
And therein lies your problem I don't think you are…..you don't do anything different from what we have always done! You don't suggest that I or any other high st.agent can do any more except bang the drum about our differences! But this is NOT working in a most spectacular fashion. You know if a seller in your area puts their property on at the right price with an online agent that lists on RM/z that enough enquiries will be generated for that house to sell. That seller can get that service for less than £100 quid-all in. Yes you can bleat on about how we accompany viewings, have an office, have experience….but hey….customers don't seem to care! Online agency is the fastest growing property industry sector by an absolute mile. I've been studying them and punters are going to them in droves.housesimple,mypropertyadvert,sellmyhome,rogersdirect,hatched,visum,eemoove,housenetwork,esale,pink,urban,myonlineestateagent,wesold,onlinelettingco,scothousemove,sellahouseonline,tepilo,onlineestateagency,mousehouse,springbok,moovright,121move,propertyinvestmentproject,eresidentials,thelittlehouseco,ivygate,alton…1000s of sellers HAVE chosen and sold with these and many other onliners that I haven't got time to list.
I'll leave you in your snuggly bubble to back these agents by continuing to make z and rm the success they are and ultimately put the proffessional agent out of work.
Meanwhile back in the real world I'm going to take 2 pills to try and get others to realise that the only choice left for the professional agent is AM.
Wilko think you are missing my point entirely.
Anybody / portal can sell a property it is the service that makes a difference if more agents sold their service the difference would be noticeable nationwide.
And if you are selling the service and you are still losing instructions to online agents I suggest you look at YOUR pitch and change something. AM is not going to change your business or the market. It can help but it is down to you to change.
Estate agency is a strange profession we are a service industry yet sales focussed maybe the balance with your service / sales needs looking at? as with a lot of other agents.
I hope for your agency that AM is the answer as from what I can see that is the answer you are waiting for. However I hope just a couple of agents read what I have suggested and actually take maters into their own hands and look to change a system that currently does not work for them. If they do not the industry as a whole will suffer and the rise of online agents prevail.
Let me give an example: Apple sells PC's Ipods, phones etc Now where as a lot of retailers have gone out of business Apple shops continue to flourish. Why is this? because of the experience and service the shops deliver. Go into any mall at a weekend and the shops are rammed. customers get to engage with a product and the staff. They can all buy the products online but choose not to because Apple have got the sale to service ratio right. Currys Dixons are all going out of business because advertising, marketing and service was outdated these same shops sold apple products!!!!
Other than thinking AM is a wonderful idea (which I hope it turns out to be) what have you done in the last 12 months to reinvent your business if you are still loosing instructions? if you have tried a number of ideas well done as some work and some do not! if you have done nothing but the same over last year maybe just maybe it is time to give in…….
"A glimmer of hope because of costings? We've moved on from the cost benefit of AM ages ago…"
Matey – only TWO PARAGRAPHS EARLIER you state "Why a non starter….85% of all property to buy or rent is taken off Z and RM and put on AM at a fraction of the cost for users….."
Methinks you need to make your mind up! 😉
What a surprise…….agents all knocking each other, and the mechanism for exposing their client's wares. Sounds to me very much like the old whinge about the cost of newspaper advertising? Why on earth do agents operating in a discrete location not CO-OPERATE to produce a local portal? The search engines are becoming far more sophisticated…… local relevance is key! If agents in say, Cambridge, all agreed to boycott the duopoly and instead use their own Cambridge Property Portal, it would only take days to get to the top of all organic searches. What a shame that agents are all so busy trying to out do each other, that they cannot work together in the interests of their clients.
Couldn't agree more, trouble is that most agents only think about making a quick quid and not about sustaining future business.
Perhaps one day they will learn, until then they deserve everything that happens to them, eventually online only agents whom have a clear advantage with lower running costs and a better thought out DIGITAL business plan will prevail… Online only has already obliterated so many other industries so why should Real Estate be any different.
Real Estate is a consumer driven market, they will find their property by any means necessary, they will show zero loyalty to any agent, portal or website. Online agents seem to grasp this, I'm not sure why the "savvy" traditional agent cannot???
I agree nice idea, but we have spent too long trying to get "local " websites off the ground…doesn't work.
I think if you are going to make statements like:
"trouble is that most agents only think about making a quick quid and not about sustaining future business" you shouldn't be hiding behind a monker that protects your identity and the company you work for.
Your description of Agents is the polar opposite of my experience of Agents large and small the full length and breadth of the country.
Although Estate agency appears to be a retail buisiness it is in fact a service industry with a strong pastoral element. When you make statements like; "Online only has already obliterated so many other industries so why should Real Estate be any different" it shows that you don't understand the subtle difference.
Robert:
The beauty of the internet is I am free to say or be who I like. Whether or not I give my real identity bears no resemblance on whether or not my comments bear weight.
Having been in I.T for some 25 years and watched it personally obliterate many traditional bricks and mortar industries within a few years is not really a fact open for debate, look at HMV and Woolworths (for two mainstream companies) destroyed, numerous publishers, numerous publications that used to be tangible media but are now pixels on a screen… Need I go on?
I would just like to point out that I stated it was a "consumer" driven industry from which you wrongly assumed I meant retail. In a digital world the lines between product and services blur and can be thought of as the same thing as "consumer" consume "services" as well as "consuming" tangible products. The fact that you don't seem to know this is troubling and shows that while you may understand traditional models, you are a bit out of your depth when it comes to this digital age.
