By EAT & LAT Team
Due to the current Coronavirus pandemic, we are all being...
Estate Agent Today - Features > Industry Views
Consisting of contributions from our Associated Writers, Features covers a wide range of opinions on topics affecting the UK's estate and letting agents. Join the debate by logging-in and leaving a comment.
Features > Industry Views
Enough is enough – an alternative view on portal subscription fees
By Christopher May
It’s time to draw a line in the sand and...
Property Natter - the do’s and don’ts of starting an agency in your twenties
By Nat Daniels
There’s been a huge change in the way estate agencies...
How will the coronavirus affect estate agents?
By Simon Shinerock
The coronavirus outbreak has highlighted once again how fragile and...
Uncle Sam vs Blighty - Two countries separated by a common language
By Russell Quirk
The Atlantic Ocean is a vast space – some 4,000...
A new Housing Minister - what does it mean for the PRS?
By Neil Cobbold
Earlier this month, Boris Johnson carried out a reshuffle of...
30% Discounts: good idea but...er…how will they work?
By Graham Norwood
Not for the first time, a government policy on housing...
A fundamental misalignment of interests between agents and portals
By Babek Ismayil
Property portals generate revenue from estate agents regardless of the...
Countrywide, two years after Platt - time for the last rites?
By Graham Norwood
In six years of editing Estate Agent Today, some of...
Bah Humbug - Do we do too much for first-time buyers?
By Graham Norwood
There are reasons to be optimistic that a majority government...
New on the block - how interest in block management is evolving
By Duncan Foster
It's been two years since the SDL Group launched its...
Will flight-shaming kill the overseas holiday home?
By Graham Norwood
There used to be a consolation for some estate agents...
Property Natter: Day in the life of a London sales director
By Nat Daniels
In the latest part of the Natter’s ‘day in the...
Are UK agency leaders ready for the Millennial workforce?
By EAT & LAT Team
In a new video interview, Steve Carroll, director of industry...
Why you should donate your unwanted coats to charity this winter
By Michael Stoop
Last winter, Agents Giving had a fantastic response to our...
Community-based letting agencies have a future in physical form
By Rachel Jackson
The phrase ‘death of the high street’ can be found...
Boris and the house moving process - O Lucky Man!
By Graham Norwood
There are many adjectives that can be applied to Boris...
Property Natter - Day in the life of a Yopa Territory Owner
By Nat Daniels
Yopa – launched in 2015 as part of the new...
Zero Deposit’s Jon Notley talks exclusively to Estate Agent Today
By Marc Da Silva
When renting a property out, letting agents and landlords recognise...
Online estate agents and digital malfunction
By Russell Quirk
It never rains but it pours. And that’s certainly been...
Will the current political landscape encourage Generation Rent to vote?
By Neil Cobbold
In recent years, governments and local councils have sought to...
Power to the People
By Russell Quirk
‘Workers of the world, unite. You have nothing to lose...
How to run a £10m estate agency with 16 self-employed agents
By EAT & LAT Team
As the self-employed estate agency market continues to grow in...
The problem with estate agents is...
By Russell Quirk
Whinge. Moan. Lead quality. Crap market. Decision procrastination. Fee pressure....
Help To Buy housebuilders get another government bung
By Graham Norwood
It’s been quite a week for news so you might...
Would a Berlin-style rental price freeze work in the UK?
By Neil Cobbold
Recently a number of politicians and charities have been calling...
Don’t read all about it - are local property ads dying?
By Graham Norwood
It’s that time again. Each year I take a look...
MHCLG gets a makeover – three key tasks for the new ministers to consider
By Neil Cobbold
With Boris Johnson winning the Conservative leadership election and becoming...
Property Natter - what’s it like to work for the world’s biggest agency?
By Nat Daniels
Nicky Stevenson has had a very varied and interesting career...
Property Natter - is a no deal Brexit real life, or is it just fantasy?
By Nat Daniels
It’s now more than three years since the EU referendum...
Back to the future? A home ownership crisis
By Ben Leonard
With this summer marking forty years since Margaret Thatcher came...
Following Scotland’s lead – what next for England’s PRS regulation?
By Neil Cobbold
Increasing legislation and regulation has arguably been the biggest talking...
Can franchising help independents to futureproof their businesses?
By James Campbell
Recent figures from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) have...
Making the transition from estate agency to property development
By Bruce Burkitt
Property developing is an incredibly diverse and exciting career choice,...
Emoov and Countrywide merge: it could have happened…
By Graham Norwood
Emoov and Countrywide: what a pair, observers might say. They present...
