Location key to agents securing valuations

The location of a letting agency office is the most influential characteristic which persuades a landlord to ask the agent to undertake a valuation.

This is the finding of the Property Academy's latest annual survey. It asked 2,948 landlords to list the main influences in asking an agent to give a valuation of a property to be let out.

Agent office location was top, following by an agent letting similar properties, the recommendation of a friend, strong brand awareness and having used the agent before for an earlier letting.

Membership of a professional body came only sixth, followed by the fact that the same agency sold the property to the landlord.

Eighth cam the agent's marketing, ninth was an online recommendation or review and 10th came the agent's social media presence.

The survey also revealed that 36 per cent of landlords asked only one agent to give a valuation; another 36 per cent asked only two. Just one per cent of landlords asked five or more agents.

Some 49 per cent of landlords visited the agent's website before inviting them to offer a valuation while 44 per cent visited the agency in person. Some 32 per cent telephoned them without a visit. Staggeringly, 14 per cent of landlords - one in seven - admitted undertaking no research at all before asking the firm to appraise and value their property.