EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In total 4,976 people who are currently selling their home/investment property took part in the survey. The responses are from all parts of Great Britain and across the price ranges although the number of respondents with properties over ÂŁ1million is quite small. About 2/3's of those surveyed are selling with the intent to buy another property whilst 1 in 5 are selling for investment purposes.
Š The Property Academy 2012
Š The Property Academy 2012
Consistent with previous surveys, a quarter of properties currently for sale only had one estate agent value their property whilst 29% had just two - in more than half the cases the competition is a one or two horse race. Once again, Pareto's principle applies as 76% did not choose the agent that suggested the highest asking price and similarly 78% didn't choose the agent with the cheapest fee. Significantly 92% read the literature their estate agent left behind.
Š The Property Academy 2012
Š The Property Academy 2012
People select those estate agents that are clearly showing they are selling similar properties but interestingly for those sellers who had just one estate agent value their property 27% were previous customers compared with 13% who had two or more valuations. This clearly highlights the value in maintaining a relationship with past customers. Although the % of people citing being influenced by one of the portals is quite small they did of course use the portals to identify which agents are selling similar properties to theirs so the overall influence of the portals is considerable.
Š The Property Academy 2012
In previous surveys we have established that the single main reason why an estate agency is instructed or not is the ability for the individual carrying out the valuation/market appraisal to build trust with the client. This year we sought to identify the components of trust and broadly these can be broken down to two - listening to the customers needs and demonstrating an authoritative position in respect to understanding the market. The agency's services is not that big a deal nor is the fee. In simple terms, the estate agency wins the valuation appointment, the individual estate agent wins the instruction.
Š The Property Academy 2012
In terms of the service experience the two areas that scored the lowest marks are, once again, communication (30% 'not great/poor') and problem solving (40% 'not great/poor'). Politeness and manners tops the list, as it has every year, with 91% saying 'excellent or good'.
Š The Property Academy 2012
The industry standard fee is 1.5% and this is confirmed by other surveys based on fees charged at completion. Significantly 30% of people selling their home are paying more than 1.5% so if your average fee is below this amount you're below the industry average. Also, just one third of people actually negotiated the commission rate, two thirds say they didn't negotiate.
Š The Property Academy 2012
A new question for this year concerns paying of upfront fees, typically for premium marketing packs which almost 1/3 of home sellers paid up to ÂŁ500 for. In an attempt to nail the fee question once and for all 60% of home sellers said they wouldn't have selected another agent even for 0.5% less fee.
Š The Property Academy 2012
Š The Property Academy 2012
Rightmove maintains it's number one position with 74% of respondents saying they used it most of all compared with 30% for Zoopla, Prime Location and Findaproperty combined. This survey was carried out before the full eect of the Zoopla/Digital Property Group amalgamation to become Zoopla Property Group. No other portal scored above 1% for most used. 25% of people used their mobile phone to search for property (Rightmove and Zoopla’s own data both show this to be even higher at 31%) and clearly this trend has risen significantly and is set to increase further. The use of local newspapers for property search has declined further, less than 1/4 using them regularly but estate agents own web sites are still important for home owners with 42% using them regularly and 26% occasionally.
Š The Property Academy 2012
Š The Property Academy 2012
41% of home sellers used the conveyancer their estate agent recommended highlighting just how influential the agent can be in the total home moving process however just 16% chose the mortgage broker recommended by their agent highlighting a clear opportunity.
Š The Property Academy 2012
In the 2011 survey 77% of home sellers said they would recommend their estate agent. This has dropped by 8% to 69% in 2012. For conveyancers there is better news as 79% of clients would recommend but this is also down by 2% on 2011's 81%. Over 1/4, 29% of home sellers have changed estate agents, primarily due to poor communication as much as poor performance.
Over 1/4, 29% of home sellers have changed estate agents, primarily due to poor communication as much as poor performance.
Š The Property Academy 2012
Summary The initial findings from the 2012 survey shows that overall service levels and client satisfaction has fallen. For the better businesses this represents a significant opportunity to capture market share as in this current market home sellers can see those agents that are performing and those who aren't.
There is much greater emphasis on revenues in addition to the sales commission with almost 1/3 charging for marketing packs, 41% referring conveyancers yet many estate agents still seem to struggle to deliver a financial services proposition that clients respond to.
For five years we have carried out this survey and each year thousands of home sellers tell us that they don't select their estate agent based on fee or the highest suggested sales price. No doubt, as with previous years, some estate agents will say "that isn't the case in my area" but the evidence suggests otherwise as the answers are consistent across Great Britain and across the price ranges. Of course, if there is no point of dierentiation and an estate agent looks and sounds and acts exactly like their competitors then price will be a determining factor.
The amount of people switching from one estate agent to another should cause agents to realise that it's 'sold' boards rather than 'for sale' that count. Overvaluing, cutting fees, or worse a combination of the two to win the business is harmful as well as costly. More unsold properties equals more clients to have to manage and more clients who are increasingly dissatisfied and demanding. The concerning fall in numbers who would recommend their estate agent highlights that an unsold property is actually a costly liability.
Over the coming months The Property Academy will be analysing the responses in greater detail and will publish further significant insights online at www.propertyacademy.co.uk
Š The Property Academy 2012
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