Archive

Estate agents who deliberately over-value properties in order to win instructions are effectively committing fraud according to a prominent industry figure. Russell...

First things first, a big happy New Year to everyone. Welcome to 2020! It looks set to be another interesting year...

As part of its commitment to promoting and enforcing high standards, RICS has launched its Home Survey Standard, which will become...

Outsourcing important business functions such as marketing, HR and IT to attract cost savings, leverage expertise and gain greater competitive advantage is...

Purplebricks says it’s put four different pricing strategies into the market with a view to testing them in 2020. In a trading...

Online estate agency Housesimple is extending its offer to sell homes for free to some postcodes in the Midlands.  The offer is...

PropTech services The ValPal Network and Loop Software have launched an integration which they say will reduce admin and maximise valuation opportunities...

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

A survey conducted by Estate Agent Today suggests there is huge anger from agencies against Rightmove in particular for its fees. On...

Who are you and what does it say on your business card?  Jason Wilson, mio Account Manager What is mio and what does...

One of the earliest British estate agencies to adopt the model of using self-employed or freelance agents operating under the same...

Yopa – launched in 2015 as part of the new breed of hybrid operators seeking to shake up the industry –...

A London agent is urging rivals to provide realistic valuations, even if vendors want more and despite temptations to over-value to...

Property portal OnTheMarket has thrown down the challenge to Rightmove by launching two new features for its listing agents. The first, Market...

A yet-to-launch estate agency comparison site is nearing its crowdfunding target of £50,000. Invite Agents, which is crowdfunding on crowdcube, had, as...

A company that treats Japanese Knotweed has made startling claims about the extent of the problem across the UK. Environet claims that...

A PropTech company is suggesting that property mis-measurements and resulting over-valuations may be the next PPI scandal. The firm - Spec, which...

A new online estate agency has attacked the industry for being “largely cloaked and ambiguous” - and says that of all...

An independent estate agency says a No Deal Brexit will prompt a “feeding frenzy” of foreign buyers who are already “piling...

The head of online agency Housesimple has made another strident attack on the integrity of High Street agents by saying some...

Estate agents have collectively been fiercely criticised for allegedly exaggerating valuations to win instructions, doing a disservice to vendors and not...

A PropTech start up says its new free tool allows prospective sellers and buyers to get an automated valuation of their...

Estate and letting agents will for the first time be able to use WhatsApp to respond to leads on a 24/7...

Online agency Housesimple has become the first in the UK to sell houses for free. It says that based on the average...

A PropTech firm which claims its products offer “industry-leading” response times says agents lose a majority of their leads due to slow...

The former chief executive of Purplebricks UK says the agency completes on over 80 per cent of the homes it lists...

A former Territory Owner at Purplebricks, who at one time managed 11 Local Property Experts, has spoken out in support of...

A conveyancing body is calling on mortgage lenders to standardise their policies in respect of unexpired lease terms in order to...

Instant online valuation service The ValPal Network has revealed a conveyancing partner which it says will help agents boost referral fees.  The...

My experience in marketing over the last 10 years has been an interesting journey, however I don’t want to bore you...

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

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

Reforms to the house buying process in England and Wales to bring it more into line with Scotland could slash the...

Franchise giant Hunters is to be the subject of a Channel 4 TV show on air this evening at 8pm.  When I...

Consumer habits have changed massively over the past few years, and regardless of which market you operate in, being able to...

In a world where people want instant gratification, it’s important to find ways to connect and engage with customers when they...

Landmark Information’s online valuation tool SmartVal is being retired by the company, with agents who use it being advised to switch to...

1989 was a significant time for the property industry: it marked the beginning of the end of a period of unprecedented...

Humberts, the agency which was one of the first to ditch High Street offices in favour of fewer larger hubs, has...

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

Agents boasting qualifications could generate higher fees and more clients, especially if they are ‘ahead of the game’ and improve their...

UK estate agents charge the lowest commission out of any nation in the European Union, according to a recent study by...

Online estate agents have seized on the recent national newspaper article accusing estate agents of over-valuing properties to earn higher fees. The...

