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Fake Agent

Senior Negotiator

11944 Profile Views

About Me

That would be telling.

my expertise in the industry

16 years as an estate agent in Bristol, working in both sales and lettings. Took a sabbatical a few years back when I fell out of love with property, but now back with a vengeance and a renewed vigour.

Certainly don't think the industry is perfect, but the perception of estate agents in the media is unfair. Which is probably why so many agents are so defensive, insular and averse to any criticism whatsoever. One of my main gripes with my fellow colleagues.

I'm quite the expert on most property-related matters. That's what I tell myself, at least!

Fake's Recent Activity

It's certainly a troubling time for the onliners. I can only see Purplebricks and YOPA, who have a huge amount of investment and backing behind them, being major players in the future. Purplebricks seem to have unlimited funds and have pierced the national consciousness in a way Tepilo, Emoov and HouseSimple have never managed. People know who they are, people see their adverts on TV, people see their boards across the country and their billboards on the Underground. Emoov, despite its TV campaigns and the rollout of the Emoovment posters on the National Rail network, never achieved that same level of public recognition. And I don't think Mr Quirk's bullish public persona helped when the money ran out and he went touting around for investment. It was a company which tried to go way too big too soon. It seemed to be going along OK, albeit operating at a loss, before the disastrous merger with Tepilo. Who was carrying out due diligence on that deal, by the way? A mess, in every way. Crowdcube, Quirk and Tepilo's backers all have questions to answer. But Quirk should have had cast-iron assurances that the money was coming in. He seemed to be acting more in hope than expectation. There's still a place for the online model, but I think PB and YOPA will continue to hoover up the majority of that share. And, as has been the case for a number of years now, more agencies will be moving into the hybrid space and opening off the high street serviced hubs. We can see - from the number of agencies going bust of late - that the market is over-saturated. It's one industry that has seen phenomenal growth since the global financial crisis, but it had to reach a ceiling eventually. I think that has now been reached. The number of agents will return to a more sensible, manageable level.

From: Fake Agent 14 December 2018 09:30 AM

Google is your friend. Agreed that it needs a wider airing. The Mail Online had a story the other day, and I think I saw it mentioned in the Metro, but other than that it hasn't really appeared on the news or in the nationals. Amazing how quickly it's all tumbled down. Emoov, for all its faults, seemed to be one of the more solid and successful onliners, even if Mr Quirk often seemed more interested in headlines and column inches than the bread and butter of agency. But the firm's fall from grace since the - in hindsight disastrous - merger has been quite remarkable. We've heard little from Tepilo or Urban.co.uk in all this. Bet Sarah Beeny is glad she got out while she could!

From: Fake Agent 04 December 2018 15:17 PM

And also incredibly successful. Love it or loathe it, Rightmove has a very sound business model and has used this to its benefit. It knows, even without agents, it would be OK because people would still demand that their homes be listed on the portals. After all, the majority of home buyers search for properties online - and mostly through RM and Zoopla. There are things I don't like about RM and how it operates, but this rather churlish 'RM is the devil incarnate' approach from agents is ridiculous. Maybe if more of an attempt was made to work with RM the situation would be better for all concerned. Clearly the alternative - OTM - didn't work and will never work, so we are stuck with an effective duopoly and need to make the best of it. The biggest irony of the OTM fiasco is it knocked Zoopla - genuinely challenging RM's dominance - off its perch and made RM much stronger.

From: Fake Agent 23 February 2018 14:08 PM

Quelle surprise! Agree totally with Anthony Slumbers, OTM are toast. Have been for months - years, in fact. This desperate cling-on is just unedifying for all parties involved. Let it die and move on.

From: Fake Agent 12 February 2018 09:20 AM

In my experience, Allagents reviews are about as trustworthy as a headline in The Sun or the Daily Mail. Take everything on that site with a massive pinch of salt.

From: Fake Agent 11 July 2017 14:17 PM

Lots of - fully anticipated - criticism of PB here. While I sympathise with many of the points made, I'd be very wary of writing PB off on the basis of their business model. They have the money and investment to sustain themselves. What's more, the brand name is cutting through in a big way, arguably more than any other agent at the moment. Criticise them, denigrate them, despair at them - and their terrible adverts, commisery and all - but don't underestimate them. Around where I live, I'm seeing more and more purple boards appearing. Every time I visit London, the boards I mostly see are for Haart and PB (clearly the colour purple is the way to go). If nothing else, they've got their sales pitch, PR and marketing spot on. Compare and contrast with easyProperty and YOPA, both also with significant investment and PR campaigns and backed up by big names - the easy brand in the former case and Savills and the Barclay brothers in the latter - who have not cut through in anywhere like the same way, despite TV advertising and heavy levels of PR. Investment and money isn't enough - just look at OTM for evidence of that - it takes something else to enter the national consciousness. Timing, luck and good branding all play their part, but PB have also been canny in creating a love it or hate it TV advert, similar to Confused.com, GoCompare, Webuyanycar and ComparetheMarket. Sticks in your brain no matter what. You might hate it, but you remember it. That's the key.

From: Fake Agent 10 July 2017 11:06 AM

And another one...this is certainly looking like the way forward for many, combining an online and traditional model to make ends meet. We reached peak estate agent a few years ago - in other words, far too many agents entered an already overcrowded market as property prices boomed. Now, with more difficult market conditions and political and economic uncertainty in the country, many are struggling and looking at ways to diversify. Expect more of this from traditional agents. I fear the days of agents charging high fees are over, no matter how many people want to shout out about the great work agents do. Although our reputation has improved in recent times - helped by the increasing unpopularity of reality TV stars, journos and politicians - the public still don't like much agents as a general rule. Of course, once they actually get to know us and see the work we do, they are appreciative and change their mind about agents, but the perception is still very much negative. The image of a greedy, money-obsessed, lazy agent is still king. In some cases, unfortunately, that's entirely true. In others it's entirely unfair. Like any other profession, there are good, bad and average agents. Alas, the bad and average agents get the most coverage. Rather than getting really defensive against the online boom, though, I think agents should own it - take on the hybrid approach, show the onliners how it's done. Many traditional agencies, despite what they say, operate significant online operations - glossy websites, social media, heavy presence on the portals. Offering an online-only service - alongside a traditional one - seems the next logical step. Travel agents have almost died out because they didn't adapt or evolve. I'm not saying agents will go the same way, but complacency and a heads in the sand approach will get us nowhere either.

From: Fake Agent 10 July 2017 10:51 AM

It won't be met, you can be sure of that. Figures will be fudged, excuses made, goalposts moved and the true number conveniently hidden for as long as possible, but 1 million new homes will not be built by 2020. It was a ridiculous, over-ambitious pledge that the government should never have made. More fool them.

From: Fake Agent 21 February 2017 09:05 AM

You cynical person, you. That said, I had exactly the same thought processes! As they say, a healthy dose of scepticism is always useful.

From: Fake Agent 20 February 2017 15:17 PM

Impressive but not surprising. Zoopla seem more keen these days on diversifying their offerings, settling for 2nd place in the portal market and concentrating on acquisitions and PropTech projects. With OTM offering little threat these days, Zoopla are in a relatively stable position but seem to have given up the ghost on challenging Rightmove's dominance. They are the two go-to portals, but Rightmove still has a much bigger pull.

From: Fake Agent 20 February 2017 15:09 PM

Yep, it's going that way. More likely it'll be called Countrywide Retail, the way things are going. Diversification is the name of the game, don'tcha know.

From: Fake Agent 16 February 2017 13:32 PM

The £ has collapsed. You may not like it, but it's true. There is a reason why the FTSE 100 is doing so incredibly well; it's because the dollar is completely outperforming sterling.

From: Fake Agent 13 January 2017 13:57 PM

I get the impression that CW are none too popular at the moment. They seem to have become the popular punching bag of the industry. All a bit over-the-top if you ask me, although I understand the concerns, criticisms and grievances. In my opinion, they put their eggs in too many baskets and have been trying to be too many things to too many different people. That said, some of the opprobrium on display here isn't really warranted.

From: Fake Agent 13 January 2017 13:53 PM

It's not been a good few days for Foxtons, has it?

From: Fake Agent 12 January 2017 09:58 AM

I like the use of the word "gently slowing". Sounds so much more reassuring. Maybe we can make this more of a thing, using language that is less hyperbolic and sensationalist when it comes to things like the property market, the economy and politics. Then again, we live in a world of clickbait and the permanently outraged, so perhaps not.

From: Fake Agent 15 December 2016 09:27 AM

Nice work. Maybe STANLEY Chelsea are in the wrong line of work. Any idea why the STANLEY is capitalised, by the way?

From: Fake Agent 15 December 2016 09:14 AM

Great efforts on the window front. Can't get on board with the Mannequin craze, but the above is one of the better.

From: Fake Agent 13 December 2016 13:30 PM

No point in pensions anymore, the OAPs now make all their money from property!

