Peter Bolton King blog

Monday 1st August 2011

Estate agents have always been proud of being able to move with the times and, due to the fluctuating nature of the housing market, a degree of flexibility has always been central to what we do.

This means that agents can embrace new technologies to ensure that we continue providing comprehensive and well-informed advice to our customers. As a result, many estate agents will have a significant online presence, whether on blogs, twitter, news portals or company websites.

Because, while there is nothing like getting out on to the streets with a client and showing them around an area or property, several online developments can aid the business of buying and selling homes. For example, Google’s free ‘Street View’ technology – contentious headlines aside – can be a useful tool for agents looking to show a particular property location to people unable to visit the property immediately, or who live much further afield.

And, when this direct experience of a location is embedded into an online property portal, a potential buyer can engage with the initial stages of a property search from the comfort of their own home – hugely beneficial as we all try to juggle busy working lives with other time commitments.

Another recent online innovation is crime maps – something we have received a number of queries about in terms of their potential effect on property prices in certain areas. While these tools can be useful for prospective buyers looking to gain an overview of an area, the results should certainly be taken with a pinch of salt.

Often the best way to find out about the nature of the area is to speak to those who live in it, and good agents will be able to share their knowledge of a given location’s finer points.

Undoubtedly, all kinds of technologies can be a great and useful asset for house-hunters. Yet these kinds of tools should be seen as just that; part of a large toolkit available to aid the house buying and selling processes. And I firmly believe that an agent’s experience and the hands-on relationship with each client is an essential part of that toolkit.

Peter Bolton King is chief executive of the National Association of Estate Agents