Personal touch is key to tough market, says Property Experts founder

The downward pressure on house prices is creating more opportunities for self-employed agents, according to the founder of one self-employed agency network.

The latest Rightmove data showed that house prices in September rose by just 0.3% – much less than might be expected during the Autumn ‘bounce.’

And Sean Newman, founder of The Property Experts says these price sensitive market conditions create a business environment where self-employed agents will thrive.

Rightmove figures suggest there are currently 12% more homes for sale in the UK than there were this time last year.

“Affordability is absolutely still a massive issue out there and that is putting pressure on prices,” said Newman.

“Being a self-employed agent is about two things: marketing and negotiation.

“The houses that are marketed the best will sell first. And the sellers with the best negotiators will achieve the best prices.”

Dropping the price

The Rightmove data suggested that the muted price rises this Autumn indicates a level of buyer choice not seen for a decade.

“It is the role of an estate agent to market a property in the best possible way, through professional video photography and immaculate staging before presenting the property to as many potential buyers as possible and then negotiate the best price for the seller.

“Some traditional estate agents will simply over value a property, charge a low fee to win the listing, get the house on the market in any way they can and when it doesn’t sell, get the owner to keep dropping the price until it sells.

“The vast majority of sellers are not expert negotiators, that’s what estate agent should be – great marketers and great at negotiation.

“Because self-employed agents are their own boss, it’s their brand, their face and their reputation.

“I believe in the personal touch – clients would much rather deal with one person than a faceless company. That’s why in all our marketing material we have our agents’ name and picture – even the ‘For sale’ boards.

“In this way they take more ownership, more responsibility because their brand is on the line and they are building a business for the long-term – it’s not just a job that they are probably going to leave in six months’ time.

“It’s no surprise that the self-employed agents have seen their market share of exchanges rise so dramatically since we started two-and-a-half years ago. Clients get a one-to-one service and they are dealing directly with the business owner – they are not passed around from pillar to post.”