Estate Agent Contract Breach?

[FUBAR]

Ive noticed recently more and more commercial agents are seeking 15% of rent agreed over 10% not so long ago.

You'd think with the downturn they would be looking to take on more work where possible, not reducing it?

[Greenie]

I can imagine the management meeting now.

"Right guys volumes are diving, we're really in the st and going down fast. The punters are nervous about the market and feeling the economic pinch. We need some bright ideas to get new customers, stimulate demand and get more buyers."

"How about reducing our advertising and putting prices up?"

"That's genius, I tell you guys this time next year we're going to be millionaires!"

[FUBAR]

[minimax]

Greenie said:

I can imagine the management meeting now.

"Right guys volumes are diving, we're really in the st and going down fast. The punters are nervous about the market and feeling the economic pinch. We need some bright ideas to get new customers, stimulate demand and get more buyers."

"How about reducing our advertising and putting prices up?"

"That's genius, I tell you guys this time next year we're going to be millionaires!"

you clearly know damn all about the business and still choose to insult me? berk.

marketing a property costs money so you reduce marketing on the ones which will be hard to shift, and increase marketing/your focus on those that have realistic vendors and prices. if volume falls you increase fees. it's really, really simple. Estate Agency is an easy game if you know enough

I pick these bits and pieces up through my work as i've been doing it for years, the same applies to when I give financial advice - lower volume = higher fees.

Edited by minimax on Wednesday 6th August 17:34

[gtr-gaz]

minimax said:

Greenie said:

I can imagine the management meeting now.

"Right guys volumes are diving, we're really in the st and going down fast. The punters are nervous about the market and feeling the economic pinch. We need some bright ideas to get new customers, stimulate demand and get more buyers."

"How about reducing our advertising and putting prices up?"

"That's genius, I tell you guys this time next year we're going to be millionaires!"

you clearly know damn all about the business and still choose to insult me? berk.

marketing a property costs money so you reduce marketing on the ones which will be hard to shift, and increase marketing/your focus on those that have realistic vendors and prices. if volume falls you increase fees. it's really, really simple. Estate Agency is an easy game if you know enough

I pick these bits and pieces up through my work as i've been doing it for years, the same applies to when I give financial advice - lower volume = higher fees.

Pity the same principal does not apply to the building trade in these difficult times

[Greenie]

The same principals do apply whether our short fused friend recognises it or not. With agents chasing fewer sensibly priced properties it is inevitable that market forces will put pressure on fees.

[minimax]

Greenie said:

The same principals do apply whether our short fused friend recognises it or not. With agents chasing fewer sensibly priced properties it is inevitable that market forces will put pressure on fees.

apologies for my short fuse, it annoys me that it seems to be a national sport to take the piss out of estate agents, when in reality it's only 99.5% of them that give the rest a bad name

in a falling market you get more properties on the market, not fewer and they mostly learn quickly to become realistic (true vendors in EA parlance) so the agent becomes more picky as to the business they take on. for example, if you get a call to a val on a 3 bed ex-local on a busy road in West Molesey, you know you're going to go in at 2.5% take-it-or-leave-it as by the time you actually manage to shift it, it'll have cost you a large amount in time/trouble/marketing..plus, it doesn't look good in your window - and an EA is always thinking about how to improve the quality of property on their books

Edited by minimax on Wednesday 6th August 18:14

[minimax]

dcw@pr said:

minimax said:

as for negotiating on the fee, in this market... no chance. any agent worth his salt will be upping their fee percentage anyway - less turnover = higher fees. the average fee in my town has increased to 2% sole agency because there is simply less business around.. it's the 1% merchants that go bust, and i'd only ever do that for a buddy of mine - or often nowt old pals and all that

my girlfriend managed to negotiate her fee down below 2% last week - one of the bigger london agents

nothing is set in stone, if she has a particularly nice pad, or even if it is simply better than the average that that agency deals with normally she will have bargaining power.. and perhaps she's really pretty and the valuer fancied her, or maybe she accepted a really low valuation (to get it shifted fast) or...or... there are many reasons

[minimax]

FUBAR said:

Ive noticed recently more and more commercial agents are seeking 15% of rent agreed over 10% not so long ago.

You'd think with the downturn they would be looking to take on more work where possible, not reducing it?

the commercial team here charge 10% plus 3% of any premium achieved.. and a quick chat with them reveals that the commercial lettings market is as vibrant as the resi lettings market - they are considering reducing their fees to win even more business.

they let and sell commercial stuff all over central and greater london so it's probably a reasonable interpretation of the market..I think!

[Swoxy]

Where is the property?

Edited by Swoxy on Saturday 16th August 20:36