Property Natter - talking women in property, Brexit investment and PropTech
By Nat Daniels
In the first Q&A Natter for a while, I catch...
TFB: Tenant Fee Ban or The Future Begins?
By Jonathan Stein
What a great time to be a letting agent. In...
The tenant fee ban - another failure of government policy?
By Ellie Donaghy
With a mere matter of weeks until the Tenant Fees...
30 years in the property industry – an insider’s view
By Andrew Granger
1989 was a significant time for the property industry: it...
So farewell Theresa May and thanks for...well, not much
By Graham Norwood
No, this isn’t about Brexit. But as the saga of...
Shelter and Generation Rent? Radical? Don’t make me laugh…
By Graham Norwood
Campaigning groups like Generation Rent and Shelter like to think...
Rent controls won’t solve London’s shortage of affordable housing stock
By Lars Gooch
The topic of introducing rent controls in London crops up...
Stop indulging councils over rental licensing and local schemes
By Graham Norwood
It’s time, surely, for government to crackdown not just on...
How can estate agents close the deal ‘off-grid’?
By Mark Cleaver
The demand for rural properties is high, and with 20.7%...
RIP the open house…the return of the high street agent?
By Mark Harris
Cast your minds back to the summer of 2014. It’s...
Property Natter: referral fees, HIPs & Bee Gees tributes - Rob Hailstone Q & A
By Nat Daniels
With the home buying and selling process firmly on the...
Exclusive - the final three Quirk interviews
By Graham Norwood
“You don't learn to walk by following rules. You learn...
Why we need to be able to move when we want, not when we have to
By Paul Smee
A review of the housing market at present, particularly when...
On second thoughts…not all government legislation is bad
By David Westgate
I often speak of my wish to see property taken...
Does your tenant require an increased power supply?
By Kev Sankar
‘I need more power’ - it’s a common request experienced...
The top 10 property personalities of 2018
By Graham Norwood
There’s nothing new about identifying 10 figures who have helped...
Property Natter – A to Z of the property market for 2018
By Nat Daniels
Another year is nearly done – and what an eventful...
Great relationships are at the heart of a premium customer service
By Samantha Jones
Over the past year I've had so many conversations with...
Emoov’s humiliation - the fallout for the industry
By Graham Norwood
Whatever one thinks about online estate agencies, it’s a cause...
Why the best PropTech isn’t expensive
By Neil Cobbold
PropTech has been mainstream for a few years now, and...
Are online agencies in trouble? Investors will decide
By Graham Norwood
However mild the weather may have been for most of...
We need to wake up before we sleepwalk into a housing crisis
By Paul Smith
It’s now almost a month since the government introduced new...
Let’s focus on the real foreign property ownership problem
By Graham Norwood
It’s time to sort the wheat from the chaff when...
Why Facebook’s property listings are a bigger threat to portals than agents
By Alex Thorpe
When Facebook first announced it would be entering the property...
The link between Brexit and the online agent debate
By Graham Norwood
From where I’m standing there’s a lot in common between...
Is it time to take more notice of Brexit?
By David Westgate
“Baton down the hatches. Stockpile the food cupboard. Brexit is coming and...
Should equity release be taxed to encourage down-sizing?
By Graham Norwood
There’s little doubt that downsizing is less of a factor...
The market needs stamp duty cuts for all
By Paul Smee
Were it not for climate change, I would be very...
Property Natter: Q&A with Stephen Ludlow, ludlowthompson
By Nat Daniels
Next week ludlowthompson celebrates its 25th anniversary. Here, I catch...
OnTheMarket price rise could be the right move for some of us
By Colin Shairp
It was interesting to see the recent story on Estate...
Property Natter: a changing of the guard?
By Nat Daniels
The big story to break this week in the property...
OnTheMarket vs Rightmove?
By Simon Shinerock
As you probably know, I have been no fan of...
July - it might just be the industry’s busiest month of the year
By Graham Norwood
So here’s the thing. It’s summer - not much going...
Does your estate agency need to be more flexible?
By Alex Tebbs
It’s no secret that technology has changed the way businesses...
Property Natter: Q & A with Peter Rollings
By Nat Daniels
Peter Rollings is one of the most respected and best-known...
Are cultural stereotypes damaging the UK property sector?
By David Westgate
100 years ago, 90% of the UK population rented a...
Property Natter: Day in the life of…a property journalist
By Nat Daniels
Ever wondered what it’s like to be on the frontline...
Property Natter: agents bucking the high street downturn
By Nat Daniels
Maplin, Toys R Us, Carpetright, Warren Evans – what do...
