Agencies & People
News covering the businesses, activities, people and personalities in estate agency and letting agency and wider residential property industry.
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Campbells launches online service
Campbells, whose property experts mainly work in the Northamptonshire and Warwickshire area, has just launched their online property selling and letting service.
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70% of millennials rely on reviews to choose an agent
UK homebuyers rely on reviews to inform their decision making when selecting an estate agent, according to a national study commissioned by global ratings and customer insights company Feefo.
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Just Giving page in memory of young estate agent raises £13,945
The family of a young estate agent who died in tragic circumstances on 1st April this year have raised nearly £14,000 in his memory via Just Giving, funds from which are to be donated to a charity dedicated to preventing male suicide. 23-year-old Alex Quealy, who is believed to have worked for his family’s estate agency in the town of Sittingbourne, took his own life after a night out socialising with friends in Canterbury. He was found soon afterwards by his younger brother at his home on the western outskirts of the city. Paramedics were called but Alex was pronounced dead at the scene. During the inquest at Margate Magistrates Court last week Coroner Ian Goldup said Alex had showed no signs of suicidal thoughts but had been struggling with “the pressures of modern life and dyslexia”, it was reported. His father Dee Quealy told Kent Live that “We would like to raise money in Alexander’s memory so that other young men realise they are not alone and can be offered the support they need through troubling times. “Alexander was a lovely young man, he was kind, generous, good looking, loved by his close family and friends and had so…
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Manning Stainton acquires AR Estate Agents
Manning Stainton has acquired AR Estate Agents, providing residential sales and lettings services in Crossgates, East Leeds and the surrounding areas.
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Is this the future of lettings after the ban?
The looming fees ban has prompted several suppliers to the lettings industry to significantly re-appraise their offering, and the latest to announce changes is Let Alliance. The referencing and insurance firm, which is based in Chester, has announced the first products to emerge from its ‘Fit for the Future’ initiative announced in April. It’s launch follows consultations with over 200 independent agents. Fee ban The new package of products, which the company says has been developed to help agents combat changes brought about by both the tenant fee ban and the way properties are being rented out, includes three key solutions – a ‘Nil deposit’ scheme, free tenant referencing and its existing monthly rent guarantee scheme. The Nil Deposit scheme offers an insurance-based deposits scheme that provides a guarantee of up to six weeks’ rent when a claim is made against a tenant – paid for by tenants via a fixed fee. “The Nil Deposit Scheme presents a very different offering to other schemes currently on the market as we replicate the terms and conditions of the current cash deposits registered in the official schemes,” says Andy Halstead, CEO of Let Alliance (pictured) Let Alliance is also offering a rent…
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YOPA raises another £15m
Online hybrid estate agent YOPA has raised a further £15 million from investors including the Daily Mail’s parent company DMGT and Grosvenor Hill Ventures, the investment arm of Savills.
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Auction sales and revenues drop
Essential Auction News (EIG) reports that the number of auction sales – and revenues – dropped this Spring.
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Can Purplebricks ever make ‘fees saved’ comparisons again?
A complaint by West Sussex estate agent Arun Estates to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) about nine ‘fees saved’ testimonials still currently featured on the Purplebricks website has been upheld. The decision goes to the core of the debate around Purplebricks, which many traditional agents believe often compares itself inaccurately with its high street competitors because its ‘fees saved’ claims don’t reflect the different service levels offered by high street and online agents. The ASA complaint refers to testimonials seen last summer – and still live on the Purplebricks site – in which the company claims its customers have made significant savings by using its services than compared to traditional agents, based on an average fee of 1.8%. Purplebricks told the ASA that it was “very difficult” to find out what agents charged their clients and that it varied a lot from area to area, but that they had conducted a customer survey among 2,308 respondents instead. Average commission It discovered that the average commission in the UK is 1.5%, to which they added 0.3% VAT, and also told the ASA that other organisations including Citizens Advice Bureau and YourMoney.com pointed to a similar figure. But the ASA says it…
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A fourth office for Alexanders
Alexanders has opened a fourth office at Ashby-de-la-Zouch.
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LonRes Summer Party and awards – in pictures
There are thousands of estate agents around the UK who like to throw a summer drinks party for staff and clients. And as long as the weather holds, why not? But perhaps best-known, and the most difficult to get tickets for is the LonRes Summer Party which this year took place recently on Belgrave Square in the heart of London’s central Belgravia district. Some 700 guests attended the event, at which Lonres chairman William Carrington welcomed everyone and also announced winners of the much coveted LonRes Awards. These celebrate the best deals in London’s super-prime market each year, using data from the LonRes London property data bank, as well as several people awards. The Negotiator was lucky enough to get hold of a ticket to the event. Here are some of the winners. Let of the Year Savills Waterfront, Laura Bushells Best Office Administrator Sinead Boxell of Sandfords Estate Agents (Regent’s Park) Let of the Year, East London Knight Frank Canary Wharf, Chanel Rodriguez Best Newcomer Award Pollyanna Prescot, Wetherell Lifetime Achievement Award Trevor Abrahmsohn, Glentree International
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