Agent who is bucking trend

Agents are stepping up their house-selling tactics, Rightmove said this week. It said many are working hard to keep staff positive despite a market where, it said, hundreds of agents are going out of business each month.

It said one of the agents bucking the trend is Green and Company, a West Midlands multi-branch agency. Partner Paul Ivens said: “Sales and instructions are down compared to last year; however, business in September was good. We generated a good level of activity and sold, subject to contract, 80 homes.”

Ivens says the secret is relatively simple: “Proactive and enthusiastic staff make the difference, and we have staff that fit that category. They work closely with motivated sellers and ensure that their homes are marketed positively, despite all the doom and gloom that surrounds us. Correctly priced property and the use of proactive marketing will sell a home in any market.”

Green and Company also utilises Rightmove’s Premium Display advertisements, an option which Rightmove says generates three times more inquiries than a typical listing.

Ivens says these work for his agency: “We conduct individual market plans for our clients to discuss and review the marketing of their homes. The information we obtain from our Rightmove reports is shared with our vendors and, depending on that information and our client’s circumstances, we will then decide if their home would benefit from being promoted via Premium Displays, which we’ve been using since May.”

Miles Shipside, commercial director of Rightmove, said: “In the current market, with historically high levels of unsold stock and mortgage availability at a dramatic low, it is essential agents understands the consumer in order to attract those fewer buyers out there. Budget still remains an issue for the majority of home buyers, so sellers really need to work with their agents to ensure they are pricing realistically.

“Agents should be able to provide hard-hitting local market information, crucial to understanding realistic prices. Agents should be making sure the description and images are tweaked regularly to keep the advert fresh and stand out from the rest.”

Rightmove, which itself is making redundancies, has stopped selling its services to new agencies to concentrate on giving more support to existing members, some of whom it says are not utilising all the marketing tools that the site offers.

However, all year Rightmove has been at the centre of controversy, with member agents unhappy with the subscription fees.