There’s anger in the industry over an article in The Times which accused agents of overvaluing properties - although why this was happening...

When they first came onto the scene, online-only estate and lettings agents were predicted to swiftly spell the end for traditional...

The National Association of Estate Agents and the referral service Relocation Agent Network have announced a link-up. Under it, selected NAEA members...

Four high-profile industry figures have sent an open letter urging agents to think about what they call “smarter marketing” in a...

The Met Office says today, March 1, is the first official day of spring - perfect timing to coincide with the...

In these tougher times, we recognise that helping agents win new inventory is the key to their businesses.  There were more than...

Hello and welcome to this half-term week’s PJT, your regular Monday opportunity to catch up with the key personnel changes in...

We all know the three essential things an estate agent must have on their website include the ability to be able...

The monthly index of house price changes in Britain’s major cities, for many years operated under the Hometrack banner, has been...

Agents need to focus on more targeted marketing using a mix of traditional and modern methods to optimise their position in...

There were 102,330 residential property transactions in December - that’s up 3.6 per cent on the same month last year on...

Former Emoov chief executive Russell Quirk has made his first on-the-record comments about the factors behind the dramatic collapse of his...

Having built over 1900 websites for estate and lettings agents in the last 16 years, we know a thing or two...

Investment platform Crowdcube has told Estate Agent Today that defunct online estate agency Emoov revised down its company valuation from £104m...

In his keynote speech at the recent Negotiator Conference, Professor Andrew Baum sparked debate throughout the property industry. Baum’s speech, which began...

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

Estate and letting agents are being warned not to slow down too early in the run up to Christmas as it...

The ValPal Network, an automated valuation system, has for the first time provided over 100,000 leads to agents in just one...

Coutts Private Bank is the latest institution to express its concern over London’s housing market. The latest Courts London Prime Property Index...

An estate agency that’s been commended for its flexible working has launched a recruitment drive for franchisees who would keep 75...

What questions keep you awake at night? Do you know if you’re losing new instructions by undervaluing, or whether you could...

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

Given that ‘UK buyers are the most digitally active home hunters’, with HSBC’s Beyond the Bricks report stating that 90% of...

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

It’s been nine years since we created a dedicated team of property receptionists to answer telephone calls on behalf of agents,...

Almost one in five online sales valuations generated by The ValPal Network over a two-year period resulted in a completion with...

London has been identified as one of a number of ‘bubble risk cities’ in a report by Swiss bank UBS. In a...

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

Fine & Country has opened its latest office in the Lancashire town of Rossendale, specialising in high-end properties across the county. The...

Over the last 10 years, so much has changed within the marketing sector, including the surge of mobile use, the way...

As the property market gears up for a busy autumn period, agents and property firms have been equally busy bolstering their...

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

My eye was caught yesterday morning by news that PropTech company, Agent Software, is claiming that ‘some agencies deliberately over-value properties...

A PropTech firm has adopted the unusual position of claiming some agencies deliberately over-value properties in a bid to win instructions. Agent...

Rumours abound over the future of Countrywide, which lost further share value on Friday, closing very slightly down on the day...

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

Purplebricks co-founder Michael Bruce says traditional agents sell only around 50 per cent of the homes that they list, so spend...

A leading buying agency is warning about asking prices that are higher than those acceptable to mortgage companies who therefore down-value...

The debate over alleged ‘down-valuing’ by mortgage lenders has flared again with one leading agent claiming that surveyors are just “covering...

Agents are being offered a new way to capture details of prospective clients thanks to a partnership between The ValPal Network...

I loved my Foxtons office. I started in the Battersea branch. It was the old-style office; traditional carpets, actual properties in...

An estate agency chain has produced strikingly successful sales figures for the first half of the year - evidence, it says,...

Clients of software provider Reapit can now integrate with leading sharing and online valuation service The ValPal Network. The objective is to help Reapit...

Is there really any true value to an estate agent in our current climate? Will there be a role for traditional agents...

Last time out I looked at the growing importance of content, social media and design – but these should only form...

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

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

Another high end estate agency is reporting difficulties in the London market with Knight Frank saying prices are down in both...