Property Natter: Day in the life of…a Local Property Expert
By Nat Daniels
With the rise of Purplebricks in recent years, many will...
OTM shares - Bumpy ride or on the slide?
By Simon Shinerock
As noted in Estate Agent Today’s news pages, OnTheMarket’s (OTM)...
Property Natter: Day in the life of...a Group Managing Director
By Nat Daniels
For part two of the 'Day in the life of'...
Property Natter: Day in the life of…Winkworth’s head of brand
By Nat Daniels
In the first of an ongoing series exploring the people...
Online agents will have to employ sales progression teams
By Graham Norwood
The operation of ‘online estate agencies’ has changed substantially in...
Purplebricks: boards up, shares down?
By Simon Shinerock
Why I won’t buy Purplebricks shares and why if I...
OTM - A good buy, or is it goodbye?
By Simon Shinerock
OnTheMarket has finally completed its stock market float, with less capital...
OTM float - the OOP is dead, long live the OOP
By Simon Shinerock
Whatever else you say about OnTheMarket, you can’t say it’s...
Buy-to-Let – are we losing sight of what’s important?
By David Westgate
Last week’s news that the lettings fee ban is unlikely...
During industry change, service still matters most
By Samantha Jones
Estate agents are facing the biggest industry changes seen in...
What now for the OTM IPO?
By Simon Shinerock
Who says things slow down before Christmas? The opposite appears...
Will OTM float or sink?
By Simon Shinerock
Yesterday morning OnTheMarket confirmed its IPO plans but with no...
UK housing: All change...or not as it turns out
By David Westgate
Here we are again: another much anticipated Budget has been...
Property industry reacts to the Autumn Budget
By EAT & LAT Team
Earlier this week, Chancellor Philip Hammond delivered the Autumn Budget...
A Short history of Stamp Duty
By Graham Norwood
British politics is extraordinarily volatile right now and the ongoing...
Why the last fortnight might not matter
By Graham Norwood
It’s something of an understatement to say it’s been a...
Government should be wary of introducing goodwill agreements
By Howard Freeman
Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government,...
Will Purplebricks ruling end agents’ purple mist?
By Colin Shairp
So at last someone has woken up to the fact...
Property Natter: reputation, renewables and an online revolution
By Nat Daniels
They say presentation is key (something that Theresa May now...
Party conference season - A housing plan for UK Plc
By David Westgate
And so concludes another party conference season. We’ve followed the...
Can estate management open doors for letting agents?
By Nick Faulkner
The UK is home to four million leasehold properties in...
How many agency business models are there today?
By Graham Norwood
It used to be so easy. Around 20 years ago there...
Is the stigma of renting at odds with our broken housing market?
By David Westgate
I’ve written before about the impact of headlines on the...
Tips for surviving the ban on letting agent fees
By Vik Tara
Parliament is sitting again and the entire lettings industry is...
SOS: are you a business in distress?
By Simon Duce
Despite the fact that eight out of 10 statistics are...
Why I want to join Agents’ Mutual
By Simon Shinerock
Before we go any further, assuming you are an Agents’...
A sense of déjà vu over OnTheMarket
By Colin Shairp
There’s a distinct sense of déjà vu over the debacle...
Agents’ Mutual Proposal – The Details
By Simon Shinerock
After my article last week predicting that Agents’ Mutual would likely...
What does Agents’ Mutual’s proposed flotation mean for agents?
By Simon Shinerock
I hate to be the guy to say ‘I told...
What now for Agents’ Mutual?
By Simon Shinerock
Agents’ Mutual (oops, that name might need to change…read on)...
HIP, HIP, Hooray - The Other 10-Year Anniversary
By Graham Norwood
You’ll see a lot of 10th anniversary stories in the...
Video interview: Charlie Wright, founder of CIELA
By EAT & LAT Team
During a week in which fledgling trade group the Charter...
Property Natter: a half-year review – hybrids, PropTech and resilience
By Nat Daniels
We’re already more than halfway through 2017 and, against all...
Are the professional bodies singing with one voice?
By Simon Duce
As an agency business, how much are you spending on...
Property Natter: Q & A with Mark Goddard, MD of ZPG Property Services
By Nat Daniels
Mark Goddard was the founder and CEO of The Property...
Great expectations can be a dickens of a problem
By Colin Shairp
Great Expectations was a fantastic novel-cum-social-history written by Charles Dickens,...
Property Natter: Q & A with Charlie Wright, CIELA
By Nat Daniels
To give you a nice distraction from the post-election madness,...
Election preview: Could we be heading for a ‘black swan moment’?
By Eddie Goldsmith
In years to come, students of political history might come...
