Agents working for themselves, supported by a ‘broker’ organisation are on the increase in the UK after becoming almost the norm...
Archive
![Jonathan Rolande: Four General Election housing ideas that would get my vote](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/PropertyNews2-400x310.png)
Whether a General Election is held in May, November or in January one thing is guaranteed - we can expect to...
26 January 2024
From: Breaking News
![Phil Spencer - Take Back Housing Market Forecasting Control!](/upload/images/Phil%20Spencer.png)
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...
07 November 2023
From: Breaking News
![Jonathan Rolande: Why I’m not celebrating house price rises](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/Property-Value_400x310.png)
I’ve always been a half glass full kind of person. But I’ve got to confess I struggled to get too excited by...
06 November 2023
From: Breaking News
![Jonathan Rolande: Politicians are pledging a housebuilding revolution but who will build them?](/upload/images/shutterstock_2299201121.jpg)
Most weeks there are stories within the property sector that quietly slip under the radar - but which hold huge significance. Last...
23 October 2023
From: Breaking News
![Bad news everywhere - it’s up to YOU to relay the good news](/upload/images/Phil%20Spencer.png)
It seems as if optimism is out of fashion right now: just look at the headlines to see what I mean....
03 February 2023
From: Breaking News
![Tributes paid after death of 'estate agency legend'](/upload/images/Miscellaneous/PassAway-400x310.png)
Former Douglas & Gordon managing director Ivor Dickinson has passed away. He was known as one of London’s most high-profile and colourful...
18 August 2022
From: Breaking News
![Security experts reveal top tips to keep your home safe this summer](/upload/images/Miscellaneous/burglary_695x395.png)
During the summer holidays, your home is left susceptible to opportunistic thieves. Despite this rise in threat, data found that only...
03 August 2022
From: Legislation & Compliance
![Allsopp fights back after criticism of first time buyer comments](/upload/images/library/first-time-buyer400x310.png)
Location Location Location co-presenter Kirstie Allsopp has fought back after her comments on first time buyers were sharply criticised oil social...
08 February 2022
From: Breaking News
![Purplebricks - It's My Property and I Will Sell It To Who I Want](/upload/images/Logos/Purplebricks-2019Logo-400x310.jpg)
Was Purplebricks right to delist a property from its website when it discovered the vendors - a Christian couple - were opposed...
28 January 2022
From: Breaking News
![Boomin more innovative and forward thinking than rivals - claim](/upload/images/library/Boomin-Logo-400x310.jpg)
The chair of the strategic board of fledgling Boomin says most existing portals are merely operating like digital newspapers with listings,...
22 December 2021
From: Breaking News
![Drones to night shots - what are the top photo tips for agents?](/upload/images/PropTech%20%26%20Online/SmartphonePropPhotography-400x310.jpg)
Photography has become an increasingly important weapon in an agent’s armoury in recent years as listings compete for space on portals,...
23 September 2021
From: Breaking News
![“Exceptional” agents thanked for advertising in print supplement](/img/default/eat.png)
Is print dead as an advertising medium for estate agents? Many have suggested it is, thanks to the rise and rise of...
12 July 2021
From: Breaking News
![London agency uses cash injection to hit acquisition trail](/img/default/eat.png)
Dexters, which last week secured a reported £130m in new investment for the coming years, has snapped up the historic Roy...
02 March 2021
From: Breaking News
![The push me, pull you of estate agency](/img/default/eat.png)
Newspapers are pushed through the door, whereas websites have to pull in visitors - it’s a simple but fundamental difference with vast implications...
21 November 2020
From: Features
![Big rises in property taxes expected to pay for virus spending](/img/default/eat.png)
Hefty increases in taxes on the purchase and sale of holiday homes and buy to let properties are expected in the...
01 September 2020
From: Breaking News
![PropTech Today: Software and portals destroyed the personal touch of agency](/img/default/eat.png)
Have you ever wondered how industry-specific software and property portals have influenced the typical estate agency of today? A new book, which...
08 July 2020
From: Breaking News
![Stamp Duty dithering could kill the market, warn angry agents](/img/default/eat.png)
Agents have spoken out angrily against any uncertainty in the market caused by government leaks about future stamp duty changes. In recent...
07 July 2020
From: Breaking News
![Stamp Duty changes being considered by Sunak - but when?](/img/default/eat.png)
Unnamed government sources quoted in many newspapers today suggest stamp duty reforms may be announced later this year. Chancellor Rishi Sunak is to...
06 July 2020
From: Breaking News
![Good News: Estate agents’ offices will be first to reopen says newspaper](/img/default/eat.png)
Estate agents’ offices will be in the first category of High Street premises to reopen when the lockdown finally ends, newspapers claim this...
