By the time of last week’s court ruling that MPs must be allowed to vote on triggering Article 50, more than six in ten agents had no Brexit strategy.

A poll of 172 agents conducted by software provider Dezrez on November 1 found that 64% had not developed a Brexit plan and 40% did not see the need for one.

An earlier poll by Dezrez, on July 1, found that 22% of the 132 agents who responded saw no need for a Brexit strategy.

Key findings include:

         Of those surveyed, 53% don’t believe Brexit has had any significant impact on their business to date, while 40% suggest say that Brexit has had some negative effect.

         Similarly, 55% haven’t seen any change in property prices since the Brexit vote, while 37% suggest the vote has caused some turbulence in prices which has led to lost sales.

         60% say that there has been no change in the volume of first-time buyers since Brexit, while 17% have seen an increase.

         65% suggest that there has been no change in the number of foreign investors, while 10% have seen an increase.

         63% say they have seen similar levels of deal completion since Brexit, with 28% seeing a slightly higher proportion of withdrawals.

Buyers (33%) were thought to be the greatest beneficiaries of the Leave vote, followed by sellers (10%), landlords (7%) and tenants (5%).

Only 23% of respondents believed that Brexit would have a long-term effect on their businesses, while 43% believed business would remain as usual, with 34% unsure of the effects.

However, as stated, this snapshot of estate agency sentiment was taken just before last week’s crucial court ruling, and yesterday Dezrez CEO Justin Morris told EYE: “The High Court ruling on Article 50 adds to the landscape of uncertainty for estate agents, purely in the sense of timescales and how long the transition from the EU will take. Overall, it hasn’t changed the fact that Brexit is happening.

“What is notable, though, is that estate agents who have developed a specific Brexit strategy are in the minority, according to our research.

“When you consider that estate agents have so far not really experienced Brexit-related fluctuations in the amount of buyers, or a change in house prices, it’s easy to understand their approach. It’s very much business as usual for most.

“It’s fair to say there is still a picture of genuine uncertainty, but looking on the bright side, 60% have not yet experienced negative Brexit-related effects.

“The key will be how the markets respond once Article 50 is officially triggered.”