Letting agents ‘missing opportunities to sign-up more landlords’
Just 18% of properties sold to landlords and investors are let by the same estate agency with half being self-managed or becoming short lets.
New research carried out by data firm Propalt has revealed that a shockingly-low proportion of rental properties sold to landlords and investors are then rented out by the same agency.
It analysed changes in the ownership records of over 150,000 property titles during a two-year period and were able to see when a landlord purchased and then let the property.
More than 50% did not come back to the agency market and were instead self-managed, or became corporate or short-term rentals.
Replacing landlords
Of the properties that did come back, only 18% were rented by the same agency that sold them.
Proplalt co-founder Kieran Slinger says: “The number one priority for most agents right now is replacing the loss of accidental landlords who are leaving the market.
“The opportunity is for agents is to replace landlords leaving with ones that they already deal with.
“Most agents already have the answer in their own data as they are highly likely to have dealt with landlords both buying and selling in their areas.
“The opportunity is for agents is to replace landlords leaving with ones that they already deal with.
“When we looked at the data the average agent deals with around 25 landlords a year through the buying and selling process and around 50% of those transactions where from portfolio investors from outside of the area, making them more likely to need a managing agent.
“By simply matching back who they are and what they buy agents can uncover hidden opportunities within their own data.”
Propalt is a property data platform that connects estate agents with landlords and letting events.
I think this is symptomatic of the years of reactive estate agency we have seen and a lack of proactive selling skills. I’m seeing a shift in agent’s thinking though but i do believe agents are missing lots of revenue in areas like this where a strong sales process would generate more revenue. Plus lazy agency means selling investment property to large investor groups rather than smaller investors that would have more need for management.