The chief executive of industry not-for-profit accreditation service Safeagent, says agents do not require degrees to enter the sector or excel at their work.

Baroness Fox of Buckley, a cross-bench peer, recently commented in the House of Lords that estate agents’ degrees are not necessary. She made the comments specifically about university real estate degree courses.

The Baroness’ comments have been criticised by agents’ trade organisation Propertymark – but Safeagent agrees with her.

Chief Executive Isobel Thomson says: “Agents do not need degrees to perform their roles. They do need professional development, of course, with recognised industry qualifications so that consumers can be reassured they are receiving a certain level of service.

“We feel strongly that agency is a people business requiring strong interpersonal skills, local community knowledge and professional competency. A combination of these is what makes a good agent, not whether they studied three years for a degree at university.”

Earlier this week Nathan Emerson, chief executive of Propertymark,  commented: “Propertymark’s ethos is to raise standards in the industry, so we wholeheartedly stand for professionalising agents and believe higher education needs to exist in order to comply with the raft of requirements expected and to operate to the highest standard they possibly can.”