Rightmove is hosting an open forum with agents, to discuss how to tackle misconceptions from the public about the estate agency industry together.
Taking place tomorrow at 10am, the open forum is an opportunity for Rightmove and agents to work on solutions together, to dispel some of the most common misconceptions that agents have said that the public has about the profession.
In research amongst agents of different sizes and business types, agents said that dispelling some of the public’s negative beliefs about agents and the value of services, was something they felt Rightmove could play a significant role in.
Rightmove’s director of agent partnerships, Christian Balshen, will be joined by Katie Griffin, director at Sawdye & Harris and Ben Gee, of Hat and Home, in the open forum format.
Griffin is a qualified chartered surveyor and previous president of The National Association of Estate Agents, while Gee has over two decades of experience in the property sector and founded his own agency in 2021.
According to Rightmove, agents joining the session can expect:
+ A live Q&A between Rightmove and agents, to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and misconceptions facing the industry and what Rightmove can to do to support improving the perception of agents by home-movers and the general public
+ New data insights from Rightmove’s latest home-mover research, uncovering how the UK public feels about estate and letting agents today
+ Working on solutions together and setting expectations of what is needed by agents from portals and professional bodies, for example the recruitment and retention of staff, or training and qualifications
Rightmove’s Christian Balshen said: “Many estate agent partners I talk to feel that the public perception of the role of an estate agent is not always aligned with what an estate agent can actually influence, and that very often the skill and expertise it takes to get a sale or let over the line goes unrecognised.
“We see this as an opportunity to support the industry and help to change those misconceptions, and we thought that an open forum for our partners to tell us what we could and should do is the best place to start.”
Rightmove agent members who would like to sign up for the open forum can do so here.
Misconceptions, I’m not so sure? I have dealt with some great agents over the years, who helped me get many conveyancing transactions over the line. However, my recent/current experience with an agent (my son is buying through) and the in-house broker has been dismal. Firstly, the broker took a lot of money from my son on day one (without his explicit consent) and then managed to get a mortgage offer with my son’s two middle names missing from it, and getting his job details incorrect, causing a delay. Secondly, and I appreciate that the agent is acting for the seller, but there were no updates, no chasing, and no help for a FTB, and a massive error (causing a further delay and an increase in costs) because the agent (according to the seller) ‘forgot’ to tell my son the seller was expecting him to take a share of the freehold on completion.
The biggest delay though was caused at the outset. It took four weeks from offer and acceptance for the seller’s conveyancer to send out a contract pack to my son’s conveyancer. In fairness to the broker, the mortgage offer (albeit incorrect) was out before that happened.
We are hoping for a simultaneous exchange and completion on Friday.
As an industry, surely we can do better for 21st century homebuyers and sellers. With agents now having to comply with MI, maybe now is the time for conveyancers to be instructed by sellers when a property is first listed?
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Rob, I see your frustrations, but I’d like to point out that your criticisms seem to focus on procedure rather than trust.
While the agent’s performance might not have met your expectations as the father of the buyer (roll eyes emoji), it’s important to separate issues of competence from issues of trust. Trust is far more valuable; saying an agent wasn’t very good is a lot different from saying they cannot be trusted.
There are a lot of poor procedural estate agents, just as there are many tardy conveyancers. Obfuscating trust and competence isn’t helpful. Errors and delays in communication are procedural shortcomings that can be improved, but they don’t necessarily indicate bad faith.
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The agent could not be trusted to pass on important information or to yet, return the call my son made to him at 4.30 pm on Monday Robert.
His conveyancer was efficient, but sent so much information and documentation that even I struggled to read it all. I know why they did that, to comply and protect themselves, but it really isn’t helpful for the lay person.
I repeat: As an industry, surely we can do better for 21st century homebuyers and sellers. With agents now having to comply with MI, maybe now is the time for conveyancers to be instructed by sellers when a property is first listed?
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I find myself inclined to agree with Rob May, which is an odd feeling, but also a bit with Rob Hailstone!
The process is flawed in that it is antiquated in a digital age.
Staff turnover is too high (partly an industry problem and partly a societal problem)
Training is lacking to be effective in informing all areas of the process
I don’t think vendors instructed conveyancers earlier is the silver bullet there are lots of little things that need to change to improve on the point that Rob May makes which is about competence not trustworthyness.
On a side note Mr Hailstone, if the converyancer sent your son too much info without explanation perhaps that’s an issue with conveyancers competence to understand their client but that’s probably for another day………………………………….
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“I know why they did that, to comply and protect themselves, but it really isn’t helpful for the lay person.”
They seem to have little choice, lender requirements, PII requirements, regulatory requirements, and potentially litigious clients.
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So the conveyancer knowing that their client is a ‘lay person’ should take time to explain rather than dump!
Whilst also the overall process should be easier as a whole, no fault of the conveyancer or the agent there though.
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There was no ‘dumping’, and there were occasional summaries, but because all documentation (searches, TA forms, title docs etc) was also sent an assumption it would be read, and a feeling on my sons part it should be read.
I’m not knocking all agents or conveyancers, just explaining my son’s current experience.
The process should be better and some participants could do better.