Coutts bank has issued a starkly pessimistic snapshot of prime London’s housing landscape, reporting price falls, valuation mark-downs and slower sales...

Online estate agency House Network claims that “the percentage of houses sold at the original valuation price is 98 per cent”.  The...

Hello and welcome to this week’s PJT, the regular Monday update on who’s moving where within our industry. Let us know what’s...

I’m writing this a week into my instruction decision. It has been a fascinating journey to date. As I discussed last week,...

To say I had a lot of reaction to last week's column about selling my flat would be an understatement. I've never...

With the rise of Purplebricks in recent years, many will be eager to know what the hybrid agency’s Local Property Experts...

It’s all very easy, talking and evangelising about the use of technology in the property market, but, now that I’m selling...

As the Easter sales weekend kicks off, the head of a prominent buying agency says estate agents confuse the true valuation...

One of the most important aspects of running a successful estate or letting agency is being able to generate new business...

The provider of an automated valuation system has introduced a new feature to allow agents to amend the valuation if there...

When it comes to property, ‘Japanese knotweed’ are the two words most homeowners and prospective buyers do not want to hear.  With...

A network of agents representing over 800 brands with over 4,000 branches has announced the launch of a host of new...

The other day I met with two agents who have 30 years of property sales experience between them, and yet also...

House Network, which describes itself as the UK’s first online estate agency, is using TV advertising to promote a new "20-point...

A range of factors - including fierce competition under the supplied housing market, rising property prices and political uncertainty – have...

The housing market has started 2018 as it ended 2017 according to the RICS, with new buyer enquiries, instructions and sales...

Home owners seeking lease extensions may now have to pay more as a result of a controversial judgement handed down by...

The war between AllAgents review website and Purplebricks has continued with the site naming the hybrid agency the “worst rated one...

The Court of Appeal is today expected to rule on a legal battle which may be critical in determining the value...

Cotswold property and land agency Butler Sherborn has changed its business status to become a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP). The agency currently...

Purplebricks’ latest trading statement for the six months ending October 31 claims a large rise in revenue, its number of UK...

ZPG has revealed its 2017 annual report this morning with a stream of records - 648 million visits to portals, revenue...

A firm which offers a white-labelled online estate agency platform which can be used by otherwise-traditional agencies to provide a Purplebricks-style...

What does your role involve? By answering my estate agent clients’ telephone calls, I assist in their day-to-day office needs.  An...

Complaints about a Purplebricks claim concerning its Local Property Experts have been rejected by the Advertising Standards Authority. Complaints came from PDQ...

There’s much said in the mainstream press about estate agency fees and how costly they can be for consumers. But one point...

What is your experience in the property industry? I worked in estate agency for 12 years before joining Moneypenny and really enjoyed...

Estate agency James Pendleton says it wants to give its clients more digital advantages without becoming an online operation itself -...

Many industries in the UK are currently facing a tumultuous time as the great unknown of Brexit looms on the horizon...

Hunters’ figures for the six months to the end of June show small rises in income and turnover but a substantial...

eMoov, the online agency which last month secured an additional £9m funding from investors, has launched a recruitment drive for what...

Almost half of all property purchase valuations last month were conducted on behalf of first-time buyers according to Connells - well...

Countrywide has revealed a massive plunge in its profits for the first six months of 2017.   Pre-tax profit for the six months...

I would argue the property industry is fundamentally inefficient. Much of that inefficiency is now being handled by PropTech companies and...

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

A London independent says it has doubled its valuations so far this year and is opening a new office, despite the...

PropTech start-up OneDome - which describes its products as allowing traditional estate agents to challenge Purplebricks and other online rivals -...

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

Great Expectations was a fantastic novel-cum-social-history written by Charles Dickens, who once lived in my adopted home city of Portsmouth. But these...

Any good estate agent knows that they have to be available for customers when they need them. But many forget that...

Just 27% of property valuations in May were requested by prospective home sellers, according to the latest data from Connells Survey...

Analysis of over 120,000 sales valuations has revealed some of the UK's most expensive and cheapest property regions. Central London's 'W' postcode...