From: Fake Agent 13 December 2016 13:29 PM

“Our strong results are testament to the seismic shift that is underway in the estate agency market. I am especially proud that currently we are agreeing a sale every 16 minutes, 24 hours a day and the number of properties sold in the first half is similar to the total number of properties sold during the whole of the previous year” Who are they kidding? Firstly, the 24 hours rubbish has been regularly debunked. I wish they'd stop saying that. They're not 24 hours, no agent in the country is. I thought the ASA had already chided them over that. Secondly, the results can be best described as a mixed bag. Thirdly, why do they persist with this hybrid nonsense? They are an online agent - the biggest in the country. Why are they desperate to position themselves as something they're not, in the same way as CW?

From: Fake Agent 05 December 2016 14:32 PM

The Wetherell one is so Mayfair - but you can't deny it looks very classy and elegant. A bit too Instagrammed (see, I'm down with the kids!), but very pleasing on the eye nonetheless. Have to say I prefer the more homely vibe provided by Haybrook, though.

From: Fake Agent 05 December 2016 14:29 PM

Who'd want their shop to look like Foxtons? It's a total assault on the eyes! Loud, bright, showy, ostentatious, artificial and far too overwhelming - puts me off big time. Agree with your more general point, though. Haus clearly looked the part - with the offices, the swish website, the big PR drive - but clearly something has gone a bit wrong somewhere. I think brand and image are still important, but this needs to be backed up with substance and result. No amount of glitz and glamour can hide glaring deficiencies.

From: Fake Agent 17 November 2016 12:00 PM

Interesting. Style over substance, image over experience/gravitas, PR over results - as Haus and others will find out, that only takes you so far. I seem to remember Mr Lester being very bullish this time last year. I do wonder what went wrong?

From: Fake Agent 17 November 2016 11:56 AM

Well done to the RICS. A ridiculous practice that needs to be stopped.

From: Fake Agent 15 November 2016 10:45 AM

Build more houses. Make better use of empty, derelict or boarded up homes. Make better use of brownfield sites. Scrap all gimmicky schemes. Allow the people who know what they're doing to get on with their job, without too much petty interference. There. Simple. Job done. I await my cheque in the post...

From: Fake Agent 15 November 2016 10:44 AM

No vested interests from the Telegraph here. Oh no, siree. Far more noble and important campaigns to focus on than cutting stamp duty for £1m-plus homes. Have the Telegraph not seen what has been happening recently? When you become so out of touch and obsessed by the super-rich elite, things like Trump and Brexit happen - where easy solutions to complex problems are offered and populism is deemed more important than policy. As far as I can see, it's the cuts to mortgage interest tax relief that will be far more damaging to landlords than the extra stamp duty surcharge. In some cases the stamp duty - and who it impacts - is ridiculous, but I doubt buy-to-letters or owners of homes worth more than £1m will be receiving too much sympathy from people who are paying record rents or struggling badly to get onto the housing ladder.

From: Fake Agent 15 November 2016 10:42 AM

Good luck with that. Rather her than me.

From: Fake Agent 01 November 2016 11:46 AM

Sounds like a decent idea - instant gratification, at the very least, which is what we're forever being told people want. Fair play to them.

From: Fake Agent 01 November 2016 11:45 AM

"The agency says homes sold below £120,000 “will completely disappear from the market this year.” Have they not disappeared already? Where are these homes on offer for £120,000? Very, very well hidden; mostly because they don't exist. I'd imagine homes worth £240,000 are pretty close to extinction in the capital.

From: Fake Agent 18 October 2016 13:31 PM

Not just London and the South East. Things aren't much better here in Bristol. Prices, which are already high, are continuing to rise and rise. Surely a limit will be reached soon? Endless price rises are good for no-one in the long-term.

From: Fake Agent 14 October 2016 11:36 AM

So cynical of a Friday morning, Matt! Spot on, mind.

From: Fake Agent 14 October 2016 11:35 AM

Marmite wars, a plunging pound, confusion over what exactly a Brexit will look like, court challenges, Boris mouthing off, businesses panicking - remind me again, what was the point of it all? Oh, that's right, to take back control. Control of what, you ask? Well, erm, we're not really sure...er...something.

From: Fake Agent 14 October 2016 11:33 AM

Yeah, I can see that going down well. Not a hope in hell's chance!

From: Fake Agent 22 September 2016 11:17 AM

"- At least 75% of the London Boroughs of Brent, Wandsworth, Hammersmith and Fulham and Kensington & Chelsea - 1,280 new homes in Birmingham (two-thirds of all new build completions) - 920 new homes in Liverpool (63% of all new build completions) - 640 new homes in Salford (half of all new build completions) - 570 new homes in Leicester (6 out of 10 new build completions) - 570 new homes in Sheffield (40% of all new build completions) - 400 new homes in Chester West & Chester (29% of all new build completions)" Hmm, this still doesn't add up to very many new homes and nowhere close to the number that I understand is needed to plug the gap, as it were. Why would the government undersell themselves like this? I would have thought, if they'd actually been building the homes, they would be shouting out about it, so why would they omit something they like that? Governments never usually miss a chance to beat their chests. Sounds like a bit of protectionism on the HBF's part. They seem too defensive for their own good.

From: Fake Agent 22 September 2016 11:16 AM

"He told the newspaper that it is '100% not a gimmick'." Which means it's 100% a gimmick!

From: Fake Agent 19 September 2016 11:54 AM

"Last week, the shopfront window at Kings, which is located in Sevenoaks, suddenly imploded." How does a shopfront suddenly implode? Bizarre. Glad that no-one was hurt and glad to see them remaining stoic in the face of adversity. I once had to do a viewing on the afternoon of a huge Bristol Rovers match - so I would like to place a claim for the country's unluckiest estate agent. But I don't think I can outdo the above.

From: Fake Agent 19 September 2016 11:53 AM

Quite a name to live up to! Know them well, being on my local patch, and I think the rebrand will serve them nicely. Nice ad, too.

From: Fake Agent 19 September 2016 11:49 AM

Nice answers, Bob. Countrywide really do seem to be heading down the wrong path recently, trying to have their fingers in too many different pies. I think they have misjudged a lot of things of late and could be made to pay for that in future. Only time will tell. Interesting to read more about Callwell. Hadn't really heard of the company before, but it does sound like a good idea - and a solution to an actual problem - so it will be interesting to see how that pans out. Getting Mal on board is quite a coup, given his previous ventures. "Too many people I've met in the last fifteen months have it the other way round. They've dreamt up a really cool tech solution to a problem that only exists in the head of someone that has never worked in an estate agency office." I think this is a particularly valid point. Nails it pretty well for me. Lastly, as a Bristol Rovers fan, I can fully sympathise with what it's like to be a long-suffering fan of a football club (although you've had far more success than us in recent years). Looks like you're on the up this season. Unfortunately we face an all too familiar relegation battle!

From: Fake Agent 19 September 2016 11:46 AM

Don't know about that. I'd say PB's adverts have worked for them, more than any other company. People know who they are, even people outside the property industry. Their brand awareness and recognition is very good. If you asked people to name an online agent, I bet you most would say PB. A few might know Tepilo or HouseSimple, a few might even know eMoov, but most would point to PB. Whatever you think of them, they are distinctive. Their purple branding is very eye-catching, as is their name. They've used the media very well and their PR strategy is clearly working. The main purpose of a TV ad is to increase awareness, brand recognition and get people to buy the product. If people are looking to sell or buy a home online, they'll think first of PB. Given they've not been around for very long, that's quite impressive. I think their adverts are exceedingly naff and I have some serious reservations about the claims they make, the sustainability of their model and the long-term future of a company continually making losses, but their TV campaign is one of the things they do very successfully. And people are starting to use them. I am starting to see more PB "For Sale" and "To Rent" signs about. Mostly when I visit London, to be fair. PB may not be a successful business, but they have been very successful at getting their name out there and spreading their brand. Compare that to OTM, who most people outside of the property industry have never heard of. They invested hugely in their TV ad campaigns and made no impact. Tepilo and HouseSimple have had a number of ad campaigns, without the same sort of impact as PB. And, despite their best efforts, no-one is buying into the easyProperty brand, despite extensive TV coverage. So PB are clearly doing something right and, from a TV ad campaign basis, would be a good model for YOPA to follow.

From: Fake Agent 16 September 2016 10:59 AM

Inspired! They've got a sense of humour, YOPA. Honestly don't know whether these adverts will be brilliant or absolutely dreadful. But they should be more entertaining than the usual property ads, by being knowingly naff and cringey rather than unknowingly. Fair play to them for getting The Village People on board. Pun-tastic, tongue-in-cheek adverts tend to work well - even if people absolutely abhor them. Think ComparetheMarket, Confused.com and GoCompare.

From: Fake Agent 16 September 2016 09:13 AM

How does this benefit savers or first-time buyers? They don't seem to be offering anything new. Maybe I don't fully understand it, but I can't see what this new Property ISA achieves. A rare misstep from Zoopla with this, I fear.

From: Fake Agent 16 September 2016 09:04 AM

Can't see this gaining too much traction, but best of luck to them. I think, unfortunately, they'll need plenty of it.

