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House prices fall or rise (take your pick)
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House prices went up slightly – by 0.4% – in July, the Land Registry has reported. It

Knight Frank stay quiet after conman is jailed
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A tenant who faked his identity when renting through Knight Frank has been jailed for three

Rich overseas buyers keep prime London market aloft
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Chinese buyers are expected to replace Russian investors as major players in the prime central London

Moving occasion: today's the day!
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The most popular moving date is today, September 1, the Post Office has revealed. The two next

Prospective first-time buyers sink to new low
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The proportion of buyers expecting to buy for the first time in the next 12 months

Housing market 'edging towards double dip' claim
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Net lending plummeted in July to the second lowest monthly figure since records began in 1993,

Henry Pryor Blog
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Welcome to a new monthly blog by Henry Pryor, estate agent turned entrepreneur, inventor and expert

Rightmove profits climb 39% as more agents sign up
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A rise in the number of agents and an overall willingness to pay more to Rightmove

Portal creates new 'check out your competition' stats
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Property portal Home has created some new statistic pages on its site which we reckon will

Six in ten mortgages are now for house purchase
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The proportion of mortgages being taken out for purchases, as opposed to remortgages, is at its

News Story

Swapproperty the valuation referral service

Monday 12th April 2010

Swapproperty is an innovative valuation referral service. But is it different enough to compete with the players already in the market? They seem to think so, with a USP based on property swapping.

According to Director Mark Holt, Swapproperty's public web site generates a substantial amount of enquiries that are converted to valuation leads for their growing estate agency membership. In turn members generate out of area leads that are fed back to swapproperty who qualify them and allocate to fellow members in the relevant area. Being a small team of highly experienced ex estate agents they are well placed to speak to all incoming leads, and their conversion rate is pretty high.

"Each agent member is given their own geographical area to ensure they have their own local USP. For instance all agents are on rightmove, in the local paper etc. but only our members have the ability to offer their clients a property swap/part exchange service in conjunction with swapproperty's web site", according to Maria Free Sales Director, "and this can give member agents an edge on the competition at point of valuation".

"As former agents ourselves we understand that additional financial commitment is something to be avoided, and our fee structure reflects that" said Mark, "so there are no monthly subscription charges, and a low referral fee,
which has enabled us to grow at a reasonable and controlled rate since January 2010. We've got approaching 35 agents with another 6 going through the application process."

It's an interesting concept, but what do agents get from this system? It seems pre-qualified valuation leads from a unique source, the opportunity to pass through out of area leads and generate commission they otherwise would not have had, a link from their web site to the agents own 'Virtual Negotiator' which automatically generates commission, and access to some exciting new marketing ideas they are currently working on, and there seems to be plenty in the pipeline. They are particularly excited by an approach from a potential partner who will be able to supply them with a substantial quantity of valuations leads from a yet untapped source.

Their stated mission is to build a frame work of independent agents across the UK to receive and refer valuations, and create a recognisable brand of trust and assured quality for the public.

They appear to be a dedicated, friendly team and firmly believe that to survive what the market has in store in coming months and years, creativity in property sales marketing must be embraced by independent agents, along with exploring new revenue streams.

They would be delighted to hear from agents who are like minded whether you are a part of an existing referral service or not. www.swap-property.co.uk

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Editorial Contact Details - Rosalind Renshaw | rosalind.renshaw@estateagenttoday.co.uk | 01252 843 566.