One of the main arguments in the property market recently is whether it is possible to replace advertising in the printed press to the online environment. Now this debate is expanding: Is it time to replace the physical High Street presence with a virtual presence?
Only four or five years ago, not having High Street presence with expensively kitted offices was a big disadvantage in getting new properties on the books for sales, lettings or management. People wanted to go into a five-star office to be treated as royalty. There was a very unfair pre-judgement that being an Internet-based estate agency meant not providing the best property consultancy.
What a difference a few years make…
Nowadays, the High Street estate agency offices are not the busiest places. Most people start their research through the Internet and many of them tend not to go near, let alone into, and estate agency office. The landlords/tenants and vendors/buyers contact the agents via the Internet, emails and telephone. As this is the most convenient way of doing it now that almost every home in the country has some sort of Internet connection. People do not have time to spend chit-chatting in an office any more.
Also, people are looking for more competitive fees too.
Especially with the current credit crunch, the traditional estate agents Maidenhead are getting less instructions and they are having to provide the same level of service at a lower price now. As a result, we are seeing some traditional estate agencies closing some of the High Street offices due to cost-cutting pressures. They are then trying to cover those areas from other branches.
Of course, there are still some dinosaurs in the industry. Just recently, one new estate agent who opened up a very expensive office in an upper class area told me that only the “boffins” would go and search the Internet for properties. He even went further telling me that he had not heard of most of the main property portals. Luckily, these types of people are on the decline and are no longer giving the true property professionals a bad name anymore.
According to some recent studies, the number of online listings have gone up by 58% in just the last nine months.
Whether or not we will still see the estate agents row in the High Streets in five or seven years time is another discussion but we are experiencing a definite trend towards using the technology to provide more competitive property services.
One of the biggest differentiators behind the Appleton Estate Agents Marlow brand has always been providing a better property consultancy by removing all the chains that the traditional estate agency has demanded in this country. And, the biggest drive for us has been being on the leading edge of the technology. Appleton Estates has been one of the first “virtual” estate agencies in the area. We have believed in what we have been offering and our belief is now paying significant dividends.