16 April 2020
From: Breaking News
![Eight agents explain why they quit Rightmove - new video released](/img/default/eat.png)
A video interview released this morning features the experiences of eight agents who have quit Rightmove in the past two years,...
23 March 2020
From: Breaking News
![Property Natter – how did agents advertise in the pre-portal days?](/img/default/eat.png)
In the last few Natters I’ve focused on the slow death of local newspaper advertising, and how many agents are now...
29 February 2020
From: Features
![Property Natter – who will be the property disrupters of the 2020s?](/img/default/eat.png)
The 2010s were a good decade for disrupters. Early on, Airbnb and Uber shook up the holiday lettings/hospitality and traditional black...
15 February 2020
From: Features
![Rightmove no worse than many other suppliers says ex-Purplebricks boss](/img/default/eat.png)
One of Britain’s most experienced estate agents says there’s no alternative to Rightmove, and the portal’s relationship with the industry is...
12 February 2020
From: Breaking News
![Housing Minister McVey to be sacked this week, briefings suggest](/img/default/eat.png)
Unsourced stories in a number of newspapers over the weekend - all likely to have come from government off-the-record briefings -...
10 February 2020
From: Breaking News
01 February 2020
From: Features
![Dodgy survey boosts online agents - including one that doesn’t exist](/img/default/eat.png)
A survey claims that millions of potential sellers would use online estate agents - and bizarrely, this includes an online agency...
06 September 2019
From: Breaking News
![Don’t read all about it - are local property ads dying?](/img/default/eat.png)
It’s that time again. Each year I take a look at newspaper readership - not from the angle of journalists, but...
17 August 2019
From: Features
![Beyond the headlines - What the new regulator really means](/img/default/eat.png)
The industry press has given substantial space to recommendations from the Regulation of Property Agents, the government’s working party which has...
20 July 2019
From: Features
![Russell Quirk,Co-Founder and Advisor/Non-Exec Director of Properganda](/img/default/eat.png)
Who are you and what does it say on your business card? That depends on which business card. One says ‘Properganda PR,...
01 July 2019
From: 60 Second Interview
![Regressor or impresser - what kind of estate agency are you?](/img/default/eat.png)
As we move closer to the halfway point of 2019, property market conditions for agents and their clients remain challenging. Brexit may...
22 May 2019
From: Features
![Property Natter: great advertising campaigns for independent estate agents](/img/default/eat.png)
When you think of the best ad campaigns – from moustachioed opera singers and talking meerkats to millions of bouncing balls...
06 April 2019
From: Features
![Rightmove's charges 'are good value for agents' insists ex-agency boss](/img/default/eat.png)
Property industry commentator and former online agency chief executive Russell Quirk has defended Rightmove’s charges to agents, saying that compared to...
28 January 2019
From: Breaking News
![Newspapers are in freefall - what does it mean for agents?](/img/default/eat.png)
It’s been an interesting week of contrasts when it comes to online replacing ‘the old school’. Data from that clever consultancy The...
12 January 2019
From: Features
![Buying process reform guru to speak at The Guild conference panel](/img/default/eat.png)
The man who is leading the government’s efforts to reform the house buying process will be one of the speaker at...
08 January 2019
From: Breaking News
![Brexit Shambles: No Deal impact on house prices to take centre stage](/img/default/eat.png)
Newspapers are reporting that Brexit’s impact on house prices - especially if there is No Deal - are likely to take...
27 November 2018
From: Breaking News
![Property Natter: estate agency on a bus](/img/default/eat.png)
No, I haven’t lost the plot. Such a thing exists – and if you’re familiar with North London, there is a...
20 October 2018
From: Features
![Read all about it: Property supplement publisher up for sale](/img/default/eat.png)
Johnston Press, the company which owns the i national newspaper and some 200 local titles - many with property supplements carrying...
12 October 2018
From: Breaking News
![Property Natter: what impact has Google had on the property market?](/img/default/eat.png)
Google celebrated its 20th birthday last month. Yes, it might be hard to recall a time when it wasn’t integral in...
06 October 2018
From: Features
![How to get noticed with great photography](/img/default/eat.png)
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...
12 September 2018
From: Features
![Property Natter: setting the record straight on SEO and subdomains](/img/default/eat.png)
Fake news has become the popular catchphrase of a certain orange-tinted president in recent years. And everyone, from tech giants like...
08 September 2018
From: Features
![Doubt over Countrywide rights issue as Purplebricks wins price boost](/img/default/eat.png)
It’s being suggested that Countrywide’s rights issue, previously expected to be announced this week, may now be delayed. The Times says the...
24 July 2018
From: Breaking News
![Purplebricks to launch Purplebricks Plus as it seeks 10% market share](/img/default/eat.png)
Purplebricks has told the Press Association it wants to secure over 10 per cent of the agency market share in the...