Property Natter – awards success, purple and the future of agency
By Nat Daniels
Since we last spoke, the ESTAS – the biggest and...
Reviewing your business objectives – five top tips
By Nigel Poole
Our recent roundtable on the proposed ban on tenant fees generated...
Can TWPN really help promote your business on a global scale?
By Marc Da Silva
Given that around 95% of property searches now start online,...
How can letting agents review their fee structure?
By Nigel Poole
Our recent roundtable on the government’s proposed ban on tenant...
Vendors shouldn't assume they'll achieve the same price no matter who's selling
By Charlie Wright
Even some of the most successful professionals from other professions...
Agents: Here’s how to review your cost base
By Nigel Poole
Our recent roundtable on the government’s proposed ban on tenant...
How not to sell a €12.5m villa (or any other property for that matter)
By Simon Shinerock
This actually happened - the names of the guilty have...
Purple smoke and mirrors
By Simon Shinerock
Purplebricks’ advertising is very negative and critical of the competition....
A poor advert for the agency industry
By Graham Norwood
There’s good and bad in every industry and at first...
Redressing the balance: why we need more women in agency
By Richard Rawlings
Earlier this week it was Dads4Daughters Day – a campaign...
Read all about it: Will agents continue to advertise in print?
By Graham Norwood
I had a very interesting chat with the man behind...
Will incorporation affect the agent/landlord relationship?
By David Westgate
The buy-to-let market has gone through significant change in the...
What we learnt about the Government post-White Paper
By Simon Duce
If you work in lettings, I’ll already have a pretty...
Agents - it’s time to get back to basics
By David Westgate
Welcome to February! It means that 2017 is well under...
A short-term lettings storm at the seaside
By Simon Duce
The south’s seaside resorts are stealing the headlines for all...
CIELA – you’re breaking my heart
By Simon Shinerock
When I read about the possible formation of yet another...
Property Natter: Q & A with Countrywide’s Sam Tyrer
By Nat Daniels
A post-Christmas treat this week, as I carry out a...
Seek and ye shall find
By Simon Shinerock
I have a confession to make. In 1988 I became...
Quote, unquote - What the industry said in 2016
By Graham Norwood
Forecasts are so last year: who anticipated Bowie, Brexit or...
Are landlords about to ditch letting agents and go it alone?
By Marc Da Silva
Next year is likely to be a challenging time for...
Is a long-term housing policy too much to ask for?
By David Westgate
Just a couple of weeks ago, we waited with anticipation...
Property Natter: five things we’ve learnt this year
By Nat Daniels
What a mad, bonkers year it’s been. We’ve had, in...
Invisible juggling – estate agents’ impressive skill
By Colin Shairp
As circus performers, most estate agents would fail. Some of you...
Five guesses about the Autumn Statement
By Graham Norwood
Forecasts are a tricky business. And as I wrote in...
Trump victory will spark period of global change over next four years
By Lloyd Davies
There is really only one topic of debate and forensic...
No crystal ball needed, just exceptional customer service
By David Westgate
Graham Norwood recently wrote that it’s going to be harder...
OTM – is this the end of the Odyssey?
By Simon Shinerock
It is with no pleasure and a touch of sadness...
Why 'the UK housing market' no longer exists
By Rob Clifford
The huge consequences of the EU referendum, and the impending...
Rent rises are inevitable after tax clampdown on buy-to-let
By Marc Da Silva
Buy-to-let landlords may have failed in their recent legal battle...
Let’s take the higher ground on foreign workers and buyers
By Graham Norwood
Some of this week’s headlines - ‘Firms must list foreign...
The gloom lifts – and so does the property market
By Colin Shairp
It’s curious how gloom, gloom pre-Brexit Britain’s property market has...
Property Natter: Q & A with Glenn Ackroyd
By Nat Daniels
This week we have the Head Shepherd of EweMove, Glenn...
Is a fear of online agents justified?
By David Westgate
Barely a week goes by without an announcement relating to...
Property Natter: Q & A with Bob Scarff
By Nat Daniels
A fantastic exclusive this week as I carry out a...
Will your agency be ‘archived’ by consumers who choose hybrid?
By Simon Duce
I can’t remember a time when there were so many...
Why agents will always need portals
By Graham Norwood
It’s a headline from an Australian business journal this week...
Selling homes – what's the secret to the perfect transaction?
By Glenn Ackroyd
With almost a fifth of house sales in Britain collapsing...
My favourite grouse…lazy agents who tout for my properties
By Colin Shairp
As I sit here writing this on the Glorious 12th,...
