Estate agents look to diversify

Of the estate agents prepared to diversify their services, 88% revealed that they would offer a bundle of services, allowing homeowners to pick their preferred option and to have greater control over the services they receive.

These include a combination of listing a property for sale on Rightmove and/or Zoopla only, taking professional photos, writing the property description as well as handling viewings and negotiations if required.

And 70% of estate agents have seen competition increase in their local area with a rise in the number of new offices opening in the last three months.

Estate agents offering this added level of flexibility are more likely to remain competitive in the face of increased high street competition.

Agents differentiating themselves from others in their area will be better placed to thrive in the current market conditions by retaining and winning new clients.

Robin King, Director at Move with Us, said: “The property market is a long way behind many other industries in terms of providing customers with choice, flexibility and convenience.

“The market is evolving quickly and high street estate agents are starting to look at providing a range of marketing packages for home movers. This approach will provide home movers with greater benefits and attempt to keep moving costs down. They’ll receive flexibility and the security of face-to-face contact to support them through one of the biggest transactions of a lifetime.”