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How about Rightmove run an open forum to improve estate agents perception of the general public?!!
The public’s behaviour is way worse than anything I’ve encountered with estate agents during my 29 years doing this job. People are rude, entitled and cannot see past their own requirements. The lack of empathy for others in chains is quite staggering these days.
Stop bashing estate agents, who work damned hard for incredibly long hours and don’t earn as much as the public think we do…hence why we’re all struggling to attract and then retain good young staff.
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The tagline for the article reads: “Estate agents feature among the least trusted professions.”
I’d challenge that, and I’d happily challenge that myth with anyone who cares to make it.
Sure, agents are at the bottom of the annual cliché trust index (see my fillings, massive yawn), but it’s a bit like having a trust index for drink drivers and people who speed. Breathalysers and speed cameras are hated by alcoholics and speeders, but applauded by those who’ve lost loved ones to drunks and boy racers.
The numbers from the redress schemes show estate agency to be one of the least complained-about professions. Well over 99% of people who’ve sold or let a property, or successfully secured a home, don’t complain. So, it’s obvious that the people actually paying for the service do trust agents. It’s the 264 traffics (portals sell their service based on traffic), 49 unsuccessful applicants, and 9 unsuccessful viewers who have every reason to moan about “****** estate agents.” It’s just a fact of life—people who miss out tend to whinge the loudest, and when given the chance to be heard, they will.
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???
what on earth is the analogy about drink drivers about
Gibberish
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Rob, I will have to agree to disagree with you. I do not trust estate agents whatsoever and I have been one for over 40 years. I am currently trying to buy a property and the agent dealing with the sale has been atrocious. Not only does he lie but he fails to respond to emails and has no idea how to chase sellers, solicitors etc and he is the manager of the sales department. Another agent on my patch has just put a flat for sale over valuing it by ¼ million pounds. That is a huge amount of money and eventually someone is going to have to tell the owner this. Agents lie, tell buyers there is a lot of interest in a property to elicit an offer when the same property is still available some months later or tell them the owner will not take an offer when they have not discussed this with their client. We have always been on the same level as MP’s. journalists and car sales people and always will unless we become professional with qualifications to boot. Even that does not guarantee truthfulness as the odd solicitor or barrister still gets struck off now and again,
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Totally agree EstateAgentW1.
The latest bug bear of mine in our wonderful industry (and what might seem a small lie or not even a lie) is about not reducing your price with your current agent, swapping to the other touting agent as “New on” with the “lower price” is more advantageous to them on say Rightmove… (****** that is true! from a marketing perspective)
but but but… Can you trust someone who is not consistent with their advice, as those agents reduce their own stock thus instantly creating for me a lack of trust.
Why not tell your own client to change agent at the point of reduction because (after all) they put their clients interest before their own don’t they…?
We are all in for winning business, but the double standards of advice make it hard for me not to agree that most (not all) agents will happily lie to get what they want (and fibbing can also be giving the best advice to one person and then deciding that advice only fits if it benefits their company).
I am perhaps just to long in the tooth for all this **** now… and it is just a blaggers game, I just can’t do it. Far too exhausting remembering what truth I told, let alone what BS I made up.
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I have the statistics to back up what I’m saying. If you ask the agent’s client, their opinions on trustworthiness and performance will differ from those of a buyer.
In my earlier reply to Rob, I emphasized that there are many bad agents, just as there are solicitors who fail to disclose that their purchaser client is running multiple contracts but will only complete on one. ( “oh Robert that’s a bit fruity of you”)
I believe trust, honesty, and integrity are the greatest weapons anyone can wield; dishonesty is the biggest disadvantage one can impose on themselves. I can arm good agents with the means to outcompete spivs, and I’ll defend trustworthy, professional agents rather than coach spivs to improve.
Agency is a competitive business, and Rightmove’s support for agents like those you, Rob, and Ric have described, actually works against dedicated professionals like you and Ric. It creates an environment where poor practices can thrive, making it harder for trustworthy agents to stand out and succeed.
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A good agent doing the job properly will upset plenty of buyers as that is the job at it’s core.
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Exactly that! agents are employed to get more money out of the one buyer they pick [over the 9 viewers who viewed and in their mind have already moved in} so not only is the agent the focus of at least 9 boo hoo hoo resentments, the buyer will be peeved they’re paying more than they wanted to
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Instead of National Service – Everyone should be made to be an EA for 12 months. The only way.
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It is hardly surprising that more and more sellers and buyers are opting to buy at auction. It is a quick and efficient way to buy a property and the complete opposite to private treaty. For obvious reasons this is not suitable for the majority of transactions, but I virtually never have to wait more than a fortnight for a legal pack to be compiled by the seller’s solicitor/conveyancer and that contains all the information which is required for a buyer to exchange contracts. As Rob well knows I was anti Home Information Packs at the outset because, like may others, I felt that the upfront cost to sellers and the fact that sellers could not put their homes on the market immediately would reduce supply significantly, but the world has changed. Lots of information is required upfront now in any event and we live in an information hungry society, so let’s bite the bullet and make Home Information/Legal Packs mandatory.
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Well said Richard.
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