Estate agents hit back at claims they ‘lie to homebuyers’
BestAgent founder Charlie Lamdin defends consumer survey results showing nearly half claim to have been 'misled by agents' about local market conditions.
Agents have hit back at claims that many homebuyers believe they are being lied to.
Nearly half of buyers, 49%, say they felt “deliberately misled” by agents, a survey by founder of property website BestAgent, Charlie Lamdin (main pic), found.
When asked “how do you feel about estate agents” after being told that competition for homes was still strong even though mortgage demand fell, 49% of respondents agreed they were told lies.
“I argued with an estate agent trying to get an extra £25k out of me for a house which I’d had under offer for months. He claimed houses in the area were being snapped up. I checked the sold properties advertised at his agency, and pointed out that half had reduced asking prices,” one homebuyer said.
Another one added: “An agent’s lying when their lips are moving.”
‘Leading’ questions
Some agents hit back on Twitter claiming the questions in the survey were ‘leading’. Cheshire-based Maurice Kilbride (pictured) said: “I take exception to the inference agents are deliberately misleading people, I know I only tell people what I am experiencing in my own local market and demand from buyers has been good. FACT.”
Simon Fisher of Absolute Sales and Lettings in Devon said: “With only those options in your poll and your target market it’s no surprise you got the results you did. The wording is also leading.”
Lamdin responded by defending the survey, which he ran through his YouTube channel ‘Moving Home with Charlie’: “What part of my wording was leading? All fact-based statement. My target audience is home movers. Who else should it be?
“That poll is a reflection of what those movers feel, and I’m not responsible for their votes!”