23 July 2018
From: Breaking News
![Property Natter: what has 2018 brought so far?](/img/default/eat.png)
First things first, I have to mention the World Cup. The dream is over, football’s not quite coming home (not until...
14 July 2018
From: Features
![Property Natter – ten years of Estate Agent Today!](/img/default/eat.png)
Cast your mind back to July 2008 – Gordon Brown was Prime Minister, the Euros were in full swing in Austria/Switzerland...
30 June 2018
From: Features
![Sarah Beeny back in the boardroom, saying online agents will grab 70% share](/img/default/eat.png)
TV property expert Sarah Beeny says she expects online agencies to take 70 per cent market share in the future -...
05 June 2018
From: Breaking News
![Pssst! Derek! Now you can get your home marketed for free...](/img/default/eat.png)
Online estate agencies are the centre of attention right now - but one of them seems to be seeking publicity in...
15 May 2018
From: Breaking News
![Property Natter: Day in the life of…a property journalist](/img/default/eat.png)
Ever wondered what it’s like to be on the frontline of property journalism? Well, wonder no more, as our very own...
05 May 2018
From: Features
![Sex claims made against housing minister Dominic Raab's diary secretary](/img/default/eat.png)
Several newspapers are carrying allegations that the diary secretary working for housing minister Dominic Raab has been selling sex via a...
27 April 2018
From: Breaking News
![What do estate agents need on their website?](/img/default/eat.png)
In the modern marketplace – where people live their lives on their smartphones and tablets, social media has a bigger influence...
06 April 2018
From: Sponsored Content
![Property Natter: Day in the life of…Winkworth’s head of brand](/img/default/eat.png)
In the first of an ongoing series exploring the people who make the property industry tick, I catch up with James...
10 March 2018
From: Features
![Is print advertising for estate agents dead and buried?](/img/default/eat.png)
The printing industry is in the midst of a decline as digital products and services displace printed materials, which is why...
03 February 2018
From: Features
![Property Natter – here’s how to drive traffic, convert and monetise](/img/default/eat.png)
Winter seems to be firmly with us now, if the plunging temperatures are anything to go by. After a ridiculously mild...
11 November 2017
From: Features
![Government to hold housing summit tomorrow as it scrambles for ideas](/img/default/eat.png)
It has been revealed that the beleaguered government of Theresa May is to hold a summit at 10 Downing Street tomorrow...
16 October 2017
From: Breaking News
![Property Natter: reputation, renewables and an online revolution](/img/default/eat.png)
They say presentation is key (something that Theresa May now knows all too well after her calamitous conference speech). But equally...
14 October 2017
From: Features
![How many agency business models are there today?](/img/default/eat.png)
It used to be so easy. Around 20 years ago there were what we now call full-service estate and letting agencies, and...
23 September 2017
From: Features
![Newspapers ramp up pressure for further reform of stamp duty](/img/default/eat.png)
Stamp duty has become the latest weapon in the ongoing war of words between different wings of the Conservative party, as...
14 August 2017
From: Breaking News
![Sales Doctor: Winning more instructions part two](/img/default/eat.png)
As discussed in our previous article, it’s all about the first impression. Once your team have handled that initial phone call...
22 July 2017
From: Features
![Property Natter: a half-year review – hybrids, PropTech and resilience](/img/default/eat.png)
We’re already more than halfway through 2017 and, against all the odds, it’s pushing 2016 close in terms of eventfulness and...
14 July 2017
From: Features
02 June 2017
From: Breaking News
![Trinity Mirror to fight Rightmove and Zoopla for agents' advertising spend](/img/default/eat.png)
Trinity Mirror is aiming to secure more of agents' marketing spend after launching what it is describing as a 'fightback' against...
17 May 2017
From: Breaking News
!['Raffle Property' stunts risk contravening gambling legislation](/img/default/eat.png)
An attempt to raffle a property - like the much-publicised case of an owner in south east London, which reached some...
11 May 2017
From: Breaking News
![How to get press coverage for your business](/img/default/eat.png)
Being featured in newspapers, magazines and websites, as well as on radio and TV, can be a great way to build...
22 April 2017
From: Features
![Using Rightmove alone would be the wrong move](/img/default/eat.png)
It’s easy to be dismissive of the value of local newspapers for advertising residential property but things are never as straightforward...
08 April 2017
From: Features
![Purplebricks whips up more publicity in viral Facebook entry](/img/default/eat.png)
There’s been another flurry of publicity for Purplebricks following the posting of photographs and statements online by a blogger whose property...
21 March 2017
From: Breaking News
![Read all about it: Will agents continue to advertise in print?](/img/default/eat.png)
I had a very interesting chat with the man behind a new portal the other day. He was John Dixon, the portal...
04 March 2017
From: Features
![New property portal unconcerned about OnTheMarket rule](/img/default/eat.png)
A new regional property portal aiming to sign up 80 per cent of agencies in Yorkshire says it is unconcerned about...
