The National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team has this afternoon revealed new industry guidance to make referral fees more transparent to consumers. The executive summary of the new guidelines reads as follows: Failure to disclose referral arrangements may render an estate agent liable for criminal prosecution under the CPRs and/or action by... Source: Estate Agent...
February 2019
Foxtons has ruled out further branch closures as it continues to struggle against what it calls “the continued weakness” of the London market. Late last year the company closed offices at Beckenham, Enfield, Loughton, Ruislip, Park Lane and Barnes but it insists that is sufficient to meet its current targets - the... Source: Estate Agent...
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 Babek Ismayil, founder of PropTech business OneDome, already well known by some agents for its locality, valuation and conveyancing tools. The new portal - also known as OneDome - will at first... Source: Estate Agent...
Chancellors says it has over 10,000 reviews on Trustpilot, making it the most reviewed High Street agency on the platform. In a statement and blog to mark what Chancellors calls “a milestone”, it says Trustpilot is “one of the best reviews platforms because it’s completely transparent and honest” and insists “businesses...
Data from NAEA Propertymark suggests there were 20 per cent fewer buyers in January this year than in the same month of 2018 as the market waits for greater economic and political certainty. The number of house hunters registered per estate agent branch fell from 304 in December 2018, to 297... Source: Estate Agent...
An estate and lettings agency that has been trading in the centre of Exeter for 12 years has ceased trading and shuts its doors this week, blaming Brexit and ill-health. Clear Property made the decision on Tuesday this week, shut its doors immediately and put a notice on its website referring... Source: Estate Agent...
Connells Group says investment in PropTech will be the way to safeguard its almost-600 High Street branches - and it’s repeated its belief that the hybrid or online route not a viable option for the company. The group describes its performance in 2018 as “solid” with pre-tax profits of £56.9m (down... Source: Estate Agent...
Well-known Essex and Hertfordshire agency Mullucks Wells is rebranding as part of the Hunters Group. Mullucks Wells will remain independently owned but its offices at Bishop’s Stortford, Epping, Great Dunmow and Saffron Walden will be branded as ‘Mullucks, part of Hunters’. The existing directors Richard Roberts, Jo Wilson, Daniel Galati and William... Source:...
The Competition and Markets Authority has this afternoon taken the latest step in the lengthy case of an estate agency cartel. This revolves around six agencies – all at the Burnham-on-Sea area in Somerset – agreeing in 2015 to fix their minimum commission at 1.5 per cent. The CMA has now applied for court... Source: Estate Agent...
No doubt we’ve all seen the recent Purplebricks news - shares have, according to the BBC, ‘plunged after it slashed its sales forecast and announced the departure of two senior executives’. I think there’s a strong argument to be made that the reason for this decline, momentary or not, is a... Source: Estate Agent...