Archive

Whether a General Election is held in May, November or in January one thing is guaranteed -  we can expect to...

It’s that time of year already: Halloween’s happened, Bonfire Night’s blown itself out, and there’s now a feast of festivities leading...

I’ve always been a half glass full kind of person.  But I’ve got to confess I struggled to get too excited by...

Most weeks there are stories within the property sector that quietly slip under the radar - but which hold huge significance.  Last...

It seems as if optimism is out of fashion right now: just look at the headlines to see what I mean....

Former Douglas & Gordon managing director Ivor Dickinson has passed away. He was known as one of London’s most high-profile and colourful...

During the summer holidays, your home is left susceptible to opportunistic thieves. Despite this rise in threat, data found that only...

Location Location Location co-presenter Kirstie Allsopp has fought back after her comments on first time buyers were sharply criticised oil social...

Was Purplebricks right to delist a property from its website when it discovered the vendors - a Christian couple - were opposed...

The chair of the strategic board of fledgling Boomin says most existing portals are merely operating like digital newspapers with listings,...

Photography has become an increasingly important weapon in an agent’s armoury in recent years as listings compete for space on portals,...

Is print dead as an advertising medium for estate agents? Many have suggested it is, thanks to the rise and rise of...

Dexters, which last week secured a reported £130m in new investment for the coming years, has snapped up the historic Roy...

Newspapers are pushed through the door, whereas websites have to pull in visitors - it’s a simple but fundamental difference with vast implications...

Hefty increases in taxes on the purchase and sale of holiday homes and buy to let properties are expected in the...

Have you ever wondered how industry-specific software and property portals have influenced the typical estate agency of today? A new book, which...

Agents have spoken out angrily against any uncertainty in the market caused by government leaks about future stamp duty changes. In recent...

Unnamed government sources quoted in many newspapers today suggest stamp duty reforms may be announced later this year. Chancellor Rishi Sunak is to...

Estate agents’ offices will be in the first category of High Street premises to reopen when the lockdown finally ends, newspapers claim this...

A video interview released this morning features the experiences of eight agents who have quit Rightmove in the past two years,...

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

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

One of Britain’s most experienced estate agents says there’s no alternative to Rightmove, and the portal’s relationship with the industry is...

Unsourced stories in a number of newspapers over the weekend - all likely to have come from government off-the-record briefings -...

For a very long time, it was one of the best ways – if not the best way – of generating...

A survey claims that millions of potential sellers would use online estate agents - and bizarrely, this includes an online agency...

It’s that time again. Each year I take a look at newspaper readership - not from the angle of journalists, but...

The industry press has given substantial space to recommendations from the Regulation of Property Agents, the government’s working party which has...

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...

When you think of the best ad campaigns – from moustachioed opera singers and talking meerkats to millions of bouncing balls...

Property industry commentator and former online agency chief executive Russell Quirk has defended Rightmove’s charges to agents, saying that compared to...

It’s been an interesting week of contrasts when it comes to online replacing ‘the old school’. Data from that clever consultancy The...

The man who is leading the government’s efforts to reform the house buying process will be one of the speaker at...

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

No, I haven’t lost the plot. Such a thing exists – and if you’re familiar with North London, there is a...

Johnston Press, the company which owns the i national newspaper and some 200 local titles - many with property supplements carrying...

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

The raison d'être for estate agents everywhere is to get their properties noticed! It’s as simple as that. These days you’re likely...

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

It’s being suggested that Countrywide’s rights issue, previously expected to be announced this week, may now be delayed. The Times says the...

Purplebricks has told the Press Association it wants to secure over 10 per cent of the agency market share in the...

First things first, I have to mention the World Cup. The dream is over, football’s not quite coming home (not until...

Cast your mind back to July 2008 – Gordon Brown was Prime Minister, the Euros were in full swing in Austria/Switzerland...

TV property expert Sarah Beeny says she expects online agencies to take 70 per cent market share in the future -...

Online estate agencies are the centre of attention right now - but one of them seems to be seeking publicity in...

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

Several newspapers are carrying allegations that the diary secretary working for housing minister Dominic Raab has been selling sex via a...

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

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

The printing industry is in the midst of a decline as digital products and services displace printed materials, which is why...

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

It has been revealed that the beleaguered government of Theresa May is to hold a summit at 10 Downing Street tomorrow...

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

It used to be so easy. Around 20 years ago there were what we now call full-service estate and letting agencies, and...

Stamp duty has become the latest weapon in the ongoing war of words between different wings of the Conservative party, as...

As discussed in our previous article, it’s all about the first impression. Once your team have handled that initial phone call...

We’re already more than halfway through 2017 and, against all the odds, it’s pushing 2016 close in terms of eventfulness and...

An estate agent who was offered a sex act by his boss if he hit sales targets has won a sex...

Trinity Mirror is aiming to secure more of agents' marketing spend after launching what it is describing as a 'fightback' against...

An attempt to raffle a property - like the much-publicised case of an owner in south east London, which reached some...

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

It’s easy to be dismissive of the value of local newspapers for advertising residential property but things are never as straightforward...

There’s been another flurry of publicity for Purplebricks following the posting of photographs and statements online by a blogger whose property...

I had a very interesting chat with the man behind a new portal the other day. He was John Dixon, the portal...

A new regional property portal aiming to sign up 80 per cent of agencies in Yorkshire says it is unconcerned about...

A series of leaks to national newspapers and a flurry of broadcast interviews by housing minister Gavin Barwell means we already know...

First details of the long-awaited Housing White Paper have emerged in stories in newspapers frequently used by government to float ideas. The...

Let me set out my stall from the beginning. Firstly with two buy to lets managed by an agency, I understand and...

A PropTech firm is to launch a 'printed augmented reality' service that allows buyers to point their smartphone and get additional information...

Housing minister Gavin Barwell has taken to Twitter to tell those for and against Brexit to "tone down the rhetoric" that...

Speculation was rife over the weekend that the government would today announce major changes to housing policy - possibly shifting the...

It’s a headline from an Australian business journal this week but it has a familiar ring to it: “Estate agents’ attempts...

Foxtons has removed its listing for the sale of a property on an estate in Walthamstow after concerns expressed by nearby...

One of the western world’s ‘hottest’ city residential markets has introduced a near-instant 15 per cent price surcharge on properties purchased...

nu-move online estate agents -The Future of Property Nu-move is an online venture that has been created to meet the demand...

Cost-effective marketing will always be an important part of growing an estate agency business. I'm often asked about the ways in which...

I wish it were otherwise, but there’s a crisis just beginning to sweep over newspapers – with, a bit beneath the...

By accident or design, the PR machine at OnTheMarket was beefed up last week.  Just as well. With the portal still reeling...

Police have released footage of an estate agent who has been jailed for four years after repeatedly running over his girlfriend's...

Newspapers and other journalists’ outlets are reporting that rooms in care homes are being offered to purchase as buy to let...

An estate agent has hit the headlines for marketing a central London home where the buyer can avoid paying almost £1m...

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

I received a call from a prominent agent known to many in the industry this week, asking an unexpected question: he wanted...

An agent has defended his decision to put 142 photographs of a property on its Rightmove listing after an unexpected criticism...

There is a very interesting but easily-overlooked piece of information at the end of the National Trading Standards Estate Agent Team’s...

OK, you’ve had your fun. Now let’s leave the regulators regulate and work for the public. If you don’t know what I...

Even in a digital age, printed material continues to play an important part in the marketing of any estate agency. Weekly...

A firm described as one of the country’s 20 best small estate agencies has closed both of its offices. Estate Agent Today...