Ed Powell Blog from 'Clear'

How do estate agents deal with the toughest of market conditions?

According to property market analysts Hometrack, “the time on the market has risen for the last 4 consecutive months and stands at 9.6 weeks in October. This is the longest time on the market for over a year”. Combined with higher fall through rates and falling prices, times are lean to say the least. So how have estate agents survived?

In the early 2000’s agents were battling for listings. Listing were the route to success, which created a mighty competitive battleground over fees. Selling properties was easy; properties sold themselves most of the time. However, for the past 2 years agents have adapted to the lack of demand by being selective over the properties they take on and focusing on those properties which are saleable and realistically priced – not just taking on every property available.
What next? Transaction figures are down to nearly half of 2007 figures and agents have seen volatile transaction figures over recent months (circa 85,000 transactions took place in August 2010, compared to 162,000 in August 2007). This points the way to further increasing the quality of both, stock on agent’s books, and enquiries from potential buyers.

Quality leads to quantity. In 2011 recovery looks like being slow at best. Agents will need to spend time working with sellers to help make properties stand out to buyers, more saleable and quicker to transact when they do find that illusive buyer. Buyers are realising the strength of their position or are nervous about commitment, either way this results in uncertain sales that often fall through. 2011 is set to be challenging for everyone associated with property transactions but the agents that create a strong identity with buyers by standing out from the rest will cope the best. The question for 2001 is “what are buyers looking for from an agent when there are so many properties on the market to choose from?” I believe the answer is ease, speed and certainty of buying properties from that agent...