From: Fake Agent 15 September 2016 16:48 PM

These things take time. Slowly but surely it will be embraced by more and more agents, like the internet, social media and portals, until it becomes the accepted norm. Some will never embrace it, but most will. As always, it won't replace what is already there, but it will enhance it, making the service offered by agents more in-touch with the modern world. VR and 360 videos would appear to be the future, but there is a lot happening with PropTech at the moment, with a considerable buzz around this movement. How mainstream these things become is less clear-cut, but I don't think PropTech is something that can be written off as a short-term fad - it's merely a way of taking the best tech and using it to provide solutions for agents.

From: Fake Agent 15 September 2016 16:45 PM

Too right as well. Shouldn't just be delayed, it should be abandoned completely. Ridiculous idea, purely for money-making purposes. Leave it well alone; it's doing just fine as it is.

From: Fake Agent 08 September 2016 09:29 AM

"That may well prove to be their very own Blockbuster moment” says Russell Quirk, eMoov’s founder and chief executive." Steady on, Russ! Interesting story, nonetheless.

From: Fake Agent 08 September 2016 09:01 AM

You put your hybrid in, your hybrid out. In, out, in, out, you shake it all about. You do the hokey-cokey and you turn around, that's what it's all about! Everyone seems to be jumping on the hybrid bandwagon recently. Aren't most agencies a hybrid by default, given most agencies have a significant presence online - on the portals, on social media, on their own websites? What is the actual definition of a hybrid? Does it mean a mixture of online and traditional services?

From: Fake Agent 06 September 2016 11:26 AM

Brexit means Brexit means Brexit means something else while they're not looking means Brexit-lite means Brexit watered-down means Brexit full-on means Brexit we haven't got a clue means Brexit why did we put ourselves in this mess in the first place? means why did Dave call this bloomin' referendum in the first place?! The whole thing is as messy, complicated and confusing as the above post. No-one seems to have a clue what they're doing. Whichever way you voted - and I voted Remain, for the record - has all this hoohaa really been worth it? Maybe, maybe not. We'll have to wait and see, if we do ever actually Brexit!

From: Fake Agent 06 September 2016 11:22 AM

"Located in Hertsmere Road, adjacent to Canary Wharf and directly fronting onto the 30 acres of water in West India Quay, Spire London will include 861 apartments of which 765 will be for private sale - these will be studios, one, two and three bedroom flats, and three bed duplex penthouses. Prices will start at £595,000 but no upper figure is being released." Nice and affordable then. What a surprise!

From: Fake Agent 06 September 2016 11:18 AM

Too right as well. Now extend to England, please. It might have been a good idea in the first place, but its implementation was disastrously handled and its legacy has been beyond awful. It's one of the primary reasons as to why are housing crisis is so bad now.

From: Fake Agent 09 August 2016 13:45 PM

I can't believe they'd spend 55 minutes per visit, but I can believe - if you were actively looking for a home - that there might a few times a week where you spend an hour here and there searching for property. It's certainly not beyond the realms of possibility.

From: Fake Agent 09 August 2016 13:44 PM

If even Tories are raising concerns about privatisation, you know the government are trying to go too far. Just leave the Land Registry alone! It works perfectly well at the moment, why tinker with that? If it ain't broke... I know this government likes to privatise everything in sight, often selling off our assets to other states, but in this case it would be even more brainless than usual.

From: Fake Agent 01 August 2016 09:02 AM

Good. Now extend it to the rest of the UK. Disastrous policy.

From: Fake Agent 01 August 2016 08:59 AM

Even before Brexit, they seemed to be less prominent and bullish. Maybe that was part of a new PR charm offensive - one that this time didn't involve annoying residents across the whole of London and beyond - or it was to do with the fact that they no longer had as much to shout about any more. This slump in profits is certainly shocking, but it might actually make them take stock and realise that endless expansion is not always the best idea, especially if it means getting into fights with local residents and being seen as the ugly face of gentrification.

From: Fake Agent 29 July 2016 10:30 AM

I would have thought they're too busy battling court cases to be of any concern to RM and Zoopla.

From: Fake Agent 29 July 2016 10:27 AM

Nothing will change dramatically. The fundamentals of the property market have stayed the same. Until that changes, there will be no major dip in house prices. Of course, the path we're headed on at the moment is unsustainable - prices can't keep rising and rising forever and ever, Amen - but until supply gets anywhere close to catching up with demand the situation won't be changing. Gimmicky schemes like Right to Buy, Help to Buy, Build to Rent, Shared Ownership and Starter Homes are not a long-term solution; the government know this full. Will they do anything to solve the housing crisis? Don't hold your breath. Not when there are millions to be made from all the luxury apartments springing up all over London, mostly purchased by the Buy to Leave Brigade. Perpetual house price and rent rises are good for no-one. It will hit a ceiling at some point, but the government will be keen to keep that ceiling at bay for a while yet.

From: Fake Agent 26 July 2016 13:11 PM

"But heck we must be an old fashioned estate agent as locals buy us drinks at the pub, invite us to parties, bring in home made cake, jams, veg and flowers. Some invite us on to local committees and councils, ask us to judge competitions, give us tickets to local events & shows" Can I come and work where you work?

From: Fake Agent 26 July 2016 13:06 PM

My thoughts exactly.

From: Fake Agent 26 July 2016 13:05 PM

Interesting. Is this a first? I'm fairly sure City and Rovers have never shared the same sponsorship. Or Inter and AC. Or, for that matter, United and City or Celtic and Rangers. I'd wager that this is the first time two rivals teams from the same city, who both take the city as their name, have used the same sponsorship. But I could be wrong :)

From: Fake Agent 23 May 2016 15:20 PM

Do you agree? Disagree? Don't leave us hanging, Terence.

From: Fake Agent 23 May 2016 15:17 PM

The sample size isn't exactly representative, is it? So we can't really make any judgements. But the scores are pretty close regardless. The most unsurprising thing about it all was just how poor OTM's brand awareness is. 4%! OK, they've not been around that long, but with all that money spent on rubbish TV ads and big PR stunts I thought they might perform better than that. Also, the majority of people still use RM and Zoopla. Quelle surprise. Truth is, no-one outside the property industry really knows who OTM are or what they stand for. The majority of people know RM and Zoopla and automatically associate them with property searches. That's the major problem OTM face and one they will never overcome. If they are content with their position as the third of fourth portal, then I think they could do alright - maybe even build slowly and mount a challenge to Zoopla in ten years time - but I fear hubris and too much ambition will be their downfall.

From: Fake Agent 12 May 2016 17:25 PM

"However, The Times story itself may well be guilty of one inaccuracy at least - it says at the end that almost one in five properties is now sold by online estate agencies. The most recent estimate seen by Estate Agent Today is around five per cent." The Times and accuracy are not exactly natural bedfellows. Just ask Boris.

From: Fake Agent 12 May 2016 17:20 PM

What can possibly go wrong?

From: Fake Agent 05 May 2016 17:05 PM

Agreed. None of this tallies with my experience. We're always being told how many empty homes are not in use, now we're being told that this problem has been magically resolved. When did that happen? Do the Buy-to-Leave homes no longer count as empty?

From: Fake Agent 05 May 2016 17:04 PM

Well said, Trevor.

From: Fake Agent 29 April 2016 11:30 AM

From: Fake Agent 29 April 2016 11:19 AM

Good luck to them. Crowdfunding, more and more, seems to be the way to go for investment these days, with banks less willing to lend to small businesses or start-ups. It does seem to be the future. Part of me does wonder, though, how all these new online companies are going to make any money. There seems to have been a raft of new companies and start-ups in the last few months, in what is already a very dog-eat-dog environment. I'm just sceptical about how they will all be able to do business. On the other hand, I'm really not sure about Lettingsupermarket - haven't we got enough of these sties already?

From: Fake Agent 29 April 2016 11:19 AM

"Knight Frank says: “Our various commercial negotiations with Zoopla all took place well before the start of the OnTheMarket portal. We have at all times acted completely independently of other agencies in the choosing of our second portal.” Chestertons says: “Our portal choices are made wholly independently, something that was clearly demonstrated in January last year when Chestertons chose to remain with Zoopla due to its then-position as a strong London-centric portal, while many of our competitors dropped it. As we anticipated, the property portal landscape changed dramatically over the following months and in September, we made the decision to resume our presence on Rightmove.” Classic "we've done nothing wrong, guv" statements from those involved. I've got a feeling this is going to run and run, and isn't going to be pretty for those involved with AM or OTM.

From: Fake Agent 29 April 2016 10:59 AM

Right-wing think tank disagrees with Labour? Well I never.

From: Fake Agent 15 April 2016 09:31 AM

Too right as well. Well done, Wandsworth. I'm very much on the fence when it comes to getting rid of boards altogether - I can appreciate they still have their uses for a certain type of agent - but agents putting them up illegally are really not helping matters.

From: Fake Agent 14 April 2016 11:39 AM

The point being that Blair has milked money from every possible orifice since standing down as PM, from BTL property empires to being peace envoy for the Middle East (the very definition of irony) and making a mint from other "business interests". All this while he still tries to paint himself as a socialist and a carer of people. It's not really news, but any chance to bash Tony Blair shouldn't be missed. He's part of the reason, along with Thatcher's RTB, of why we have a housing crisis at the moment.

