For decades, estate agency has largely recruited and promoted from within its own ranks, with negotiators progressing to valuers, branch managers and, ultimately, business owners.
While that traditional career path remains important, there are signs that the industry’s next generation of talent may come from a broader range of backgrounds. As agencies adapt to changing consumer expectations, advances in technology and new business models, skills developed outside estate agency are becoming increasingly valuable.
The result is a growing recognition that future agency leaders may not necessarily have started their careers in property, but in sectors such as sales, marketing, technology, finance or customer service, bringing different perspectives and experience to the profession.
“I believe the next generation of estate agents will not come only from traditional estate agency backgrounds,” said Lee O’Brien, managing director of iad UK.
“They may already be working in mortgages, conveyancing, surveying, development, property investment, new homes, lettings or relocation,” he explained. “They may not describe themselves as estate agents today, but many already understand a significant part of what it takes to help people move. That matters because the role of the estate agent is changing.”
Moving home has never simply been about listing a property and waiting for enquiries. At its best, estate agency is about guiding people through one of the biggest financial and emotional decisions of their lives. It requires an understanding of motivation, timing, affordability, presentation, negotiation, communication and risk.
Those skills are not exclusive to people who have only ever worked in estate agency, according to O’Brien.
He continued: “A mortgage adviser understands affordability, buyer confidence and the pressure points that can make or break a transaction. A conveyancer understands where deals slow down, where communication fails and why clarity early in the process can save weeks later on. A surveyor understands property condition, buyer concern and the importance of honest advice. Developers and new homes professionals understand pricing, presentation, customer expectations and buyer psychology.
“These are not outsiders to the property market. They are already part of the moving journey.
“The opportunity now is to ask whether estate agency has been too narrow in how it thinks about talent.”
O’Brien says there is another assumption the industry has often made. Namely, that the best negotiators naturally become the best managers, and that the best managers naturally become the best business owners.
In reality, those are very different skillsets.
He added: “Some exceptional agents thrive because they understand people, communication, trust and property. Running a business requires a completely different set of disciplines, from finance and compliance to recruitment, systems and operational management. As the industry evolves, we should be more open-minded not only about where talent comes from, but also about the structures that allow talented people to succeed.
“The bigger opportunity is to attract people who already understand property, already deal with customers and already know the pressures involved in a transaction, then give them a model that allows them to build something of their own.
“That is where the self-employed model has a role to play.
“For the right person, estate agency can offer an attractive second career or next chapter. It allows people to take knowledge they have already built and apply it in a more rounded, customer-facing and commercially rewarding way.
“However, a career switch only works if the support is there.
“People need training, systems, mentoring, compliance, marketing, technology and access to experienced professionals around them. They need a structure that reduces the risk of starting from scratch while still giving them the freedom to build their own business.
“That is one of the reasons I believe the future of estate agency will be less about traditional branch hierarchies and more about supported independence.
“The old assumption was that independence meant being on your own. I do not believe that is where the market is heading. The stronger model is one where people have the freedom to build locally while benefiting from the infrastructure, support and scale of a wider network.
“This is particularly relevant for people already working in related property sectors. Many have local knowledge, professional relationships and a deep understanding of the questions buyers and sellers ask long before they ever speak to an estate agent. What they often need is the estate agency framework around that knowledge.”
