Inspiration

Attracting the Spring Market

How to get a head start before the spring boom

My clients around the UK tell me that finally, after months of doubt and hesitation, the market seems to have returned to some semblance of normality, whatever that means! To the seasoned agent, this means a market that is neither overheated with inflated offers from numerous buyers, nor depressed by a paucity of sales.

Normality might be a shock for agents who have only known the recent “boom and easing off” (I can’t say the word b*st for three reasons: 1. because hasn’t actually happened, 2. because it can become a self-fulfilling prophesy, and 3. because it is a part of the female anatomy).

A normal market is one where there is a reasonable balance between the supply of saleable new instructions entering the market and the level of committed buyer interest. Such a market is by its nature mildly inflationary, but not to the extent that purchasers panic-buy rather than miss out.

A normal market has its highs and lows during the year, but is not extensively affected to the core by the weather, an election, or a regional catastrophe. Indeed, by the time this article is published I suspect a date for the next general election will have been announced. However, as the policies that could have a bearing on the property market are all broadly similar across the main political parties, such an election is unlikely to cause the jitters associated with some previous elections. Even the unlikely event of a change of government would, I believe, go virtually unnoticed among the property-owning electorate.

Last year shook estate agents into recognising that the market could no longer tolerate unbridled growth. Growth that had meant easy money for many agents. Such a market was in some ways good for those agents who wanted to jump on the bandwagon and make money without trying too hard. Everyone was selling and everyone was buying. We just had to be involved somewhere along the line. The problem was that such easy pickings were inevitably unsustainable.

It didn’t matter about your agency style, your opening hours, whether you had floor plans, multimedia window displays, multi-portal web hosting, on-line sale tracking or accompanied viewings. Indeed, some agents told me that they didn’t even register buyers, let alone accompany them, as they could do enough sales directly from their adverts!

In other words, it had become so easy to sell property that agents felt they did not need to try too hard to develop any sort of sustainable presence. As a result the perceived value that an agency brought to a house-move diminished and sellers often ended up simply choosing the agent who charged the lowest fee. Effectively, agents sold themselves out to the easy market in a very short-sighted strategy that will cost many of them dear.

The current market is good for the estate agency industry. This is because the customer can once again afford to be more selective as to which agent they choose to appoint. Agents are having not only to work harder, but also become more strategic in their marketing, as the consumer will choose the agent who has most positively influenced them continually over the years via their prospect management and marketing.

The agent who has become the obvious agent of choice will steal a lead on the average or mediocre agent. That distinctive agent who has earned the right to the customer’s business before they even thought of selling is likely to be in pole position when the customer decides to sell, irrespective of the commission percentage charged. The risk of not selling within a reasonable time is now too apparent for the average seller, so why should they risk using the wrong agent?

Likewise, during the boom period, it was all too easy for the overzealous agent to value ambitiously and get away with it as the market rose. But those agents who continue to do this are likely to risk ending up with an oversupply of unsaleable stock with disgruntled clients, a declining reputation and an increasingly unprofitable business. Yet this is all some agents know – low fees and high valuation! They will simply not survive.

This environment provides good agents with an opportunity to take advantage of that which they had the foresight to start despite the relatively easy success they have enjoyed in recent years. These agents were always passionate about professionalism, integrity, accountability and commitment. They were always dependable, reliable, courteous, and trustworthy. These were always the agents of choice, but they are now on the way to sustainable growth and prosperity, because they proactively manage their reputations.

During the second world war, margarine was not domestically available as supplies were diverted to supporting troops abroad. Nevertheless, the “Echo” brand still maintained its presence, with posters and radio campaigns throughout the war. Crazy or what? Yet who had the overwhelming market share after the war? Echo.

Likewise, those agents who saw the value in continuing to deliver superb, often radical customer service, and to promote themselves rather than just the properties they offered are likely to be this market’s greatest winners as more discerning return to the market. For them, fees will be less of an issue and I know many who are easily securing at least two percent, even in primarily one percent areas of the UK.

So if you are thinking of taking advantage of the improving spring market, it may well be too late, unless you have spent the past few years working on it. Yes, you may do better in more liquid market conditions, but does the credit go to you or simply increased market activity? The key issue is market share. Good agents have always been as concerned about this as they are about revenue, and they consistently deliver sustainable growth in any market.

Fortunately, it’s never too late to plan for future success. So as the market improves, why not think ahead and change gear in your own business for long, as well as short-term growth?

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© Richard Rawlings 2010
Richard Rawlings is the founding director of Estate Agency Insight, which specialises in helping estate agencies harness opportunity through innovative method, marketing, publicity, and training. He can be contacted at or on 0845 838 1354.

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