Branches may be closing but UK estate agency sector ‘still growing’

The number of estate agency businesses increased by 2% across the UK over the past and by 20% over the past five years, research from GetAgent.co.uk reveals.

While overall estate agency branch numbers might be on the decline or closing latest analysis shows the industry itself remains a prosperous and competitive one.

INCREASE OF 20%

Analysis of historic ONS data shows that last year (2023), there were 24,965 estate agencies operating in the UK. This marks an increase of 20% since 2018 when the number of agencies sat at 20,720. It is also an annual increase of 2% compared to 2022’s total of 24,500.

The estate agency industry has faced a number of challenges in recent years, including a prolonged period of political uncertainty caused by Brexit, the initial industry lockdown spurred by the Covid outbreak and, more recently, a cooling market caused by higher interest rates and wider economic instability.

But analysis by GetAgent.co.uk shows that in the past five years agency numbers have grown significantly across all regions of the UK.

The largest increase has been seen in Scotland and the North East. Since 2018, both regions have seen agency numbers grow by a quarter (25%). The West Midlands and North West have both seen numbers rise by 23%; while London and the East of England have each reported a 23% increase.

IN the last 12 months both the East of England and the North East saw agency numbers rise by 3% followed by London, the South West, North West and South East which has all saw annual growth of 2%.

LONDON RANKS TOP

When it comes to the property markets with the most estate agencies in the current market, London ranks top. Almost a third of all UK agencies (29%) are currently located in London, while 15% are in the South East and 10% are in the East of England.

Colby Short, Co-founder and Chief Executive of GetAgent.co.uk, says: “We may have seen a decline in branch numbers over the last year and there’s no doubt that the growing traction of the self-employed model will have contributed to this.

“However, it’s a fairly typical occurrence to streamline such overheads in quieter market periods when the economy isn’t firing on all cylinders and, actually, it’s important to note that these closures were largely offset by new branches opening.

“In fact, despite a challenging year, we’ve actually seen the number of operational estate agency businesses climb, which is very positive news for the industry and suggests that there is an underlying confidence in the market heading into 2024.”