From: Fake Agent 14 April 2016 11:33 AM

Could they also hire a new advertising manager to improve their woeful output on TV? That advert always ensures that I switch over immediately.

From: Fake Agent 14 April 2016 11:30 AM

Bet Iain White is wondering what the hell he signed up for!

From: Fake Agent 12 April 2016 16:19 PM

From: Fake Agent 12 April 2016 16:18 PM

"The fact that OTM is failing is not a cause for much emotion but the fact their existence has turned Rightmove into what it is today makes my blood boil." But whose fault is that? By weakening Zoopla - albeit temporarily - they were always going to strengthen RM, who have only got bigger and stronger since OTM's launch. They stayed out of any petty squabbles, they avoided making any comment and they avoided losing anywhere near the same agents as Zoopla. OTM gave Zoopla a bloody nose for a few weeks, but they were never genuine challengers for that No 2 portal spot. If they accepted that, they'd probably be doing quite now. And wouldn't be having all this negative PR. The fact they didn't - and persisted with the other portal rule and reducing their sign-up costs to lure in other agents - is going to cost them dearly in the long-run. Rightmove - and to a lesser degree Zoopla - are now bigger than the property industry. We have to accept that. Sellers and landlords want to be listed on one of the big two, simple as that. In many cases, they want to be listed on both. Out in the public, brand recognition for Zoopla and RM is high. For OTM, it's null and void. That's the difference. That will take years to change. You'll almost certainly never achieve it. Working out ways of getting RM to reduce their prices, or having sensible, rational discussions with the portals, would have been better than the sideshow that OTM has come. I think the founding principles of OTM were reasonably good and noble - although let's not pretend there wasn't vested interests in its implementation - but the way it's been run since has left a lot to be desired. I think Springett has to answer some difficult questions - he's gone suspiciously quiet in the last few months, hasn't he? I think many smaller agencies, lured in by the big promises OTM made, now feel extremely let down. That's something AM/OTM need to address as a matter of urgency.

From: Fake Agent 12 April 2016 16:16 PM

Main problem with stats, each person and company says something different and people generally cherrypick/selectively source stats to suit their agendas. The phrase lies, damned lies and statistics has never been truer.

From: Fake Agent 07 April 2016 15:57 PM

Oh, I'm sure he'll listen to you, Eric. So very sure.

From: Fake Agent 05 April 2016 11:51 AM

Very true. Good points, well made. While I disagree with some of what RM does, I do sometimes think that the criticism has more to do with spite and envy - because of the dominant position RM has achieved, so much so it doesn't even really need agents anymore, it could do pretty well without them. RM are where they are for a very good reason. They do what they do very well. People use them. People trust them. Their brand recognition is superb. They are the go-to destination - along with Zoopla - for nearly everyone browsing for property. They also make very few PR own goals and don't tend to get into spats (partly because they don't really need to). Agents starting their own portal doesn't seem to have worked so well, so perhaps it's just better left to those who saw a gap in the market 12 or so years ago and have exploited it to the max ever since.

From: Fake Agent 05 April 2016 11:49 AM

Yes, a step in the right direction, but the competitors will still be there. This will mean we will continue to get conflicting data from a range of different sources. It's still so hard to be clear about what exactly is happening with house prices and the like, because each organisation says something different. Just causes more confusion and mixed messages.

From: Fake Agent 31 March 2016 11:24 AM

Osborne has made a rod for his own back with all this. A clunky, clumsy, ill-judged, badly-handled mess. This government has got form for this sort of thing, so it's no massive surprise, but I just don't see what they hope to gain from this. I'm fully behind the idea that it should be made easier for first-time buyers to get on the ladder, but I think Osborne is taking it out on the wrong people. And wouldn't building more genuinely affordable housing and increasing the social housing stock help with that much more than penalising second home buyers and landlords, including those who are going through relationship breakdowns or whatever who happen to have their name on two sets of deeds at the same time.

From: Fake Agent 31 March 2016 11:22 AM

Unless, of course, someone can tell me different. Is the Land Registry too bloated and expensive to run? Is it not doing an efficient job? Is it not performing as it has been asked to? These are the questions that need answering. Otherwise privatisation seems ideological rather than for the best interests of the nation, much like the attempted academisation of schools, the selling off of the Royal Mail and the slow but steady attempts to do the same to the NHS.

From: Fake Agent 29 March 2016 12:04 PM

Ridiculous idea. Hope those consulted reject the idea out of hand. More attempts at backdoor privatisation from the Tories - they really are keen to sell off everything, aren't they? As Jon says, the Land Registry is doing a good job. No need for major changes.

From: Fake Agent 29 March 2016 12:02 PM

Yep, agree with all this. At least she puts forward both sides of the argument and doesn't deal in scaremongering, speculation, lies, mistruths and half-baked stats. Our politicians - on both sides of the divide, could learn a thing or two. The Leave and Remain sides just spend most of their time trading insults with each other and refusing to engage in any serious adult discussion about the issues at hand.

From: Fake Agent 22 March 2016 09:59 AM

All eminently sensible stuff. At least she tries to offer a bit of balance to things. Economic uncertainty is an inevitability if we vote for Brexit - no matter how much the Leave side insist it isn't. And house prices will suffer. You can argue whether that is a good thing or not, but many people won't want to take that risk. People are also putting off buying/selling a home in the lead-up to the referendum. The idea that everything is going to be smooth and rosy if we do vote to leave is a nonsense. The Out campaign still haven't come up with any actual vision for what happens when we leave. It's all pie-in-the-sky, everything-will-be-alright-on-the-night optimism. But they don't seem to have much of a clue, which is why they shout Project Fear to everything they disagree with. There are valid reasons to come out, but there are plenty more reasons to Remain and reform from within. The housing market and property industry has already taken a hit with all the hoo-hah caused, think how much it will be with 2 years of trade renegotiations carried out by Boris the clown, IDS, Gove and their merry band of helpers!

From: Fake Agent 22 March 2016 09:57 AM

Yep, like the weather forecasts, they more often than not get it wrong. But every property forecast for the last 10 years or so could just have said "prices keep rising" and they would have been on the money. It's getting out of all control now. When does it stop? When does someone intervene? When the average house price in London reaches a million? When the average price for the whole UK reaches £500k. Prices going up and up to ridiculous levels isn't good for the housing market, it's not good for the PRS or letting agents or landlords or agents. Sellers might see it as a good thing - with the price of their homes rising massively in value over a short space of time - but it's risky for sellers too with the threat of the housing bubble bursting. There would be all sorts of issues over negative equity and mortgage repayments. I don't fully understand the ins and out of it, but surely there comes a point when a ceiling is reached, where prices can rise no further without it having a serious detrimental effect on the housing market as a whole. Of course, it's mostly an issue of supply and demand. Demand continues to outstrip supply. Until something is done about that - and not just in the form of hollow PR schemes like RTB, Help to Buy and Build to Rent - then this situation, you fear, will continue to get out of hand.

From: Fake Agent 15 March 2016 09:13 AM

Indeed. Endless growth is always reported as if it's a good thing - something to be celebrated - but in truth it's just not sustainable. Something needs to be done to get house prices back down to something approaching reasonable, but that doesn't really fit with this government's agenda, so prices are just going to keep rising and rising for eternity at this rate. Sad state of affairs.

From: Fake Agent 15 March 2016 09:07 AM

Very odd that RM don't really feature in NI. I just assumed that they were the big beasts all over the UK. Zoopla seem to have done much better in that market, although PropertyPal and PropertyNews appear to be the dominant pair. They will take some budging and, if Zoopla can't do it, you don't really fancy OTM's chances of doing it. Fair play to them if they really are now doing well enough to expand like this, but it does smack a little bit of a last throw of the dice. We shall see. The proof of the pudding, as they always say, will be in the eating.

From: Fake Agent 15 March 2016 09:05 AM

Haha! Indeed. "We're the fourth biggest portal in Northern Ireland, don'tcha know." "Right, out of how many?" "Four. But still, we're ahead of Rightmove." "But Rightmove don't have much of a presence in NI, do they?" "No, but that's not the point. This is good, positive news. We're growing exponentially, honest we are."

From: Fake Agent 15 March 2016 09:02 AM

I'm on the fence over estate agent boards... But, in all seriousness, I can see both sides of the argument. They can still help to drum up business and advertise an agency, but on the other hand they can be a bit of an eyesore and a scourge. A limit on the number that can be up at any one time - not sure how that would work, in practice - and a drive to take boards down promptly once a home has been sold/let would go some way to dealing with the problems of too many of the things lining our streets.

From: Fake Agent 14 March 2016 14:32 PM

Seems a bit draconian. Where was the council's decorum? I'll get my coat!

From: Fake Agent 16 February 2016 16:38 PM

Yes, it reminded me of TLOG as well. I tend to agree with your wider point, too - the whole property guru things sound s a bit naff. A bit too marketing-speak for my liking. I also think the Uber of buying and letting is a tad ambitious. I'm all for ambition, but let's not get ahead of ourselves too much, shall we?

