Archive

The past two years have been a whirlwind of change, challenges and chance. The main catalyst has clearly been the pandemic...

Phil Spencer’s new series of Move iQ podcasts is to be sponsored by Propertymark. During the nine part series, Spencer will talk...

A website called The Changing Face of Property has been launched to encourage young people planning their careers to consider our...

I’m going to declare upfront that, as an investor, I have a financial interest in the success of MovePal but I also need...

House prices rose by the most in almost 15 years in September ahead of the end of the stamp duty holiday.  The...

It’s a truism that most property enquiries from buyers these days come through portals but there are several reasons why agents...

A long-standing critic of OnTheMarket, who was once excluded from a presentation by the portal’s leadership, has spoken enthusiastically of the...

Things can change. For those who remember, it’s no secret that I became one of the industry's strongest critics of OnTheMarket (OTM). My reasons...

Apart from a buoyant market, high transaction levels, and consumer confidence in the property market, one considerable additional benefit which has...

A prominent advocate of a reformed transaction process says more secure moving systems can help agents maintain high business levels when...

I want you to ask yourself a question, what is your reputation? By that I mean your personal reputation and your...

The reviews element of the ESTAS Group has signed a two year deal with Hunters. The agreement means Hunters - now part...

The self-employed agency model will not be successful in the UK because the commission in this country is so low. That’s the...

One in 10 buyers say they will seek to renegotiate on the price of their chosen home if they miss the...

Around 18 months ago, just a few months before the pandemic hit, I did a Natter with the team at software...

An agent is challenging the insurer Hiscox over its interpretation of whether to honour a Business Interruption Insurance policy. A standard letter...

A firm calling itself the UK’s first 24/7 home-based agency says it wants to roll out nationally with a network of franchisees...

To kick off 2021, we have a Q&A with one of the most high-profile – and, it has to be said,...

Welcome to part three of our ongoing series on local independent agents, as we seek to give this all-important part of...

Hello and welcome to the latest of our parade of estate agency videos and photographs to mark Christmas 2020. It may be a...

The Competitions and Markets Authority is to probe the proposed merger of two crowdfunding sites used by numerous property industry companies. Crowdcube...

As we embark on another nationwide lockdown, the team at SDL Auctions are keen to help agents ride the storm, beat...

Staying on top of the numbers and figures in a constantly changing industry can be stressful. Changing property prices can be...

The pandemic and the way the government has reacted to the private rental sector (PRS) has got me thinking about the...

OnTheMarket says almost 500 branches have signed up in recent months, entitling their business owners to ‘welcome shares’. Of those branches signing...

"New property website launches. Not immediately sure what it does differently, what its USP is or who will use it, but...

Mortgage product choices for buyers have increased to the highest level in three months according to new data. PropTech platform Mortgage Brain...

Virtual viewings could transform estate agency so fundamentally that they might mean the work of five negotiators could in future be...

A new thought-provoking five-part video series is launching to the industry today. ‘Simon says…’ is being hosted by Property Tribes with...

OnTheMarket says it has another 32 million shares to give away to agents signing full fee contracts with the challenger portal...

Let me start by wishing everyone well in these uncertain and precarious times. I truly hope you, your families, friends and...

Two agents have quit Rightmove and taken to social media to give their reasons. One is the 12-branch Andrew Craig agency which...

Hello and welcome to Wednesday’s update on what offers and advice are available to agents at this most difficult and challenging...

In response to the current coronavirus pandemic, which is having such an impact on all parts of life, including the property...

While controversy swirls around the approach and motives of the sackings and branch closures at Spicerhaart, other agents are showing how...

The coronavirus outbreak has highlighted once again how fragile and interconnected our societies have become. We don’t know yet how dangerous Covid-19...

In the last few Natters I’ve focused on the slow death of local newspaper advertising, and how many agents are now...

Agents now have only seven days to complete a referral fees survey, announced late on Friday by Trading Standards and The...

  Who are you and what does it say on your business card? Catherine Shinerock - ARO Account Manager What is your ‘company name’...

[Estate Agent Today was ‘off air’ for some of Wednesday and most of Thursday thanks to technical problems - we apologise...

A prominent agency owner and industry figure has attacked Rightmove for failing to support estate agents and has accused it of...

As we know, the world’s moving very fast and how we communicate now is drastically different to even 10 years ago....

