A high-flying estate agent, who has decided to go it alone after years of corporate life, says that many sellers would prefer NOT to have their homes marketed via the portals.
Jonathan Cunliffe, a senior director with Savills until the start of this year and before that with Countrywide, has set up his own agency which has just opened for business.
Cunliffe has opted for personal work-life balance, providing discreet advice from offices overlooking the sailing waters he loves off Falmouth.
He said: “As my managerial work expanded and I spent more and more time working away from Cornwall, I got to really miss actually dealing with people who want to buy and sell their homes.
“Setting up my own firm is a big move, but estate agency has changed, and is changing, so much: while the internet dominates much of the market, in recent years I’ve seen a trend for more properties in the prime market changing hands without any online presence at all.
“Love it or loathe it, the internet has removed some privacy – and many people don’t want everyone to know their business.
“Talking with clients and potential clients – particularly those at the higher end of the market – I am more than ever convinced we should be moving towards a ‘private listings’ model, just as some agencies in London already are.”
Another prompt has been the changing property scene within Cornwall itself with a decline in the numbers of people seeking second or retirement homes and an increase in people choosing to relocate and live in the south-west.
He said he aims to keep his eponymous Jonathan Cunliffe business small, not spread himself too thin and to use his experience and contacts to match sellers and buyers together – “much as agents did before the internet was even thought of”.
I’m kind of struggling with this one just a teensy weensy bit – someone please help me.
The chap lists on Rightmove.
He has his own website. He has Tw@tter. On his website he states “What’s more, without an internet ‘footprint’, an element of privacy can be retained by both seller and buyer.”
So here’s why I’m confused.
Under “Buying”, there are two subheadings:
FEATURED PROPERTIES
of which they currently feature two (very nice) homes – which are on his Rightmove listings page, and
PRIVATE LISTINGS.
of which there are three.
Listed. Each with a few tempting external photos. Each listed as ‘£POA’
Each now with “an internet footprint”, surely? Each having lost that “element of privacy”, have they not?
To me – all he’s done is kept them off Rightmove, which is a brave move in itself but there is still an inherent reliance on t’interweb.
I’m all for what this chap is setting out to do – and the very best of luck to him.
“…he aims to keep his eponymous Jonathan Cunliffe business small, not spread himself too thin and to use his experience and contacts to match sellers and buyers together.”
And I applaud that sentiment. Hopefully EYE will do a follow-up in 6 or 12 months. In the meantime – I’ll be watching from the other end of the country with interest.
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