Archive

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Conquering Corona, our daily update helping the industry cope with the current crisis. If...

Where else to start? Since my last Natter two weeks ago, all our lives have changed more than we could ever...

Estate Agent Today is launching a daily service to help agents facing the Coronavirus threat. This is where you’ll find news, advice...

The Atlantic Ocean is a vast space – some 4,000 miles eastwards across from the USA until land is met again....

Rightmove has released another stonking set of results - but there are signs that some agents are defecting from the ever-more-expensive...

The landscape of the estate agency market in the UK is evolving to reflect changes in the way we live our...

The government will not announce a Mansion Tax at next month’s Budget. It was first reported by the Sunday Telegraph a week ago,...

The 2010s were a good decade for disrupters. Early on, Airbnb and Uber shook up the holiday lettings/hospitality and traditional black...

Boris Johnson is considering introducing a mansion tax for high value homes according to a Sunday newspaper. The Telegraph - citing two...

OnTheMarket claims its visitor total last month exceeded 30m, a new monthly record and an increase of some 28 per cent...

An estate agency is setting up a call centre employing some 100 people in a bid to become “a one stop...

Over the past decade, the short-term rental industry, now eponymised by Airbnb, has experienced meteoric growth. This has been driven by the...

OnTheMarket’s TV advert, promoting its ‘New & exclusive’ feature, will be back on screens from Boxing Day ahead of what it calls a...

The dispute between controversial online estate agency Emoov and the Advertising Standards Authority is rumbling on.  In the first half of November...

Property voyeurism and the festive season have long been bedfellows for many Brits. The heady combination of over-indulgence and regret, close proximity...

There’s bad news peak-time TV shows this evening like DIY SOS and Coronation Street - it looks likely that viewers will...

In a new video interview, Steve Carroll, director of industry relations at Real Estate Group, tells industry commentator Christopher Watkin why...

The competition is hotting up between Zoopla and OnTheMarket for new homes listings. Today Zoopla has revealed that it has seen a...

Fledgling online estate agency Emoov - now owned by PropTech firm Mashroom - has removed reviews and endorsements from its website...

The former chief of an online estate agency says the top three surviving firms in the sector must merge if they...

The Australian agent is a very different beast to his or her British counterpart - no surprises there. And it’s not...

A controversial estate agent and former head of an online agency is urging agents to knock on the doors of vendors...

Upad, the national online letting agent set up by entrepreneur James Davis has announced that it is “closed to new business”...

A well known regional agent has closed one of its offices saying “the old shop window of an estate agency is...

In the old days an agent would procure clients based upon their position in the high street, the size of the...

In a marketplace as competitive as the property industry, you may think that generating leads is the most important focus for...

It’s now more than three years since the EU referendum result in June 2016, and we’re still no clearer on when...

In the last ten years Google's revenue, largely from pay per click ads (Adwords), has grown by 527% (Source: Statista). In...

Who are you and what does it say on your business card? That depends on which business card. One says ‘Properganda PR,...

As we move closer to the halfway point of 2019, property market conditions for agents and their clients remain challenging. Brexit may...

“I’m Russell Quirk, and I’ve failed” - with those words, the former chief executive of Emoov has begun to explain how...

During our school days, most of us did that task where we imagined and drew the homes of the future, but...

Having a responsive website - one which is designed to automatically resize to fit the size of the screen of the...

Purplebricks has been named one of Britain’s ‘most relevant’ brands to consumers. The agency came in 13th in a list of...

Nested, an innovative online agency that offers vendors a form of guaranteed sale, has laid off 20 per cent of its workforce...

Instagram (or, as the younger generation would have it, Insta) is, by any measure, massive.  Only launched in October 2010, it’s a...

A new sales portal has launched with a radically different business model, aiming to pay agents to list on it. It’s the brainchild of...

Chancellors says it has over 10,000 reviews on Trustpilot, making it the most reviewed High Street agency on the platform.  In a statement...

One of the world’s leading digital analysts has given his latest verdict on the UK portal market and offers a major...