An equity release specialist says the scrapping of stamp duty for so-called last time buyers would lead to more downsizing, freeing...

The boss of a 15+ branch estate agency group has explained how he thinks regulation could 'ruin' the estate agency industry. Simon...

A portal which describes itself as a social network and which has been operating on a soft launch basis for many...

A free-to-list property portal says that contrary to opinion within parts of the agency industry, the more portals there are the...

Sometimes having prior knowledge of a stressful event can be more stressful than the event itself, just look at Brexit for...

The recent announcement of a clicktopurchase partnership demonstrates some much-needed progression from Rightmove. In doing so, however, it could be said it...

Specialist providers catering for the over-50s has welcomed a move by high-end estate agency Knight Frank to move into equity release. Commenting...

With somewhere in the region of 1.2 million property sales transactions being completed each year, and 16,500 estate agents actively vying...

PropTech company Landmark has thrown its weight behind the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ new Home Survey Standard, which is now out...

The fledgling independent agents’ trade group, the Federation of Independent Agents, has signed another partnership deal with a high-profile industry supplier...

OnTheMarket has applied to the London Stock Exchange for the release of over 528,000 new shares to agents who have signed...

It’s not often we can enjoy beautiful sunshine on bank holidays, but I suppose this one was a particularly blessed weekend,...

Low risk letting is everyone’s aim, but unless legitimate guidelines are followed it’s difficult to know if a tenant will prove...

Foxtons and Quintain have both recently made an important decision about their technological innovation, the same decision must also be made...

Many estate and letting agents are receiving more leads through OnTheMarket than through Rightmove, the challenger portal claims - and it...

The demand for rural properties is high, and with 20.7% of England’s population in countryside areas, estate agents have a large...

When renting a property out, letting agents and landlords recognise that it is important to take a deposit from the tenant...

The ‘new broom’ owners of Zoopla have revealed that Gary Bramall is to be the firm’s new chief marketing officer charged with...

Newspapers are reporting that Brexit’s impact on house prices - especially if there is No Deal - are likely to take...

This won’t be a long article. Just to the point and hopefully with a nice angle to it.  I get asked at...

A government minister has told the estate agency industry that it must be more transparent over the issue of referral fees. In...

Having delivered over 1,800 websites for estate agents over the last 15 years, I have come to recognise one major common...

When you are starting up a new business, it is unlikely that you will already have enough capital to invest. Taking...

As you probably know, I have been no fan of OnTheMarket (OTM) over the years. You may see this admission as...

As the process of making buying and selling more transparent continues to gather pace, the body that regulates conveyancers says it...

100 years ago, 90% of the UK population rented a home. Today, that figure has flipped, and over two thirds are...

Purplebricks has issued a provocative response to the government’s new measures to promote a more professional and transparent house buying process.  The...

As noted in Estate Agent Today’s news pages, OnTheMarket’s (OTM) recent dire share performance (at time of writing the price is...

One of the leading PropTech analysts says Rightmove’s huge success means that it has two difficult choices ahead if it is...

Welcome once again to Property Jobs Today, the notice-board for agents, suppliers and other property professionals moving within, out or in...

In the first of an ongoing series exploring the people who make the property industry tick, I catch up with James...

Why I won’t buy Purplebricks shares and why if I had any, I’d sell fast… In its latest adverts, Purplebricks attempts to...

OnTheMarket has finally completed its stock market float, with less capital raised, at a lower than planned valuation and, as I write,...

Whatever else you say about OnTheMarket, you can’t say it’s not consistent, consistent in treating its core membership shabbily.  We already know...

Arun Estates has launched what it describes as “a major new departure” - a fully-staffed High Street office but covering a...

A senior figure in another regional estate agency group has expressed scepticism about the popularity of online choices for vendors. Last week...

Well, I don’t know about you but after the holidays I've got an imprint just below my navel where my belt...

Who says things slow down before Christmas? The opposite appears to be the case, at least when it comes to the...

Yesterday morning OnTheMarket confirmed its IPO plans but with no firm date. The question remains on whether the float will be...

Countrywide chief executive Alison Platt says she welcomes the government’s scrapping of stamp duty for first time buyers purchasing homes under...

In the UK, there are over 3.9 million homes situated in off-grid areas with no access to mains gas, so it’s...

I’ve written before about the impact of headlines on the property industry. Interest rate speculation.   Market booms and busts. Demand...

