The first ever Partner Agent Advisory Council (PAAC) meeting, organised by iamproperty, has taken place.

The PAAC members recently convened for its first session at iamproperty’s headquarters in Newcastle upon Tyne, united in their commitment to improve the home moving process for everyone involved and drive industry innovation.

The new council is made up of estate agents from iamproperty’s UK-wide Partner Agent network, who will work together to address and tackle the challenges and opportunities facing the residential property market.

The meeting was led by iamproperty co-founders Ben Ridgway and Jamie Cooke, with guest speaker Paul Offley, group compliance officer at nurtur.group.

In a bid to understand more about the challenges estate agents are facing, the discussions covered digitisation of the sales process, the impact of Material Information , and strategies around embracing digital solutions.

The session was attended by representatives from Goldfinch Estate Agents, Cooke & Co, Robert Watts, Goodfellows Estate Agent, Miles and Barr, Pygott & Crone, Miller Metcalfe, Stephen Tew Estate Agents and Simon Blythe Estate Agents. The agents presented insights from their day to day operations, discussing live issues they’re facing including:

• Completion timescales of up to 14.5 weeks
• Low stock, with one agency reporting 80-90% less stock than in previous years
• High viewings, sometimes surpassing 30 viewings per property

These findings confirmed that estate agents are coming up against challenges in almost every area of their roles, from winning instructions to conveyancing, administration and client satisfaction. The ongoing industry pressures are making it increasingly difficult for agents to stand out in the crowd.

Ridgway said: “The PAAC meetings are a unique opportunity for us to sit down with our clients and understand their real-life challenges and how we can work collaboratively to solve them.”

The PAAC members plan to meet at least twice per year.