From: Fake Agent 15 February 2016 10:35 AM

Another high? Blimey, they really have been badly affected by the arrival of OTM. In all seriousness, though, Rightmove are a colossus. Whatever you think of them, you have to tip your hat to them and admire how they've cornered the portal market so comprehensively. It does sometimes strike me that agents' dislike of RM stems from jealously - that they are angry that they didn't think of the portal thing first. RM aren't perfect - no business is - but they do a lot of things very right. Their brand awareness is superb. When people think property, they think RM. Then Zoopla. Then maybe PrimeLocation. OTM have not, and never will, have that level of brand recognition. I'm afraid they've missed the boat on that one. To put it bluntly, Rightmove don't even need the agents anymore. The agents need RM more than RM needs the agents, because they know buyers, sellers, landlords and renters will come to them first, just out of habit.

From: Fake Agent 15 February 2016 10:32 AM

It's such a perfect day, I want to...sorry, where was I? Oh yeah, pretty good going from Countrywide, who don't seem to be out of the news at the moment. Would be a close run thing with Purplebricks, OTM and Zoopla for the most column inches, although eMoov would also give them a run for their money with rent-a-quote extraordinaire Russell Quirk leading the charge!

From: Fake Agent 22 January 2016 16:37 PM

That wouldn't actually surprise me, Paul. The mad, bad world of estate agency always throws up surprises every now and again.

From: Fake Agent 22 January 2016 16:34 PM

The world's gone mad! Agree with the other points about the shoddy description and iPhone style photos, but I don't think it really matters. A home that is valued at £24 is gonna get sold, you can bet your bottom dollar on that!

From: Fake Agent 20 January 2016 14:31 PM

Indeed, T Dap, I think that's a fairly massive exaggeration from those people. I'd be very surprised if it were the case given how big some of the major high-street agents are, with hundreds of branches, overseas operations, mega PR teams and thousands of staff.

From: Fake Agent 20 January 2016 09:40 AM

Eh? What are you on about?

From: Fake Agent 20 January 2016 09:38 AM

Yes, very stylish. I like it.

From: Fake Agent 13 January 2016 11:50 AM

Don't worry, the government are building 13,000 "affordable" new starter homes. That will solve everything. Never fear, Brandon Lewis is here...somewhere...well, no, actually, he hasn't been seen in a while. Anyone know where he's got to?

From: Fake Agent 13 January 2016 11:49 AM

No, I'd never seen it before. But yes, it was appropriately naff and cheesy. Thanks Hunters, you didn't let me down. Still, given they've just had their most successful year to date, I doubt they mind too much about what I think!

From: Fake Agent 12 January 2016 17:44 PM

Can't say I've ever seen a Hunters ad - if I have, it completely passed me by, which is probably not the best sign - but I agree with Jon that the naffness of nearly all property adverts makes me switch off immediately. Having said that, I'm gonna have to YouTube the Hunters ad now, just to check if I've seen it or not. I may have watched it subconsciously, without even realising.

From: Fake Agent 12 January 2016 17:42 PM

True, change is always happening, but major reform tends to take a little longer. It's easy to make slow, incremental changes, or react to the changing world - in the way many agents have embraced "online", the portals and social media - but it's much more difficult to carry out root and branch reform because of delays, opposition, cynicism, reluctance, etc, etc.

From: Fake Agent 07 January 2016 10:42 AM

Agree that this comes across as bit hollow, contrived and staged. "Look at how well we're doing! Honest! We've got these three testimonials to prove it! We have no stats to prove that we're the second biggest portal, as we absolutely promised we would be, but these three people are very, very happy with our service." Flippancy aside, I think the Zoopla/number 2 portal thing is key and more should be made of it. Are they now number 2 or not? I'd be very, very surprised - nay, completely shocked - if that were the case. If it isn't, Springett should come out and tell us why. He was quite happy to bleat on earlier in the year about how brilliant the new portal was, but he's gone strangely quiet since things have started to go badly for OTM. Come on, Springett, where's your stats?

From: Fake Agent 07 January 2016 09:32 AM

Problem is, I doubt there is much of a will. People like to keep with the status quo as much as possible. Change is too frightening. The system needs reforming but will Brandon Lewis and chums have the power/ability to do so? I have my (severe) doubts.

From: Fake Agent 07 January 2016 09:28 AM

Impressive data. Very, very impressive data. People like to complain about Rightmove - and I've been known to have a little moan about them from time to time - but they really do know what they're doing when it comes to attracting traffic to their sites. I may not agree with some of what they do, but I'm not so blind to be unable to appreciate the strengths they do have.

From: Fake Agent 21 December 2015 11:12 AM

Problem being, before the financial crisis mortgages were notoriously easy to get - they were literally handed out to any old Tom, Dick and Harry. That didn't go too well. I agree that the process is too slow and long-winded, but I also think the right regulation needs to be put in place so we don't return to the days of 100% mortgages and cleaners laying down a deposit on a 3-bed in Mayfair. Mortgages should be processed as quickly as possible, but not at the cost of proper checks.

From: Fake Agent 21 December 2015 11:09 AM

Yes, very odd to see something from such a high-profile organisation go kaput so soon. But it really was a very ambitious idea. Is there really any need for a conveyancing portal? It's a very, very niche market. It was always on a hiding to nothing, in my view. Rob Hailstone articulates very well why Veyo has been such a disaster. He called it very early on and he's been proved right. Maybe we could get his opinion on OTM to see how long they'll be lasting.

From: Fake Agent 18 December 2015 13:44 PM

Indeed. Their whole model is completely unsustainable.

From: Fake Agent 18 December 2015 13:41 PM

It is a ridiculous claim, Kristjan. But if Ellice is going to make such claims, it should be reported so he is made to look very silly when it very much doesn't come to fruition. I still haven't got an answer to the question I asked last week. Have easyProperty actually sold or let any properties? You know, the bread and butter, the day to day. They do purport to be an agency, don't they? Still don't know of anyone who has used their services. Obviously, I don't know that many people, but a simple look at their website seems to show a worrying lack of activity. Maybe I could be proven wrong?

From: Fake Agent 14 December 2015 11:09 AM

Agreed. Deader than a dead person in dead town. Always has been, always will be. People might visit Rightmove on Christmas Day and over the festive period, but they have no desire to be buying, selling or viewing houses. And I have no desire to be in the office facilitating this. Seasonal slowdown happens every year. We shouldn't fight it, we shouldn't try and change it. Keep Christmas hours to a minimum. Us estate agents need a break too, you know. We already work hours that are too long, can't we at least enjoy Christmas without more unnecessary hours being foisted upon us?

From: Fake Agent 14 December 2015 11:06 AM

Really? If this is true, that's really low. Buy-to-letters have a pretty poor reputation at the moment - unfairly scapegoated at times, it has to be said - but this really doesn't help the idea of buy-to-let as profit at all costs opportunism. Shocking stuff, if true. Let's hope it's got to the bottom of and the appropriate measures are put in place to stop practices like this, which give us all in the property industry a bad name.

From: Fake Agent 14 December 2015 09:29 AM

Deluded is the word that springs to mind. And that's me being kind.

From: Fake Agent 14 December 2015 09:23 AM

Awful, awful name. Qoob - what does that even mean? How do you even pronounce it? Not only does it look like something naughty schoolchildren type into a calculator, it also doesn't tell me anything about the app/product that I might want to use. The idea might be great, but I'd never know because I couldn't get past that terrible, meaningless, irritating name. Seriously, how is it pronounced? Kwoob? Cube? Quoob? Qu-ob? Kwoo-b? Anyone?

From: Fake Agent 07 December 2015 10:29 AM

“So, instead of actually concentrating on making the system better, and forcing transactions to start sooner, or perhaps creating a code of practice which movers and estate agents might have had a chance to consult on – No, instead it has been decided that the crap system needs more time to be even more crap." “The solicitor who takes three hours to send funds, due to a lacksy daisy bad attitude, well, can now take four. Why fix the real problem when you can mask it? Why force a lazy feckless individual to start funds transfer at 09:30 when you can just extend the time available and leave it so they can do nothing until after lunch?” He's not holding back, is he? Blimey

From: Fake Agent 07 December 2015 10:23 AM

*personal accountants even.

From: Fake Agent 07 December 2015 10:21 AM

Yeah, but if everyone was financially literate there would be no need for mortgage advisers or financial advisers or personal accounts. It's like saying if everyone could sell their own home there would be no need for estate agents. But people like handing the responsibility over to someone else. Which, I think, is pretty sensible, assuming the person you hand over to knows what they're doing (unfortunately not a given!) I agree with your point that people should be more educated when it comes to interest rates, money and mortgages, but these things are, by their very nature, pretty dull and tedious. It would take a very clever and creative person to jazz up interest rates. It's just something people don't really take much notice of, like the FTSE 100 or Katie Hopkins.

From: Fake Agent 07 December 2015 10:20 AM

Seconded. A great initiative.

From: Fake Agent 04 December 2015 09:49 AM

That's what I'd like to know, Trevor. It's a similar situation to easyProperty. All these grand predictions and forecasts, but no actual substance. How much have Purplebricks actually made from their bread and butter, from their sales and lettings operations? Or have they just been backed all along, like with easyProperty, by a number of very rich investors and a very shrewd PR team? Has anyone actually sold or let a home with Purplebricks? I'm genuinely interested, to see what the service provided was like and whether this mythical 24/7 service was actually a reality.

