Nearly six in 10 estate agents rely on third-party providers to make changes to their website, according to a survey commissioned by Street Group.

The research, based on responses from 234 UK estate agents and conducted by ProperPR via FindOutNow, found that 31% are completely reliant on external developers or suppliers to make website updates, while a further 28% said they are fairly reliant. By comparison, 12% said they are fully self-sufficient when managing their website and related technology.

The survey also examined attitudes towards replacing or upgrading existing systems. Almost two-thirds (63%) said they had delayed upgrading technology, with 34% citing concerns about operational disruption and 31% pointing to migration and implementation costs.

Respondents also identified slow turnaround times and the cost of making website updates among the main issues associated with managing their systems.

The findings provide an insight into how estate agents currently manage their websites and the factors influencing technology investment decisions.

Heather Staff, co-founder of Street Group, which operates an estate agency website platform called Spectre Websites, commented:

“For too long, estate agencies have been forced to rely on third-party providers for even the most basic changes to their digital infrastructure.

“Our research shows that this dependency remains widespread across the industry, with many agencies also delaying technology upgrades due to concerns around cost and operational disruption.

“The result is that businesses often find themselves stuck with systems that are difficult to change, slow to evolve, and expensive to maintain.”