Keen kids kindle Kenya kindness
By Colin Shairp
It’s a familiar theme – kids doing charity trips and...
Housing shortage will continue to drive up UK prices
By Marc Da Silva
Property prices were at the forefront of the EU debate...
MIRAS: Could Theresa May go back to the future?
By Graham Norwood
I’m indebted to one of the most enthusiastic estate agents...
Squeezed activity shows why we should be grateful for new PM
By Eddie Goldsmith
What a month it has been. By the time you...
How can the industry provide reassurance during this time of uncertainty?
By Michael Robson
Significant national events such as elections and, in this case,...
Four ways to instantly impress with your customer communication skills
By Samantha Jones
A few years ago one of our property receptionists took...
Do your staff reflect the standard of your service?
By Michael Robson
As property ‘experts’, sector know-how and experience sits centrally to...
Sleazy does it: why estate agency needs to get a better look
By Graham Norwood
It’s all too easy to look sleazy in the eyes...
Why we're recruiting 'Property Gurus' who aren't necessarily agents
By Alex Sullivan
This website recently published a piece ahead of the nationwide...
Confidence: too little is a bad thing, but too much is catastrophic
By Graham Norwood
Despite being round the block quite a few times in...
The siren call of Lisbon – A tale of rejection, disappointment and betrayal
By Simon Shinerock
When, during his budget speech, George Osborne announced Capital Gains...
What does the future hold for buyers' online property searches?
By Rob Clifford
I recently read an article in City A.M. titled: ‘Five...
Naivety is a becoming a real headache
By Colin Shairp
The property market is racing ahead, but not everyone who...
What makes a great leader?
By Samantha Jones
At the end of January I was one of the...
Preparing for interviews and preparing to win that job
By Cristina Catino
When you're on the hunt for a new job, once...
An empty vessel makes the most noise
By Simon Duce
What are we going to do about Generation Rent? Only...
How to become a senior manager in ten years
By Daniel Collis
At 29, I'm Romans’ youngest senior manager. Last year I...
Celebrating 70 years as we think our founder would have wanted
By Michael Robson
Birthdays aren’t just something for family and friends to celebrate. Businesses...
Knowing too much about property can be a disadvantage
By Graham Norwood
Public relations used to be a minor part of estate...
50 years Man & Boy: Celebrating half a century in the industry
By Ian Lange
I started work in 1966 in Exeter with Fox &...
Why I've said no to PLC approaches
By Glenn Ackroyd
Do you remember Martha Lane-Fox? She was the poster girl...
Property Natter – five highs of 2015
By Nat Daniels
Right, so it’s one more week till Christmas and two...
OTM finds out what happens when 'rent a crowd' goes home
By Simon Shinerock
OnTheMartket (OTM) recently wrote to its membership saying how well...
Why the NAEA is right to tighten money laundering screws
By Colin Shairp
News from the Halifax this week that the combined values...
Hindsight is too late – leaders must make the right decisions at the right time
By Rob Clifford
It’s hard not to have been influenced by the Rugby...
Countrywide – A Titanic failure waiting to happen?
By Russell Quirk
It’s rare for an incumbent to pivot to a disruptive...
Traditional agents have been online for years
By Colin Shairp
It’s interesting to read of plans to debate which business...
So much bleating, I thought a goat had got in!
By Colin Shairp
It was interesting to see the report on Estate Agent...
Almost a love-in from Which?
By Colin Shairp
It’s always interesting when Which? produces a report that includes...
It’s a scandal more property scandals aren’t exposed
By Graham Norwood
I received a call from a prominent agent known to...
What are you getting out of the market at the moment?
By Rob Clifford
How do you best sum up the current market status...
A new twist on the right to buy
By Colin Shairp
Competition is hot among home buyers in my part of...
Why estate agents must come to terms with change
By Simon Shinerock
A riposte to Paul Smith's article 'Why Estate Agents Must...
HomeOwners’ Alliance – an organisation to watch
By Graham Norwood
There is a very interesting but easily-overlooked piece of information...
A breath of fresh Airbnb
By Graham Norwood
Two interesting developments in the past week have shown how...
Heard the one about the shy estate agent?
By Colin Shairp
What do we actually do as estate agents to serve...
Let’s get our act together
By Graham Norwood
This month has marked a real change in the way...
It's time for OTM to drop the exclusivity rule
By Simon Shinerock
Yesterday we heard about the letter from the CMA warning...
It’s time to consign sole agencies to history
By Simon Shinerock
This publication recently reported on Russell Quirk's latest attempt to...
Oh no, not another complaint...
By Graham Norwood
OK, you’ve had your fun. Now let’s leave the regulators...
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