From: Fake Agent 04 December 2015 09:48 AM

No chance! Level on points if we beat you. With our recent form, I can't see it, but you never know with football. I'm going for a 2-2 draw. Then we'll both be reasonably happy and we can be united again in our hate for Foxtons

From: Fake Agent 30 November 2015 14:42 PM

Not sure it's got anything to do with jealousy. I think landlords are getting a bad rep because we do get to hear about the rogue landlords more than we do the good, law-abiding ones. Makes sense - who wants to read about a landlord doing their job? That won't sell papers/get people to click on articles, whereas a story about a corrupt landlord screwing their tenants over will receive column inches. I think landlords have to accept that. The rise of the PRS has also got something to do with it as well. More and more people are now renting, more and more people have given up on buying altogether, so there is bound to be a little bit of resentment towards landlords or the buy-to-let brigade. Take the extreme example of Fergus and Judith Wilson, who (until recently) owned a massive buy-to-let empire and didn't exactly treat their tenants well despite raking in a fortune. There is this perception that landlords are only in it to make money (which, of course, they first and foremost are) and don't care a job about the people who live in their rental properties. This is an unfair perception but it's a perception nonetheless. Like anything, there are good landlords, bad landlords and landlords that are somewhere in between.

From: Fake Agent 30 November 2015 09:51 AM

Indeed, Trevor. Activity tends to slow down as we motor towards Christmas. Buyers put off buying until the new year, sellers think twice about putting their house on the market until after the festive period.

From: Fake Agent 30 November 2015 09:43 AM

Everything that is wrong with the world in a nutshell. Who the hell needs a mega-basement? It just smacks of gross and vulgar wealth, of showing off, of trying to prove a point. We know Foxtons' ethos is to do exactly what they please no matter what the objections. Well, we now know the owner follows that mantra. Quite why he couldn't have got a massive house in the country to store his classic car collection is a mystery to me. It's not like he couldn't afford it!

From: Fake Agent 30 November 2015 09:42 AM

Shouldn't they concentrate on getting it right in the UK first? Am I missing something or have they suddenly started selling and letting houses on a massive scale? They always seem to be expanding and entering different markets, without actually achieving anything first. It's just bizarre.

From: Fake Agent 30 November 2015 09:37 AM

Loopholes. There's always loopholes. This move has really backfired on Georgy boy. I really don't think he's thought it through. Will there be another Say No to George petition?

From: Fake Agent 27 November 2015 11:52 AM

This is a ridiculous move. Let's hope it's stopped in its track before it's too late.

From: Fake Agent 27 November 2015 11:46 AM

Can we start taking bets on how long OTM will last yet? Will they make it into 2017, do we think?

From: Fake Agent 16 November 2015 16:24 PM

They'll have to go some to beat last year's traffic levels. But I'm sure they'll manage it, thanks in part to the helping hand of OTM.

From: Fake Agent 16 November 2015 16:23 PM

I agree, John. A bold and unexpected move from Connells. Will be very interesting to see how this pans out. They seem to be at pains to insist that this purchase will not in any way impact their traditional branches, but it does seem a case of the lady doth protest too much. Why buy a reasonably successful online agency if you are totally dedicated to the traditional model? Very odd.

From: Fake Agent 16 November 2015 16:21 PM

£250m! Blimey O'Reilly. Not bad going, you have to say. Does this mean those dire adverts can now come off air? Also, with regards to their "24 hour service", people I've spoken to haven't seen much evidence of that. Still, it's hard to argue with their success too much, even if they have had plenty of big money investors backing them along the way.

From: Fake Agent 13 November 2015 15:30 PM

@Trevor Mealham - it's not letting me reply, so I'll do it the old-fashioned way. Anyway, let's hope so. If prices keep rising at such an unsustainable rate it will be the future generations who have to pick up the pieces of the mess we've made of the housing market in the last 30 years.

From: Fake Agent 13 November 2015 15:28 PM

Well, that's all we need. Brilliant.

From: Fake Agent 13 November 2015 15:25 PM

Quelle surprise. Prices over the last ten years have gone up and up, the one thing that wasn't screwed over by the financial crisis. And they will continue to go up and up, until only people on 100 grand a year can afford to actually buy a house. And it's not just London, either. Round my neck of the woods it's the same. It's getting ridiculous. When did such huge leaps in house prices come to be seen as a good thing? Because it's not, it's really not. And it's not sustainable either.

From: Fake Agent 12 November 2015 11:19 AM

Quite right, Algarve. Who do they think they are? What is it with all these mega basements anyway? We could do without these places for the super-rich to keep their ostentatious collection of classic cars, couldn't we?

From: Fake Agent 12 November 2015 11:16 AM

They must be somewhere. But they seem to be keeping very quiet at the moment.

From: Fake Agent 26 October 2015 10:49 AM

It's different. But you have to admire his gall. Not sure it's the future, though!

From: Fake Agent 19 October 2015 10:37 AM

Yes, Robert, I can see how the charge of desperation could be levelled in this situation, but a brave and bold move nonetheless.

From: Fake Agent 15 October 2015 16:12 PM

All well and good, but why didn't they do this five years ago? I don't trust this government when it comes to housing, not one bit. Just look at their record - lowest level of housebuilding since the 1930s, property bubble in London, house prices and rents going out of control, an attempted revival of the disastrous Right to Buy policy, the inefficient and ineffective Help to Buy, and constant "promises" about 200,000 new starter homes and affordable homes for first-time buyers. Things that have not yet come to fruition and probably never will. Call me cynical, but I expect this is just more political posturing and weasel words from the government. No actual action will be taken to address our growing housing crisis.

From: Fake Agent 13 October 2015 09:23 AM

Houser! It's back. Where has it been, and what has it actually done, since launching all those months ago? From what I've seen and read, absolutely nothing. And yet here they are, expanding their operations to include an overseas arm. You couldn't make it up! Reminds me of easyProperty - no actual success to speak of, but plenty of misguided ambition and investors with more money than sense. I look forward to it being another 9 months before we hear about Houser's next venture.

From: Fake Agent 13 October 2015 09:19 AM

Pie in the sky stuff. Sorry, Rob, but this just isn't gonna work. No chance. Nada. Finito. As Richard White puts it, there is more chance of pigs flying or magic beans being sold in Tesco! I now wait to be proved wrong so I can eat some humble pie :)

From: Fake Agent 12 October 2015 17:17 PM

A bit leftfield, but an interesting appointment nonetheless. A good way of creating free PR, too, if you have a famous name on the books. He was brilliant when we won Down Under for the first time in many years in 2010/2011. A glorious win! I wish him the best of luck in his new career.

From: Fake Agent 01 October 2015 08:56 AM

Plus, it was making the point that the traditional model as a whole was dead, not individual agents. The faux outrage from some people over this parade has been ridiculous!

From: Fake Agent 30 September 2015 09:36 AM

How exactly was it bad taste? I work in a traditional agency and I thought it was both funny and inventive. As far as PR stunts go, it was one of the better ones I've seen. Do you really think people who have recently attended a funeral are going to be offended by this? Really? It wasn't making light of funerals or death, it was making the point that traditional agents are dead. When someone dies, a funeral is held, so it makes perfect sense to do a procession march for what they were trying to achieve. People taking offence need to get off their high horse and see it for what is was: a joke. This is why traditional agents get a bad name at times - there is this impression that we take ourselves far too seriously and get very defensive against any criticism. The reaction from the public and the agent offices they passed was, by all accounts, fairly positive. They were even jeering back, according to the article. It was just a bit of fun, people looking for anything else clearly have an agenda to push.

From: Fake Agent 30 September 2015 09:34 AM

@Alwis Anil - this is the thing about statistics, they can be manipulated or fudged to fit any agenda. We never really get the whole truth, very rarely at least. Nonetheless, it's quite odd that there figures are so far apart. Who to believe?

From: Fake Agent 25 September 2015 13:28 PM

From: Fake Agent 25 September 2015 13:26 PM

An excellent initiative. Well done, Libby.

From: Fake Agent 22 September 2015 16:18 PM

Yes, I'm begrudgingly impressed. To be fair, despite his constant grandstanding and sniping, Mr Quirk knows what he's doing when it comes to the property world and particularly when it comes to PR. Then again, if James Caan is involved - the former Dragon with serious personal wealth - then the £1m becomes slightly less impressive.

From: Fake Agent 22 September 2015 16:17 PM

Ah, Alex. I'm a Homes Under the Hammer man myself. Have never understood the appeal of Location, Location, Location. To be fair, A Place in the Sun is my favourite. But I digress. Where was I? Oh yeah, agree with you about the branding. Distinctive and (now) iconic. It was also a clever shout to go for a name like Zoopla, which has nothing to do with property per se, but is now instantly recognisable. It's a very hard thing to get right - branding and advertising - but when it is done well, it can have great power to change and shape opinion.

From: Fake Agent 21 September 2015 11:59 AM

Location, Location, Location or Homes Under the Hammer? On a more serious note, what was the inspiration behind the (now iconic) purple branding?

