Latest property jobs data suggest that half as many people want to be an estate agent today than before the pandemic.

The claim is made by recruitment agency Rayner Personnel, which says data extracted from the overall jobs market show that the number of candidates seeking jobs in the sector has dropped from 9,866 before Covid struck om 2019 to 4780 today, or a drop of 49%.

The big decline began during spring last year and accelerated throughout 2021, but the number of job seekers is still shrinking month on month – although job vacancies remain fairly static at around 2,500 at any given time.

Property jobs

Reasons for the drop include more people who work in sales seeking jobs that offer working from home flexibility – something only admin roles in estate agency usually enjoy – and more agencies requiring some form of industry qualification from property jobs candidates.

But Josh Rayner (pictured), founder of Rayner Personnel, thinks it’s the industry’s sometimes antediluvian applications processes.

“We live in a world where if you want to find your future partner… you just swipe left.. or right (apparently!),” he says.

“If you want to buy a coffee… you tap your phone and walk out 30 seconds later with a cup with your name on it.

“And yet, when it comes to attracting talent into our businesses, an incredible 9 out of 10 potential candidates drop out because the application process was too lengthy or complicated.”

“Organisations need to seriously rethink their approach to the candidate journey if they want to add the other 90% back into their funnels.”