Who are you? I’m the Director of Sales for both the well-known industry leading Today publications and The ValPal Network. Leading publications: Estate...

An estate agent says he’s “bruised” by recent mysterious negative online reviews he has received - shortly after he posted positive...

BAD PHOTOS – 6 BIG MISTAKES YOU MIGHT BE MAKING! In our last article, we highlighted some really important and shocking stats...

As an estate agent, you need to be ready to cater for the specific requirements of buyers and sellers, tailoring your...

New figures released this morning from OnTheMarket claim its listing inventory bis now over 80 per cent of the size of...

If Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is as sophisticated as they say, Porter Pioneers’ launch could leave agents kicking their feet.  Those of...

When it comes to building online reputation, Google is king. It is estimated that over 90% of consumers Google a business before...

Over the past year I've had so many conversations with agents telling me how they feel that offering a premium customer...

It’s that time of year again where we start saying goodbye to 12 months of hard work and start looking forward...

When was the last time you looked at your business and really thought about what you could do to improve? Yesterday? Last...

Artificial intelligence (AI) is playing an increasingly important role in our lives – from virtual assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa and...

How will things be done in the future? There’s no knowing, of course, given the many variables at play, but it’s...

The troubled Emoov hybrid estate agency, currently up for sale, has removed an advertisement after a complaint to a watchdog over...

A recent 'red flag alert' report from an insolvency firm warned that the number of real estate businesses defined as being...

Outspoken online estate agency chief Russell Quirk says the estate agency industry is “really p****d off” with Rightmove trying to ride...

Local business reviews are becoming increasingly important for reputation management, with recent research showing 90% of consumers read online reviews before...

More than half of home owners now use online reviews to choose their estate agent when putting their property on the...

Google celebrated its 20th birthday last month. Yes, it might be hard to recall a time when it wasn’t integral in...

A website has officially launched this morning, aiming to push the concept of US-style For Sale By Owner online property marketing...

Emoov has agreed to change the wording of a Google search advertisement after a complaint was made to the Advertising Standards...

Today’s long-awaited debate staged by fledgling PropTech platform Best Agent will address the issue of how the agency industry can most...

An estate agency is pioneering a new business model in which it charges no commission whatsoever to the vendor. Freeagent247, an online...

Fake news has become the popular catchphrase of a certain orange-tinted president in recent years. And everyone, from tech giants like...

An upcoming event will see a panel of well-known agents and suppliers appeal for better collaboration between industry stakeholders, particularly CRM...

A few stories caught my eye this week from China, all of which announce the arrival of cutting-edge technological innovation in...

The team behind a new ‘open platform’ targetting smaller agencies in need of Proptech support have revealed a heavyweight line up...

An OnTheMarket sales rep - who now no longer works for the company - wrote a critical review of an independent estate...

Next week ludlowthompson celebrates its 25th anniversary. Here, I catch up with Stephen Ludlow, co-founder and now executive director of the...

OnTheMarket has now signed listing agreements with UK estate and letting agents with a total of over 10,000 offices - but...

It may not be a good idea for a journalist to be personal about a politician, so I write about our...

Everyone wants to rank highly on Google. Why? Well, as the world’s biggest search engine, with more than 65% market share,...

The pace of change is extraordinary. As we reach the middle of one conversation, rumblings of the next already begin. I think...

Firstly, my sincere apologies - it has now been over a month since my last PropTech blog, doesn’t time fly!  In the...

Sotheby's International Realty has launched what it claims to be the first 'real estate-branded' augmented reality (AR) app. 'Curate', which is now...

How can you use data to benefit and better your business? It’s something you’ll no doubt have asked yourself down the...

As promised a few weeks ago, this week’s Natter concentrates on the importance of content, design and social media, three easily...

The prospect of technology transforming the selling and buying process, including more power for portals and especially online agents, dominated parts...

The rise and fall - and perhaps rise again - of Countrywide has been of enduring interest to the agency industry...