From: Fake Agent 07 September 2015 16:13 PM

Good idea. I'll get my questions ready!

From: Fake Agent 01 September 2015 09:51 AM

Yeah, right! I'll believe it when I see it! Even if they did build 131,000 new homes, that's nowhere near enough to keep up with demand. Weren't we being promised 250,000 new homes at the last election? Hmm, it's all gone very quiet on that front.

From: Fake Agent 24 August 2015 15:45 PM

Hmm, not sure that garden is worthy of the top prize. It's very nice and all but there is certainly nothing stand-out about it. I was expecting more, somehow. Something a bit more impressive!

From: Fake Agent 21 August 2015 11:54 AM

From: Fake Agent 21 August 2015 11:52 AM

Quite right, AC. We need to change this whole idea that endless house price rises are a good thing. As you articulately point out, that isn't actually the case. We need to get back to a more stable, rational housing market - where people can actually afford to buy without putting themselves in debt, where property is actually affordable. As the economy is built off the back of inflated house prices, don't expect the government to do anything to stem the rises. Not until the bubble bursts, at least.

From: Fake Agent 21 August 2015 11:51 AM

Hmm, I like the innovation, but there is a part of me that also thinks this all a bit naff. Plus, does anyone still really look in shop windows for adverts? Hasn't the internet overtaken this rather archaic practice? On the other hand, Living in the Sun was one of the better property programmes out there and Mr Lucy seems like an engaging fellow, so I wish him well.

From: Fake Agent 20 August 2015 11:51 AM

Can't really argue with that!

From: Fake Agent 20 August 2015 11:49 AM

Not sure the players from Sheffield United/Wednesday or Nottingham Forest could afford that sort of house. Then again, who knows these days? Maybe players from Manchester United, Liverpool and Leicester are commuting to Worksop these days. Seems more likely.

From: Fake Agent 03 August 2015 09:51 AM

"He goes on to describe the five bed property - which has an indoor swimming pool, a bar, games and entertainment suite, a cinema, gym, and eight acres of grounds including landscaped gardens with sun terraces - like this: “It’s a superb property which has many, many features which we wanted to highlight through aerial and ground photos.” Sounds nice and affordable then. "£2.899m property at Lindrick Common near Worksop" Oh, what a surprise!

From: Fake Agent 03 August 2015 09:31 AM

Brilliant! The one-other portal rule doing its job quite superbly.

From: Fake Agent 28 July 2015 10:13 AM

I get the impression this is going to get a bit lively. Nothing like a portal debate to get the debate going!

From: Fake Agent 28 July 2015 10:11 AM

"The politicians and their advisors keep kicking these problems back into the long grass instead of trying to deal with them head-on but I have to ask and keep asking, why?" Because, on the whole, those at the very top of government are a bunch of incompetent, clueless charlatans. All in it for themselves, all career politicians, all with no idea of how real life actually works outside their Westminster, Eton-and-Oxford educated bubble. The very fact that Brandon Lewis doesn't have a Cabinet position says it all. Housing is a fundamental right and need, it should be up there with the NHS, the economy, foreign policy and education as the main priorities for the government. But it isn't and hasn't been for the last few decades now. That needs to change if we have any hope of reforming the property market to something resembling normal. At the moment it consists of ridiculously high prices in some areas, especially London and the South East, a dearth of social housing and a private rented sector that is overcrowded and too expensive, with many examples of sub-standard accommodation. There is a lot to fix. Those of us in the industry know that, but our voices aren't being heard by the people who have the power to change it.

From: Fake Agent 23 July 2015 09:56 AM

Yes, John, I think the research rather states the obvious. The more options, the better, you would have thought. Although some people may simply be looking for agents only, so have no need to see listings for landlords, private sellers et al. @Lei Li - yes, the power of the internet can't be underestimated. It should be embraced, not feared. As the portals have shown, the internet is going nowhere and will continue to have a major impact on estate agency and the property industry as a whole. Most major agencies have entered the modern age with glossy, user-friendly websites, but there are still some agents who seem determined to live in the past. Stuck in their ways, reluctant to change, reluctant to modernise in any way. Unfortunately, these agencies, with no online presence at all (or, in some cases, a website that looks like it's been transported from the late 80s), are the most likely to die out.

From: Fake Agent 21 July 2015 10:11 AM

Both correct. I'd like to see this introduced in England too, if it proves a success in Scotland. I see no reason why it won't. Ah, John, Veyo - what has happened to them? Would be interesting to hear from someone about how they're getting on.

From: Fake Agent 21 July 2015 10:02 AM

Completely spot-on. Well done, Islington. There is hope for London yet!

From: Fake Agent 20 July 2015 17:14 PM

I can picture the scene. Some bright spark heads to the commissioning editor with the following proposal. "It's a show where two couples compete against each other to guess the value of various houses." "Yes...and?" "That's it." "That's it?" "Yes. And it's presented by Saira Khan." "Who?" "She was on The Apprentice. The really annoying one." "Right, well, it sounds awful but it also sounds cheap and cheerful. Let's put it on daytime telly where barely anyone will have to suffer it. We've got to fill these schedules somehow, you know!" "Great, brilliant! I've got another idea, while we're at it." "Yes. Go on." "It's called Watching Paint Dry, presented by Craig from series 1 of Big Brother..." The phrase "you can't polish a turd" would be appropriate here. Having said that, ITV are experts at trying.

From: Fake Agent 20 July 2015 17:04 PM

As we see in The Apprenctice, Alan (none of this Lord Sugar nonsense, please!) is all about the profit, profit, profit at any costs. When's the last time any Amstrad products were sold? Now he has to focus on commercial avenues because he long stopped being a respected businessmen. There is a market for this type of property - more so than ever in London - so I'm sure they will snapped up nice and quickly, but I too fear they will be purchased by rich investors who will then sit on their investment until it balloons in price. Great in the short-term, terrible for our housing market in the long-term.

From: Fake Agent 15 July 2015 09:43 AM

Indeed. A clever, if unsubtle, move on RM's part. Given the size of their database and the strength and breadth of their PR team, Zoopla can't hope to compete. I'm sure OTM don't even feature on RM's landscape, they're just a fleck of dust that doesn't even have to be ignored.

From: Fake Agent 15 July 2015 09:38 AM

@Sceptical as always - the race to the bottom is happening across the whole of society, why should property be any different? Just look at Love Island and Big Brother - the fact these shows exists says it all. Nice profile pic, by the way. Why ever did they cancel it?

From: Fake Agent 02 July 2015 11:41 AM

"Thanks so much for flagging this. Clearly it's a mistake that's slipped through into this blog post - we hope there are no agents charging this much! We'll make sure this is changed. We're a start up and are trying to release lots of helpful content but clearly we missed this error." Hmm, sounds a bit like they weren't expecting to be caught out and are now backtracking as fast as they possibly can.

From: Fake Agent 02 July 2015 11:27 AM

“Finding a workable solution to the national emergency in British housing requires a supply-side revolution across all factors of supply – most notably, labour.” Yes, but as Neil points out, that's not enough. We're not going to be able to build the number of houses that need to be built - the numbers are just too high and we've failed to hit our targets for decades. Last year was the lowest level of housebuilding since the 30s, that isn't going to change overnight, no matter how many ex-army personnel you recruit. What we need is an approach that is multi-pronged. Build more houses, yes (many more are needed), but also work to bring abandoned, derelict properties back into use and give serious consideration to whether certain brownfield sites can be regenerated. I know there are pros and cons to brownfield regeneration, but from what I've seen the pros outweigh the cons by some margin. Also, and I'm talking about London specifically here, do more to stop the practice of overseas investors buying up flats, apartments and houses in Prime Central London that they have no plans to ever live in. All they'll do is sit on the investment until the prices rocket again - alakazam, more money in the pocket! In the rest of Europe and Australia they make this practice as difficult as possible, can we not do something similar here? None of these measures are guaranteed to work, but it's gotta be better than burying our heads in the sand for the next decade.

From: Fake Agent 02 July 2015 11:20 AM

One in the eye for Foxtons. And well-deserved, too. But it won't slow down their ridiculous expansion plans, it'll only motivate them to do it at a faster rate. They don't have much regard for heritage or community, they only have one main goal - profit, profit, profit, profit. The only hope is that their brand becomes so toxic that people finally stop using them. We can but live in hope.

From: Fake Agent 25 June 2015 10:38 AM

London, London, London - it operates on a whole different level, doesn't it? Totally unsustainable for the long-term, of course, but people won't worry about that until the big crash happens, which it will. The idea that prices will just keep going up, so we don't need to worry about negative equity or a property crash, is naive at best. Prices in London can't keep going at this rate and I've got a feeling it's all gonna end in tears. As usual, it will be the ordinary, hard-working souls who bear the brunt of other people's mistakes.

From: Fake Agent 25 June 2015 10:34 AM

This is my neck of the woods and I echo the sentiments made in the article. It's very frustrating, but I can't see it changing anytime soon.