Calls made to estate agents to book property valuations increased by 26% this spring, according to telephone answering service Moneypenny. Enquiries made...

Any good estate agent knows that they have to be available for customers when they need them. But many forget that...

The best estate and letting agents in the UK were recognised at the prestigious ESTAS luncheon and ceremony, which was held...

A company which last month launched a service which it claims allows High Street estate agents to compete with online and...

It has emerged that global property firm Savills won a case in the Court of Appeal, entitling them to claim an...

The director of a respected mortgage broker is warning that market sentiment is changing with more down-valuations from surveyors and some...

Not only did Theresa May stun everyone with her decision to call a ‘snap election’ but with the campaign now underway...

A London investment broker says Purplebricks’ share price - currently around 300p - could rise another 50 per cent or more...

A firm is claiming to be allow high street agents to offer vendors an online sale services as well, without the...

A Financial Times article reports a bank analysis shows Purplebricks with a market share of 3.3 per cent of properties marked...

It has been a busy week for investment in PropTech businesses and no doubt you have already got reading fatigue about...

Looking ahead to the Spring Budget this week, the Chancellor Philip Hammond will be obliged to face up to the implications...

Connells Group has announced strong figures for 2016 with the total number of properties sold rising five per cent and lettings...

The guys at Which? are at it again, all over estate agents like a rash for “over valuing” properties so they...

The consumer body Which? claims that 19 per cent of properties sold in the year to September went for prices five...

The first week of February has seen some extraordinary goings on in the property sector, from which two stories particularly stand out...

James Dearsley, founder of The Digital Marketing Bureau and arguably the best known figure in the fast-emerging property technology sector, is...

A City consultancy has issued a note to investors backing Zoopla Property Group’s acquisition of data company Hometrack, suggested there is...

Zoopla Property Group’s £120m purchase of Hometrack, announced yesterday evening, is part of its aim to create “the UK’s most valuable...

Zoopla Property Group is buying Hometrack, one of the country’s leading property market business consultancies. Established in 1999, Hometrack is one of...

Purplebricks has issued its second statement to the City on successive trading days - and its share price has risen by...

The board of Purplebricks has issued a statement to the City saying it has no idea what lies behind the soaring...

The stock market appears to be continuing its love affair with Purplebricks, as the hybrid agency share price rose once again...

2016 was quite a year – eventful, dramatic, shocking and impossible to predict. In no particular order, we saw Leicester winning...

Savills has acquired Guernsey-based company Montagu Evans Channel Islands Limited to create the company’s first presence on the island, and to...

Next year is likely to be a challenging time for letting agents, following a raft of changes introduced by the government...

Countrywide estate agency group is to drop out of the FTSE 250 from the start of trading on December 19. The news...

A building society that owns two estate agency companies has hit out at what it calls “a lack of sound estate...

There were some absolutely brilliant figures released recently by telephone answering specialist, Moneypenny.  The highest call volumes diverted from agents to Moneypenny occurred between 10am-11am...

All estate and letting agents now have a website – but just how effective is yours? Your 'virtual shop window' is now...

Connells Group is to continue with its experimental ‘live chat’ facility on its website after seeing a significant rise in valuation bookings...

A media firm says estate agents are increasingly using Facebook as a way of improving their local marketing. “While other media such...

A London estate agency has revealed that it is offering local homeowners cash incentives for valuations and instructions. Keating Estates, based in...

Later on, the title of this piece should become clearer (at least I hope so). First, though, a few bits and...

YOPA, the online agency which now has financial investment from Savills, says its instructions have risen five-fold since February. It also says...

The Guild of Professional Estate Agents has launched a new tool to analyse members’ own performance by analysing data from the...

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors says the controversial findings of an insurance firm’s research shows that millions of homeowners may...

Over seven million owners have chosen not to have a survey completed on their current property - with half of them...

There was a small two per cent drop in residential valuations in July compared to the same month last year, according to...

Jackson-Stops & Staff has opened a new branch in in Blandford, Dorset, expanding the agency’s west country presence to nine offices.   Simon...

Analysis of data from some 2,100 estate agents suggest that the single busiest period for prospective vendors seeking an automated valuation...

