Wendy Peterman, managing director of Petermans Estate Agents, has taken time out of her busy schedule to talk to the CEO of the Guild of Property Professionals, Iain McKenzie, on The Home Stretch podcast about what it has been like to work in estate agency over the past five years.

Peterman, who has spent the past 20 years working for the family business, founded by her father and uncle 65 years ago, reflects on mental health and her experience as a female leader in the estate agency sector.

She notes that the past five years in the sector has been a roller coaster, when compared with the initial 15 years she has been involved with the business.

“We had to deal with recessions in the past, however, comparatively I think these past five years have been more difficult. We were fortunate enough to be set up to work remotely during the pandemic, but there were challenges that we had to negotiate.”.

Peterman continued: “When we were allowed to go back out, the market boomed and we were extremely busy, which was great, but it also meant dealing with very high expectations from vendors who were eager to move and move quickly, especially when they were up against the clock to meet the stamp duty deadline.

“A lot of people were stressed and seemed to treat agents badly as a result. I thought we would come out of Covid with a different mindset having all been through this terrible thing together, I thought people would be kinder to each other. However, it seems like the opposite has happened. People seem to be a lot angrier, which had a negative impact on our negotiators.”

Following the economic chaos caused by the pandemic, cost-of-living crisis and the aftermath of Trussonomics, which resulted in a tough market for the past 18 months, Peterman notes that as a business, they had to take a step back and reassess their direction of travel.

She commented: “It has been a matter of going back to basics and back to the way we use to do things. Mentally, it is like you have to keep resetting, which is very unnerving. As a business owner it is important to have a vision in order to push the business forward, however, that is not always easy.”

Speaking about what it has been like as a leader in a business, Peterman says that the readjustment from the working environment during the pandemic to being fully back in the office has been challenging at times.

“During the pandemic, it felt like many of the agents were working together to help and learn from each other. The Guild was an amazing resource during that time, and still is. When the world went back to normal, I found it very difficult to focus and keep my staff motivated,” she added.

McKenzie and Peterman go on to speak about being a woman in estate agency, as well as what the next five years could possibly hold for the sector.

To listen to the full episode click here.