21 February 2017
From: Breaking News
![Housing White Paper - what to expect from today's release](/img/default/eat.png)
A series of leaks to national newspapers and a flurry of broadcast interviews by housing minister Gavin Barwell means we already know...
07 February 2017
From: Breaking News
![Housing White Paper - first details start to emerge](/img/default/eat.png)
First details of the long-awaited Housing White Paper have emerged in stories in newspapers frequently used by government to float ideas. The...
03 February 2017
From: Breaking News
![After stamp duty and agents’ fees, it’s time to seize the initiative](/img/default/eat.png)
Let me set out my stall from the beginning. Firstly with two buy to lets managed by an agency, I understand and...
03 December 2016
From: Features
![PropTech: Firm launches printed augmented reality service to agents](/img/default/eat.png)
A PropTech firm is to launch a 'printed augmented reality' service that allows buyers to point their smartphone and get additional information...
11 November 2016
From: Breaking News
![Brexit: housing minister tells both sides to tone down the rhetoric](/img/default/eat.png)
Housing minister Gavin Barwell has taken to Twitter to tell those for and against Brexit to "tone down the rhetoric" that...
07 November 2016
From: Breaking News
![Government tipped to reveal major housing policy changes today](/img/default/eat.png)
Speculation was rife over the weekend that the government would today announce major changes to housing policy - possibly shifting the...
03 October 2016
From: Breaking News
![Why agents will always need portals](/img/default/eat.png)
It’s a headline from an Australian business journal this week but it has a familiar ring to it: “Estate agents’ attempts...
26 August 2016
From: Features
![Foxtons pulls out of sale 'after appeal by local community'](/img/default/eat.png)
Foxtons has removed its listing for the sale of a property on an estate in Walthamstow after concerns expressed by nearby...
25 August 2016
From: Breaking News
![City's new 15% surcharge on foreign buyers - could it happen here?](/img/default/eat.png)
One of the western world’s ‘hottest’ city residential markets has introduced a near-instant 15 per cent price surcharge on properties purchased...
27 July 2016
From: Breaking News
![nu: move - the future of property](/img/default/eat.png)
nu-move online estate agents -The Future of Property Nu-move is an online venture that has been created to meet the demand...
07 July 2016
From: Sponsored Content
![Marketing tips: print, digital, prospecting and the telephone…](/img/default/eat.png)
Cost-effective marketing will always be an important part of growing an estate agency business. I'm often asked about the ways in which...
10 June 2016
From: Features
![Hold the front page? Don’t bother – no one reads it any more](/img/default/eat.png)
I wish it were otherwise, but there’s a crisis just beginning to sweep over newspapers – with, a bit beneath the...
06 May 2016
From: Features
![Seven unanswered questions about the OTM/CMA affair](/img/default/eat.png)
By accident or design, the PR machine at OnTheMarket was beefed up last week. Just as well. With the portal still reeling...
23 April 2016
From: Features
![Explicit CCTV shows jailed estate agent repeatedly running over man](/img/default/eat.png)
Police have released footage of an estate agent who has been jailed for four years after repeatedly running over his girlfriend's...
22 February 2016
From: Breaking News
![Care home rooms being sold as buy to let investment properties](/img/default/eat.png)
Newspapers and other journalists’ outlets are reporting that rooms in care homes are being offered to purchase as buy to let...
14 December 2015
From: Breaking News
![Controversy as 'loophole' helps buyer avoid £1m stamp duty](/img/default/eat.png)
An estate agent has hit the headlines for marketing a central London home where the buyer can avoid paying almost £1m...
23 September 2015
From: Breaking News
![Alex Chesterman Q & A: The Results (Part II)](/img/default/eat.png)
Readers of Estate Agent Today and Letting Agent Today were given an exclusive opportunity to pose questions to Zoopla Property Group...
16 September 2015
From: Features
![It’s a scandal more property scandals aren’t exposed](/img/default/eat.png)
I received a call from a prominent agent known to many in the industry this week, asking an unexpected question: he wanted...
07 August 2015
From: Features
![Rightmove listing: agent justifies 142 photographs of just one property](/img/default/eat.png)
An agent has defended his decision to put 142 photographs of a property on its Rightmove listing after an unexpected criticism...
03 August 2015
From: Breaking News
![HomeOwners’ Alliance – an organisation to watch](/img/default/eat.png)
There is a very interesting but easily-overlooked piece of information at the end of the National Trading Standards Estate Agent Team’s...
17 July 2015
From: Features
![Oh no, not another complaint...](/img/default/eat.png)
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...
22 May 2015
From: Features
![Read All About It – smart ways to display your brochures and print](/img/default/eat.png)
Even in a digital age, printed material continues to play an important part in the marketing of any estate agency. Weekly...