Before we go any further, assuming you are an Agents’ Mutual member, let me ask you a question. If you had...

OneDome has launched a new online tool that allows users to scour Rightmove, Zoopla and OnTheMarket by setting up lifestyle criteria,...

After my article last week predicting that Agents’ Mutual would likely seek to raise external capital, including possibly on the public markets,...

I hate to be the guy to say ‘I told you so’…but I told you so! It seems that my predictions...

One of the biggest choices you can make in regards to the logistics of your estate agency can be picking a...

This actually happened - the names of the guilty have been withheld to protect the innocent. I live in Spain, Marbella actually,...

Purplebricks’ advertising is very negative and critical of the competition. They talk about 'commisery', trying to make potential sellers feel ripped...

Earlier this week it was Dads4Daughters Day – a campaign that strives to promote gender equality in the workplace.  I have three...

With tax relief changes, a rise in Stamp Duty for second homes and strict mortgage affordability checks now in place, it...

The buy-to-let market has gone through significant change in the last year and with the Budget just around the corner, what...

When I read about the possible formation of yet another ‘mutual’ with the aim of furthering and protecting the interests of...

The rental market has had to face a raft of changes over the past year, including the introduction of the 3% stamp...

There is no doubt that 2016 managed to catch the world by surprise on more than one occassion.  But will 2017 be...

I have a confession to make. In 1988 I became a Seekers franchisee. For those of you who don't know who...

Listening to all the coverage of the tenant fee ban, all I hear is consumer groups talking about how some agents...

It is with no pleasure and a touch of sadness that I took in the significance of OTM's recent performance in...

Property Academy is embarking on its annual Home Moving Trends Survey in a bid to find out how vendors select agents...

A fine of £735,000 imposed on an association of estate and letting agents and a local newspaper publisher has been described...

I pride myself as a logical person, so much so that it amazes me how most people seem to struggle to...

The Financial Conduct Authority is to encourage lenders to give would-be buyers more choice in the mortgages available. In the Responsible Lending...

One of the directors of Agents’ Mutual, parent body of portal OnTheMarket, has told Estate Agent Today that his firm does...

After over a year of speculation, the Competition and Markets Authority has stepped into the row over OnTheMarket and its ‘one...

When, during his budget speech, George Osborne announced Capital Gains Tax (CGT) was going down to 20%, I experienced a mix...

The days are getting longer, the sun is starting to appear on a more regular basis, Easter is just around the...

Another Friday, another impressive array of agents doing superb work for causes close to their hearts.  Every week we salute agents helping communities...

Software. You might not give it much thought a lot of the time, but it’s an absolutely crucial part of how...

Talks are ongoing about portal choices for Cheshire-based estate agency Gascoigne Halman - acquired by Connells last year - and no decision has...

In January readers of Estate Agent Today and Letting Agent Today were given the opportunity to give their views on proposed...

I'm sure most of you have seen, or at least heard of the Mad Max series of post-apocalyptic dystopian fantasies.  The latest...

OnTheMartket (OTM) recently wrote to its membership saying how well its doing, how membership has increased beyond expectations and how it...

Stephen Moss, CEO of Pring.co.uk the UK’s leading property investment search engine, takes a look at the impact of ‘Corbynmania’ on...

allAgents has revealed its 2015 estate agency award winners, based on reviews posted from September 1 2014 to August 31 this...

IT’S often said that the secret of a happy and thriving business is one in which every single employee is the...

A riposte to Paul Smith's article 'Why Estate Agents Must Stand Up to the Power of the Portals' I just read an...

allAgents has revealed its 2015 winners based on reviews posted about what it describes as “80,000 individual staff members automatically entered”...

As estate agents, business people and just plain people for that matter, we can't help looking at the way our society...

A London start-up is the latest to launch virtual reality technology aimed at estate agents and property buyers.  Launched last week, VirtuEye...

Yesterday we heard about the letter from the CMA warning agents about anti-competitive behaviour. Today, in a scoop for Estate Agent...

This publication recently reported on Russell Quirk's latest attempt to upset the establishment, this time by attacking the hallowed ground of...

Ian Wilson, the head of Martin & Co, recently threw his hat into the ring regarding Labour’s stated intention to cap...

The UK property industry has spent 4 years in an economic maelstrom. We came to this before anyone else in the...