Estate Agency Closures

pickles110564

You might find that alot of the established ones have also letting arms to their bows which brings in a good steady income every month where all the new ones jumped in and thought that prices could only go up and the golden cow would not dry up.

MissMoneypenny

zcacmxi wrote: »

Update on above. The 4th Closure in Sidcup High Street. Alan De Maid have also now closed down. Only Halifax & Village Estates remain.

Wow! Alan De Maid have been around for at least 40 years to my knowledge. It must be getting bad if they are closing branches.

The_White_Horse

!!!! em. i know most people laugh that they hate estate agents, but i really do despise the lying cretins.

i hope they all lose their jobs. one day someone will think of a way to sell houses without the need for these parasites.

bo_drinker

The_White_Horse wrote: »

!!!! em. i know most people laugh that they hate estate agents, but i really do despise the lying cretins.

i hope they all lose their jobs. one day someone will think of a way to sell houses without the need for these parasites.

Right on. When we sold ours I said this all along. They have had 10 years of easy street and when houses were selling within days/ weeks for 1%/ or more they have had it too good for a long time now. There must be a better way of selling houses for less money. I didn't even know what rightmove was until our agent turned up with the info re the next door houses had sold for. Piece of p1ss I thought, he still managed to over price it and took 12 months to shift the greedy b4stard. He earnt his 1% all right. :rotfl:

PS. I see Connells have done away with the 6 week challenge. ( wonder why ?)

Davesnave

The_White_Horse wrote: »

!!!! em. i know most people laugh that they hate estate agents, but i really do despise the lying cretins.

i hope they all lose their jobs. one day someone will think of a way to sell houses without the need for these parasites.

Perhaps you ought to find out what a cretin is, then you might not use the term in this manner.

Be as offensive as you like towards those who can defend themselves, but give respect to those who can't.

zcacmxi

At the beginning of 2008, in Sidcup High Street there were 8 Estate Agents:

[strike]Park Estates[/strike]
[strike]Bairstow Eves[/strike]
Halifax
[strike]The Property Base[/strike]
[strike]Alan De Maid[/strike]
[strike]TgBaynes[/strike]
Mann
Village Estates

At the end of 2008, only 3 remain. During 2009, the remaining agents won't feel the need to overvalue as much to gain the business, so things might start to sell again if the valuations are more realistic and buyers are tempted.

The newspapers are reporting 32,000 agents have lost jobs. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/recession/3964909/Housing-market-crash-has-led-to-32000-estate-agents-losing-their-job.html

carolt

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/recession/3964909/Housing-market-crash-has-led-to-32000-estate-agents-losing-their-job.html

Housing market crash has led to 32,000 estate agents losing their job


It means that almost half of the estimated 80,000 estate agents who were in work 18 months ago have since been made unemployed.

The job losses are the result of a dramatic fall in house prices and house sales during the past year, which has caused severe hardship for the thousands of estate agency branches dependant on a vibrant housing market.

Around 4,000 estate agency offices -approximately one in four - have closed, leading to the loss of jobs not just for the sales agents themselves, but also valuers, negotiators, weekend viewing staff, administrators and mortgage advisers.

No official numbers exist for how many people estate agents employ, but research undertaken for The Daily Telegraph by Rosalind Renshaw, a senior consultant to the National Association of Estate Agents, calculates that the number of estate agents in work has fallen from 80,000 in the summer of 2007 to 48,000 at Christmas.

In May this year it was estimated that just 4,000 estate agents had lost their jobs. The latest calculations suggest the second half of the year has seen an avalanche of job losses in the industry.

...

Most property experts reluctantly agree with her calculations, which have been based on a research into every major property firm in the country.

Estate agency trainer and legal expert David Perkins says: "My feeling is that the industry has already virtually halved. Although a surprising number of agents have kept offices open, they now run on skeleton staff, perhaps just a manager and one other person."

Those affected have ranged from the country's biggest estate agency businesses, to the smallest.

Trevor Kent, a former president of the National Association of Estate Agents, has laid off three of his six staff, including two of his sons – not unusual in an industry still characterised by family-run businesses.

He specialises in upmarket properties: "In spring last year, I'd be selling a £1 million house at the rate of one a week. It's now one a month, and the price has dropped to £800,000.

"The last housing recession, in the early nineties, was like a dimmer switch. The market deteriorated gradually. This time, it was like blowing a fuse – it went out immediately."

...

Like many agents, Mr Kent has kept going because he also runs a successful lettings business. But he is not optimistic, believing the sales market will be dominated by repossessions for the next two or three years.

Elsewhere, the picture is similar. In the midlands, Newmans estate agents had 127 staff and eight branches at the start of 2008. It now has 84 staff in six offices.

In the north, Hunters started the year with 300 staff in 22 offices, and now has 180 in 16. Managing director Kevin Hollinrake says: "We used to sell 1,600 houses a year. This year, it will be 800. Not surprisingly, we have seen a significant number of agents closing – eight just recently in York.

"Anyone who thinks this market is temporary is wrong. Low sales volumes and depressed house prices are here to stay for at least two more years."

The agencies have tended to cut staff less dramatically, but have suffered nonetheless. Halifax has cut 204 branches to 151 but won't comment on job losses, while Connells has cut its staff by over 850, down to 4,000.

Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward, has cut its staff from 620 to 470.

ad44downey

Hopefully some of them will be able to find useful, productive jobs instead that actually benefit the UK economy. But I rather doubt it.

lynzpower

cavendish estates of London streatham has also closed

spuds_2

"In spring last year, I'd be selling a £1 million house at the rate of one a week. It's now one a month, and the price has dropped to £800,000."

1% (at least) commission on £1 million a week - he can't complain really if he's been on that sort of income for 10 years. 1% of £800,00 is not bad either, for doing very little.

EA's have been the agents of their own downfall imo, as their over-valuing and ramping up of the market has contributed to the vast house-price bubble.