OFFICE CLOSURE - Are we surprised?

We recently learnt of an agent’s new office in Hampshire closing the doors not too long after launching. Were we shocked? No. Did it confirm ever more, the reason we opted for the hybrid model? Yes.

We were recently asked at a valuation why we didn’t have an office (we assume this is because our competition were suggesting they had an abundance of ‘walk in’ applicants registering to buy property) to which we simply asked ‘when was the last time you went into an estate agents office?’.

These clients had been looking for their next home, so you’d think they’d have visited an estate agent’s office, right? Wrong. They confirmed then and there, the need for a premisses was redundant, any property they found had been on property portals (Rightmove, Zoopla etc) and conversations they’d had, had been via email/telephone or at a viewing, and that is the way of the world now.

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In our years in high street agency, we have seen the internet’s impact on footfall; estate agent’s offices turned into a DPD direction hubs, a fishbowl looking out at the hustle and bustle of the Towns & Villages we worked in.

Rarely do people walk into town and choose to walk into an estate agent, we are all far too busy for that, too many tasks not enough hours in the day! Are we right?

If you want to speak with an estate agent about the sale of your home, your first port of call is to look online, be that on Instagram/Facebook or a quick google search. You’ll pop them an email or a call to book a time slot that suits you, to have a sit down with those agents and when instructed, any business they do, will be in the home they are selling - It makes sense.

"It’s quite common for 'soon to be seller's' to post on local community boards, to ask for recommendations now too"

We do acknowledge that by not having an office we don’t have that ‘round the clock’ advertising, in a static position on the high street;

But... what we do have is a very particular set of marketing skills, skills that we have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make us a nightmare for the high street estate agent. If you follow us now, that will be the end of it, we will not tout you, we will not bother you, but if you don’t, we will find you and we will sell you a home 🤣

No, Liam Neeson Taken jokes aside.

What is important in today’s modern world is having online presence and by not having the overheads of an office, we are able to advertise your home all four major portals, Rightmove, Zoopla, Primelocation and OnTheMarket. We are extremely active on Instagram, Facebook & TikTok – some of our clients have found us through these channels. We even advertise in the local Herald & Move To papers, distributed to thousands locally and let’s not forget to mention our beautiful For Sale boards!

Sellers these days are embracing the more personal touch from, not just us, but other estate agents who are like us, moving to the more American model.

Your home is your most valuable asset. When you choose us to market your property, we treat you and your home with the individual attention it deserves, not just another listing to appease the big bosses and so if you don't want to just feel like a number, do pop us a call.

Written by

Michaela Sanders

Director