From: Fake Agent 25 June 2015 10:30 AM

In fairness, it was thinly-veiled sarcasm. Plus, irony doesn't always translate too well on the internet - no tone of voice, no facial expressions, etc. I thought you were taking the mickey but I couldn't be sure, which is why I stepped in to defend the surveyors. I hang my head in shame.

From: Fake Agent 24 June 2015 16:42 PM

Yes, very shrewd move from Zoopla. It shows they've very much got their finger on the pulse just at the moment. Quite a few agents criticise them, to say the least, but they're great innovators and trendsetters. For that, if nothing else, they deserve credit.

From: Fake Agent 24 June 2015 14:09 PM

I think you're being a tad harsh, Richard. I've met good and bad surveyors, just like I've met good and bad estate agents and good and bad financial advisors. They do actually have to take qualifications to become a surveyor, so I don't think we estate agents can take the moral high ground on that front. Sometimes they can be a bit useless, but most of the time they provide a decent service. I'm guessing you've had only bad experiences? Or do you merely see them as unnecessary? (I appreciate your comment is probably slightly tongue-in-cheek, too).

From: Fake Agent 24 June 2015 14:05 PM

Well said, Eileen. This doesn't look good for OTM, especially if hardened, dyed-in-the-wool OTM supporters are starting to rail against them. Certainly doesn't bode well if a founding member has resigned - something must have gone on. AM should really come out and give a response.

From: Fake Agent 16 June 2015 12:15 PM

Hamer did a good job, he will be difficult to replace. I'm also a fan of the aims of this conference. We're too casual in this industry when it comes to self-regulation. You'd think high standards of customer service would be commonplace in agencies up and down the country - given what the job entails - but sadly that isn't the case. At least not in my experience. We all need to up our game. RAISE OUR STANDARDS as the conference says.

From: Fake Agent 05 June 2015 14:23 PM

Will the government build enough new houses to correct the supply/demand imbalance? No, no they definitely won't. They've failed dismally in the last five years, they'll do the same in the next. The government don't give a fig about housing as long as house prices stay high and they can give their rich oligarch mates a few nice little sweeteners and tax breaks. That's where London's heading, a home for the rich and the super-rich alone. Back to Dickensian times - with the uber-rich living alongside the crushingly poor. Fun. Fun. Fun. It's a similar situation here in Bristol, although nowhere near the level of London. People are finding it more and more unaffordable to buy a house so are giving up on it entirely. This is not a good thing for the industry. Something needs to be done to bridge the gap between supply and demand, but I seriously doubt that will happen.

From: Fake Agent 05 June 2015 14:10 PM

Yes, OTM have been acting as a cartel. I thought this was common knowledge.

From: Fake Agent 04 June 2015 10:18 AM

A mixed reaction? That's being very generous! From what I saw it received a wholly negative reaction, even from people who it might actually benefit. Housing association tenants feel uncomfortable that if they buy their property, where do the next lot of social housing tenants go? The one for one idea is also completely unworkable, particularly in London. The Tories should let this die, leave it for what it was - a shameless election bribe. The fact they think this is the best way to solve the housing shortage speaks volumes.

From: Fake Agent 28 May 2015 10:40 AM

No use getting through to people like Rookie or Kelly - they're too set in their ways.

From: Fake Agent 27 May 2015 13:44 PM

@ Mark Walker - I wondered what Mike Hussey had been up to since retiring from international cricket, clearly he fancied a change of profession.

From: Fake Agent 26 May 2015 15:15 PM

Nice article, Graham. We really are a nation of complainers, aren't we? Where would we be without it? I still think we'd find something to complain about even if everything was completely perfect. Wouldn't be any fun otherwise.

From: Fake Agent 22 May 2015 16:31 PM

Maybe if houses weren't seen as so much of an investment opportunity we wouldn't have this problem of volatile, unpredictable house prices. Houses are already ridiculously expensive and that shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. In fact, they're only going to get even more expensive. We all know what needs to be done to bring this back down to normal levels, but the government don't seem to understand this fairly simple concept. It's in the best interests of everyone, estate agents and those in the property industry too, for prices to be at a more reasonable level. Just look at the story yesterday on the number of sales falling through - shockingly high. If prices were at a more rational level, we might see quicker completion rates. High prices put buyers off and make sellers greedy.

From: Fake Agent 22 May 2015 09:37 AM

Will this pettiness ever end? They're both as bad as each other.

From: Fake Agent 21 May 2015 10:35 AM

Yep, these stats are pretty worrying. Long gone are the days of quick sales, the process is only going to get longer and longer. Too many barriers placed in the way of potential buyers - no wonder so many young people are giving up on the idea of owning their home.

From: Fake Agent 21 May 2015 10:32 AM

@Paul Sheard - yep, does seem a bit hypocritical of the bigger online agents to have one rule for them, another rule for everyone else. That's the very thing they criticise traditional agents for. On the other hand, it does also smack of Adam being a bit precious and throwing his toys out of the pram a wee bit. If he really believes in his business, he'll make it. Having a moan only comes off as a bit petty, even if he does have justifiable reasons for moaning.

From: Fake Agent 19 May 2015 17:32 PM

Savills have an unfairly bad reputation. For some reason, they seem as hated as Foxtons. Maybe it's because they're really successful. There's also this perception that Savills only deal in high-end areas. Estate agency is only part of what they do, and they don't deserve the hate they seem to get from people bashing them as enablers of the super-rich. It's not the fault of Savills, Foxtons or Knight Frank for the influx of wealthy overseas investors. We need to look closer to home for that. If the government and Boris are going to roll out the red carpet for billionaires and oligarchs, these high-end agents can't be criticised for taking advantage of that.

From: Fake Agent 15 May 2015 15:04 PM

Read about the second one in the Metro this morning. Sounded very nasty. In both cases, it's a facepalm moment for estate agents all over the country. They have a bad enough reputation as it is - stories like this really don't help improve on that.

From: Fake Agent 15 May 2015 09:06 AM

"The only major snag in the fabric of the housing market remains the fundamental flaw of a lack of new homes." A flaw that won't be fixed anytime soon! Our politicians seem blind to the fact that we have a housing shortage. Until they overcome their collective denial, nothing will be done to change this.

From: Fake Agent 15 May 2015 08:41 AM

Correct choice in the end, but what a right royal balls-up they made of announcing it. Slightly concerning that housing is taking a backseat in the newly formed government - no Cabinet position for Brandon Lewis, confusion over who the new housing minister will be, no clear outline of what their actual policies are (yeah, I know, we've had the election promises but they mean about as much as the paper they were written on). Doesn't bode well.

From: Fake Agent 13 May 2015 09:56 AM

@Algarve Investor - maybe because face-to-face is still a better way of doing things. Believe it or not, people still prefer human interaction over some automated, faceless machine.

From: Fake Agent 13 May 2015 09:51 AM

Cloud cuckoo land, Sky News. I doubt many people outside of the property industry, where she's pretty unpopular, have even heard of her. I think her heart is in the right place - and she's a decent MP by all accounts - but there is no way she'll be the next Labour leader.

From: Fake Agent 12 May 2015 09:45 AM

Not the brightest move from Brian Cox, but seems like the story has been blown out of proportion a little bit. I'm not sure we're getting the full story. Having said that, Brian Cox's lack of response leads one to assume that they know they've done wrong and are hoping to ride out this PR storm without too many people noticing. If they haven't done anything wrong, come out and say so. The lack of defence speaks volumes.

From: Fake Agent 11 May 2015 10:48 AM

I'm not as anti OTM as some on here, but these figures do seem a little too optimistic.

From: Fake Agent 08 May 2015 14:43 PM

It's a tough one. You want it to be regulated to a degree, so we avoid the mortgage free-for-all that played a part in the global financial crisis. But at the same time you don't want regulation that is too draconian and massively slows down the process of any purchase. I think the MMR is a good idea in principle, but it's gone too far the other way. Some of the questions they ask and the checks they make are way over-the-top.

From: Fake Agent 07 May 2015 09:46 AM

Eh? A holistic approach to property? I've heard it all now.

From: Fake Agent 07 May 2015 09:11 AM

Hi Jamie, Brownfield sites tend to be more expensive to build on. This is because the lands needs to be cleared or, in some cases, decontaminated first, especially if the site was previously used for industrial purposes. Additionally, brownfield sites will often require certain compromises and are more likely to be hit by red tape bureaucracy. They are also sometimes situated in inner-city locations which could cause issues with traffic congestion and noise in the future. Environment issues also need to be taken into account when it comes to brownfield sites - there are usually many more concerns raised over brownfield sites than greenfield sites from an environmental perspective. There are, of course, advantages to brownfield sites too. Hope that helps.

From: Fake Agent 05 May 2015 10:40 AM

Like the new look and the way you can switch between all the publications seamlessly. The new logo is also much better. While the homepage is very modern and usable, when you login in from an article it takes you to your profile rather than the article itself. Can this be changed?

From: Fake Agent 05 May 2015 09:48 AM

Mostly agree, although the font in the comments is too small. Not good for my (middle-aged) eyes. I have to squint. Plus, an edit/delete button would be handy. I'm terrible when it comes to typos.

From: Fake Agent 04 May 2015 11:00 AM

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