Financial pundit Jasmine Birtles says the glut of estate agents' offices on high streets makes the country's town centres - in her words - SO BORING.
Birtles - roughly the financial world's equivalent of the property industry's Henry Pryor - says in her column on the website www.moneymagpie.com that in her home' London borough of Kensington & Chelsea every high street seems to have a severe sprinkling of estate agentsand they all look the same."
Birtles quotes recent research by online estate agent HouseSimple that there are currently more than 2,600 estate agent physical branches in London, with seven boroughs having more than a hundred offices each. The average for each borough is 83.
Wandsworth, for example, which includes popular areas such as Balham, Putney and Wandsworth Town, has more than 150 estate agents.
Admittedly, the high street needs the help. Local councils are probably very grateful to have the estate agents there, but it's SO BORING according to Birtles.
She concludes with this parting shot: Let's hope it moves a bit soon so that we can have fun places like tea shops and even meeting places for locals instead of these dull agencies.
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Comments
@Neilw - something that seems to have happened much more since the current coalition have been in charge. Funny that. Maybe if people were actually paid a living wage there wouldn't be so much need for charity shops, cash converters and even, you could argue, bookies (offering people with not a lot of money the chance to win big, while secretly rinsing them for all their worth)
She's right!
Completely in agreement Neil. The vast majority of agents' offices are well-kept and pleasantly presented. As you say, there are now many high streets littered with bookies and cash conversion shops etc.. I know what I'd prefer!l
I read with interest Jasmine's comments regarding estate agents offices. I realise that the main focus was on London agents, however it was also generalising offices countrywide. Have she been out in the high street lately Have she seen how many shops are currently not occupied, with dirty windows and a pile of mail stacked up in the entrance If she wants estate agents to leave the high street (boring or not), who do she propose will fill all these extra empty high street shops. She mentions fun places like teas shops and meeting places have she also counted the amount of tea shops and delis on the high street.if all the agents left the high street as she wants, and the high street is replaced by tea shops I bet I know what she will say the high street is saturated with!! And if there is a glut of enterprises waiting to take on all these estate agents offices why do they not take the 1000s of already vacant high street premises Lastly, may I say that not all estate agents office are boring check ours out in York http://www.igluestateagents.com/
At least she does not have to suffer the plethora of 9empty, bookies, charity, pound and cash converter shops many other towns endure.