Here is the simple fact. Online ONLY Agents are only a recent addition to the industry, yet, they're gaining more and more market share every day, this fact is undeniable and it's in large due to their different approach to DIGITAL marketing, this is something that escapes (for the most part) more traditional estate agents.
Need you go on? yes name a service industry that has been dented by online competition, Your have quoted two retail businesses to make your point.
Robert my INITIAL point was regarding OTHER industries being obliterated by ONLINE online businesses.
I guess the old saying is correct… You can't educate pork!
Actually you asked "Online only has already obliterated so many other industries so why should Real Estate be any different." I have tried to explain that Estate Agency is not a retail industry like the other industries that have suffered.
When two new posters appear on the same day, in the same story, marketing a single product it is fair indication the two are connected. Good cop/bad cop plus a URL and a somewhat out of context random plug with the email address? I might well be wrong but there is enough of a cliché pattern here to link you directly with Trevor Gillham.
Both online and traditional agents hold this false perception.
Supply controls the market; consumers do not.
Consumers do as they're told.
Supply sets out terms.
Agents should do better with their control of supply.
Realpundit.
Consumers control the market because they ultimately control the supply. There are plenty of ways to sell a home, consumers control where they place their houses for sale and ultimately by choosing the agents who best serve their needs (price, ease of use etc) force those agents and their "ways of doing things" to the top of the pile ergo "controlling" the market by way of them making the choices that give the agents stock to advertise in the first place…
Launching in 2 weeks for sales (lettings on the way) we can make your high street agency out perform online agents with auto account creation for feedback, viewings and offers etc for vendors and viewers. Want to test the system before it goes live? email agents[at]estateagent.me
Trevor:
I hope your system is better than your website (estateagent.me) as currently that is awful and does not promote a confident or successful brand.
100% Agree with you! Its all been redeveloped, the old site does look like it was done in the 1980's.
PortalPerson, please could you email as I would welcome your opinion on the new site, I will give you a different URL.
I have emailed agents[at]estateagent.me
"We certainly wouldn't exist without the big portals" say the on liners.
In that one statement is why EVERY high st proffessional agent HAS to take their stock off these sites and onto agents mutual. This is the last and only chance we have to save the proffessional side of the industry in my opinion.
Sorry Wilko but every 'professional Agent' could take their 'stock' down from Rightmove and Zoopla but that would not dent the unprofessional side or passive intermediaries; it is not the stock that is their lifeblood but the dead file data the portals allow access to that is making their businesses viable.
Agents Mutual does not and will not solve the problem.
Taking stock back into their own hands is the ONLY way that agents will curb price increases and monopolies built on the back of their own stock.
Which problem doesn't it solve?
The only problem I have is that online agents, as this article clearly shows, rely 100% on the major portals to sell property.
If the major portal is AM then their business plan doesn't work because they can't go on AM!
hilarious.
It doesn't solve the larger problem which is the two large portals dominating the market and CONTROLLING the prices / upping prices year on year.
Why do you have a problem with Online ONLY agents – are you so arrogant to think that selling property must ONLY go through a traditional agent? and cannot be handled by online agents or a private sale?
"Why do you have a problem with Online ONLY agents – are you so arrogant to think that selling property must ONLY go through a traditional agent"
I have NEVER said in ANY post that selling property should only go through the traditional agency route and not through an online agent. I have even gone on record as saying that the likes of emmoove have a good businees model, which is sure to get stronger. What I DO have a problem with is RM and ZPG constantly moving the goalposts to allow online listers to simply sell a listing to a seller, often for less than £100-all in…..These companies are attempting to lower the public perception of an agents' skills to that of an average ebayer.
As long as the professional agents continue to list on RM and Z they will keep the duopoly at the top and the online listing seller will continue to grow…to the detriment of the industry as a whole….Have a look at them…all the home pages say that RM and z are their partners and most offer £50- £200 all in!!!
Wilko:
Your posts imply that Online agents are bad which implies again that only traditional agents should be able to sell houses….
This is just what is drawn from your replies today….
I agree with you regarding RM & Z moving goalposts – they're trying to have their cake and eat it while at the same time being paid by "traditional" agents for just this…
Personally I wouldn't and don't reward such behavior with my business but that's just me, as I say each to their own.
If you spent even HALF the money on your brand and optimisation of your own website over the last X years you would not have a problem and would not need portals.
EVERY other business in the world manages exposure without paying high priced portal fees in their chosen profession yet it escapes Real Estate = why is that?
The answer is simple Rightmove & Zoopla have risen to the top of many search results due to a severe lack of competition for keywords – this is due to an industry that has probably the worst websites in terms of SEO, usability, speed etc than any I have ever seen.
This can however be turned around in a few months with a serious look at keywords, a little marketing budget and some forward thinking – opposing how most would have you believe it's not rocket science.
As an addition I would like to add.
Utilising social media as an experiment we managed to drive 50+ leads per day to one lucky estate agent for ZERO outlay, an automated process that drove high quality, low bouncing traffic DIRECT to the agencies OWN website which in turn raises brand awareness, oh and did I mention it cost absolutely nothing?
Case in point: Foxtons
Punches above its weight.