The pace of property valuations conducted last month grew on both an annual basis and since the previous month, despite jitters...

Valuation activity in May rose by nearly a fifth on an annual basis despite the upcoming EU referendum according to research...

One of the original online estate agents, Hatched, is marking its tenth anniversary with a series of announcements.  The firm, which began...

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

The main debate at this year’s FUTURE: PropTech conference - the industry’s leading technology forum, held yesterday in London - saw...

One of the founders of online agency Purplebricks says his aim is for the firm to become the "first choice" for...

Dear Sales Doctor, About 90% of my valuations end in the vendor saying to me “your fees are too expensive” and with...

Connells Survey and Valuation says the total number of valuations conducted in March showed a 21 per cent increase over the...

Despite being round the block quite a few times in the property world, it was only in 2008 that the importance...

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

The firm which this week announced it had won a landmark money laundering appeal case says it's not all doom and...

These days we have a wealth of information at our fingertips, the mere touch of a button or two provides more...

We're all wise to the fact that spring is typically the busiest time of year for the property market. The financial...

Hybrid estate agency EweMove has unveiled its new website which claims to set a new bar for agents looking to use...

A west country property developer is reported to have taken “a significant stake” in Netanagent, a price comparison website focused on...

There was a remarkable 52 per cent increase in valuations undertaken by Connells in January this year compared to the same...

Miller Metcalfe Surveyors is a centre of excellence, with accreditation from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors for residential surveys and...

Shepherd Direct Limited - best known for owning the Century 21 UK franchise business which has 50 operators across England -...

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors wants to make a valuation an optional element of the long-standing Home Buyer Report. This will...

In many respects 2015 has been a good year. Despite global challenges, we have seen a marked improvement in the UK...

Britain’s biggest mortgage lender, the Halifax, says the housing market will slow next year with average price rises of four to...

The private sale website EMOH has announced that it's to have a "hard hitting marketing campaign" in the New Year in...

Start increasing stock levels today using Ravensworth's Marketing Toolkit. We understand that stock can be hard to come by in today’s competitive...

The future estate agency model is going to be neither the traditional High Street office nor the online-only alternative - instead...

If it’s Friday it must be Agents Do Charity. Our industry does great work all year round, of course, but as...

Residential valuations have reached their highest level for six months according to Connells’ survey and valuation group. Valuation activity in September was...

Century 21, which describes itself as "the fastest growing agency franchise in the UK," has announced its seventh office opening in...

Remortgaging activity has soared in recent weeks, outperforming all other areas of the housing market. New research from Connells Survey & Valuation...

Connells Group has announced a new £5m annual investment into growing its team of chartered surveyors across the UK.   The announcement follows...

It’s always interesting when Which? produces a report that includes estate agency. It asked 1,990 people their views on buying and selling...

The number of valuations has dropped over the summer according to figures from Connells.  Although valuation volumes for July are significantly up...

Agents across the country, hopefully refreshed by a nice holiday somewhere warm, will be gearing up for the phones to start...

The Halifax house price index says house prices jumped 1.7 per cent in June and 3.3 per cent over the past...

June has witnessed a surge in residential valuations according to Connells.  It says there were 23 per cent more property valuations conducted...

The not-for-profit Residential Property Surveyors Association wants estate agents to tell clients they should commission 'real' surveys and not settle for automated valuations.  Recently...

The methodology used by the Nationwide to compile its house price index is to be changed from next month, with more...

What do we actually do as estate agents to serve our wonderful public? Some might think we go out, value houses, advise...

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors says it is working on a revised HomeBuyer Report which will not include the ‘historic’...

OK, you’re being spoilt. This column is now going to be on a bi-weekly rather than monthly basis. You lucky people,...

An online property sales platform - with a catchphrase that says traditional agents’ fees “are bigger than a Texan’s waistband and...

The post-election period has triggered a flurry of interest in buy to let but a sharp decline in business from first...

While many agents reported business  slowing in the run-up to the election, there was quite different news coming from Connells Valuation...

As the nation finally gets to cast its vote at the polling booths, telephone answering specialist, Moneypenny has reported a dramatic...