Ever wondered what it’s like to be on the frontline of property journalism? Well, wonder no more, as our very own...

Floor plans are an essential marketing tool, which play an important part in helping an estate agent sell a home.  A floor...

In the modern marketplace – where people live their lives on their smartphones and tablets, social media has a bigger influence...

OnTheMarket has this morning issued a statement claiming that its portal traffic reached circa 12m visits during March - more than...

A property technology analyst has floated the idea that portals could become eclipsed by powerful alternatives such as Google, triggered by...

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

I have high expectations for this year’s PropTech events and property conferences.  Those that I attended in 2017 demonstrated a real step...

A website called Roofoveryourhead has launched which threatens to bypass estate agents and allow vendors to sell for free. The site uses language similar...

In 2018, Google will introduce changes to the way it ranks websites, meaning sites will be ranked on the quality of...

It’s traditional before Christmas to either review the year past or anticipate the one ahead - but I’m intrigued about what...

An estate agency has used the experiences of Cambridge, Oxford and other cities to forecast that pockets of central London's housing...

Winter seems to be firmly with us now, if the plunging temperatures are anything to go by. After a ridiculously mild...

The rise of Airbnb has been majestic, going all the way from conception to becoming a common noun in less than...

A new portal has been launched aimed at marketing ex-council properties for sale or to let through agencies.  Ex-Council.com says it is...

Saudi Arabia has announced it’s to build a new mega-city, rising out of the desert sands in the kingdom’s north, adorning...

They say presentation is key (something that Theresa May now knows all too well after her calamitous conference speech). But equally...

Like many of Labour’s recent policy proposals, its call for rent controls leaves more questions than answers.  There has been widespread criticism...

And so concludes another party conference season.  We’ve followed the great and the good (both terms are debatable) around Torbay, Bournemouth,...

Long-established central London estate agency Kay & Co is opening what it calls “a stylish new boutique office” on the ground...

Let’s be honest - few people saw this coming. The 89 to 11 per cent majority amongst Agents’ Mutual members for...

Property has been changing hands for centuries, but when did estate agents as we know them today – with their branches,...

Facebook has finally released more details about its previously announced plans to build 1,500 homes, 30 miles south of San Francisco,...

How many property professionals are truly happy with their revenue? High levels of competition from new market entrants is a significant...

Supporting the adoption of technology does not mean we have to stop protecting the core values of the property industry. In...

The Guild of Property Professionals and Fine & Country have launched a new referral system app which allows its members to...

It was only a couple of weeks ago that I was writing about the Google City, in Toronto, and now the...

A trade body which has been founded to represent the interests of independent estate agents has partnered with consumer reviews platform...

Vigilant followers of the Liberal Democrats may have spotted a blog in the name of Mark Pack early yesterday morning, commenting...

Google, under the command of parent company, Alphabet, has set its sights on building the world’s first digital city, in Toronto,...

EasyProperty has removed from its advertising any reference to clients getting ‘an offier in 20 weeks’ after an intervention by the...

It’s that time of year again – peak conference/event season. And, while Brexit and a shock snap general election are dominating...

Being featured in newspapers, magazines and websites, as well as on radio and TV, can be a great way to build...

It seems prop-tech is exploding at a scary rate, and the latest brands are all trying to grab our attention by...

Agents who ignore critical reviews of their services do so at their peril as new figures reveal high levels of readership...

Over 60% of UK consumers think that Estate Agents’ Photos Are Very Poor To Average A recent survey* by dedicated property photo...

One thing that can be guaranteed in the property world each year is a range of conferences and awards dinners. Very...

If this past year is anything to go by, outsourcing is firmly on the agenda for estate agents. Rather than being...

The East of England, which takes in areas from Hertfordshire to Norfolk, has recorded the biggest hike in property prices over...

Following the election of Donald Trump, there has been a rise in the number of United States investors searching for property...

A post-Christmas treat this week, as I carry out a Q & A with one of the leading figures in property,...

