Government needs to get a move on

When David Cameron pledged at the Tory Party conference that 200,000 new homes would be built by 2020, it wasn’t just estate agents who were heaving a sigh of relief.

More stock for sale will not only ease the squeeze we are all facing with market share, but will hopefully start to address some of society’s deep-rooted social problems.

Young people today have little hope of getting on the housing ladder, particular in inner city London. High house prices, rising rents and the lack of affordable housing have led to the displacement of a generation of young people, who are taking to the streets in protest.

Is it right that they should smash in windows of cafes and estate agents in areas of so-called ‘gentrification’, targeting hard-working people trying to improve themselves and their local neighbourhoods? Of course not. Anarchists vandalising ‘hipster’ bars and shops won’t resolve this issue.

This is a much bigger problem that needs to be tackled with more gusto by the Government who have got to get to grips with the housing shortage and allow more homes to be built, and quickly.

It’s time to sort out Britain’s long-standing housing problems, once and for all. Our housing shortage has a direct impact on the security and cohesion of our local communities. Inequality leads to social unrest – and we are seeing the fallout of that, both in the UK and right across the world.

Discount estate agents storing up problems

It’s not just the face of society that’s changing – but the make-up of our own estate agency profession.

With a third more estate agency firms than eight years ago, many new agencies are discounting their services at completely unsustainable rates, employing inexperienced newcomers to handle the workload.

Whether competition is on the high street or online, discounting to the point of providing the bare minimum is not in the public interest. Service levels cannot be maintained; the inevitable consequence is that complaints will rise.

The Property Ombudsman (TPO) reported this year a 43% increase in sales cases, albeit at a time of growing membership. The ‘inexplicable spike’ was attributed to consumers now being more likely to complain.

I’ll hazard a guess that we’ll see a further spike next year – but it will be where service has been compromised by the reduction in fees. Do consumers understand they get what they pay for? Or is their expectation they’ll still get a great service, even if they’re not paying for it?

Pile ‘em high, flog ‘em cheap discounting is fine for consumer goods, but not when property is the biggest investment most people will ever make in their life.

I’m all for competition but we cannot afford to compromise on service as a profession. The public need to be able to trust their estate agent and receive value for money. They expect their agent to have local knowledge and do more than just put a property on a website – we all know how challenging it can be to progress a sale.

Licensing of estate agents is surely the only way forward. Another one to add to the Government’s To Do list as a matter of urgency, in my book.

Just how effective is TV advertising?

The relentless assault on the viewing public of tasteless and tacky TV ads from start-up estate agencies and portals makes me wonder just who benefits from this huge expenditure on advertising.

Is it our industry competitors and their investors, is it prospective customers – or is it the television industry, reaping millions in income from the new disturbers on the block, all vying for an ever-dwindling share of the market?

There are countless surveys that point to the effectiveness of TV advertising, just as there is research that highlights how many people skip TV ads. We’re all being told that video marketing online via YouTube and Facebook is the way forward – or that a combination of TV and online will make us even richer.

While TV ads may be good for raising your profile and brand awareness, their real power lies in sustaining a brand. But if you can’t afford to do it right, my view is you shouldn’t do it at all.