OnTheMarket is to advertise across 40 channels this month, in the build up to its second anniversary at the end of January. The...

One of the key factors associated with an active private rental market in the UK, as detailed in the Dataloft PRS...

2016 has undoubtedly shone a spotlight on the reviews industry and drawn into question the legitimacy of online customer reviews.  Amazon, amongst...

In the world of property and estate agency, competition is always fierce. It’s the same when it comes to your website....

Good branding is absolutely crucial to any successful business or product, even more so in a world of social media, instant...

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

OnTheMarket says it provided “a record number of leads” to its agent members in September - but is not disclosing how...

More estate agents are using – or at least considering using – virtual reality viewings as part of their services. But what...

The key lies in improving your customer experience through technology For Agents, the tremendous growth in online estate agents highlights a strong...

The results of some interesting research have been revealed - applying to the United States but possibly indicative of how property...

With a number of agent partner programmes available nationwide, estate agents can often increase business by offering sales by auction, especially...

Online agency Settled has been described by a major national newspaper as having “halved the time it takes to sell a...

With more house-hunters than ever now starting their search for a new home by typically looking online on one of the major...

Rightmove has begun testing a virtual reality viewing platform which will allow prospective buyers to view properties without leaving their own...

So what is it with young people failing to stand up for themselves and not making the most of their money...

Last time out I spoke about the beginnings of a PropTech revolution, with two major London-based events in the offing over...

OnTheMarket says it now has the support of over 7,000 estate and letting agency offices. This includes those formally contracted now and...

A digital marketing agency says it has identified ‘top key phrases’ used by would-be buyers when they begin their property searches...

A fascinating report commissioned by online agency easyProperty has given the lowdown on what house buying might be like in 2020...

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

Agents' boards get a lot of stick. Many see them as stains on the landscape, some see them as useless in...

At the end of January I was one of the many people stood listening to the presentation that our co-founder Rachel...

A high-end estate agent who was one of the founding directors of Agents' Mutual says a British exit from the EU may not...

Marketing and property often go hand in hand. But from time to time you might come across certain marketing terms that...

There seems to have been a seismic shift in recent years for companies to migrate everything ‘on brand’ online. However signage...

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

The Hamburg-based Berenberg Bank is the latest to send a briefing to investors on the so-called portal wars - and while...

Someone told me the other day that it’s now only seven Mondays till Christmas. Now there’s a scary thought. Best get...

YourLocalAgent.com Some 91% of the public use search engines to find information every day and 91% of these always or most of...

I’m writing this from the brand spanking new Center Parks in Woburn Forest. Set within 365 acres of lush Bedfordshire forest,...

Well, the hosts have left the party early. England have crashed out of their own Rugby World Cup after a demoralising...

There’s been a lot of talk lately about artificial intelligence (AI). We’ve seen it feature prominently this year on film (in...

Readers of Estate Agent Today and Letting Agent Today were given an exclusive opportunity to pose questions to Zoopla Property Group...

The war of words and statistics between rival portals continues apace as OnTheMarket says its visits hit a record last month according...

So, has everyone been enjoying the fine summer weather we’ve been experiencing? Oh, wait…fear not, I will attempt to inject a...

There has long been the assumption and contention in the industry that portals are expensive. This, however, is not the case. Along...

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

A review of 30 prominent property sales websites undertaken by a digital marketing company demonstrates, perhaps predictably, a huge lead for...

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

Q: What does it say on your business card?   The support network for quality agents Q: Who is Agent Tracker?   Agent Tracker...

Agent Tracker…. More than just a verified review site •    We are a network for quality agents. Supporting and helping them to...

Hello and welcome to my brand new blog! Every month I’ll be giving you an insight into the varied, exciting and...

Information Works is a one-stop direct marketing solution allowing Clients to select individuals at over 27 million household addresses, create personalised...

Online estate agency Hatched says its social and digital marketing package offered to clients is generating 350 per cent more visits...

OnTheMarket claims it has achieved 10 million visits to the site with 90 million page views in three months. The portal launched...

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