They pinpoint two areas for the industry's success
Property professionals in the UK are hugely optimistic about the future of their industry, believing that a “business as usual” approach is the best way to secure more post-pandemic success, results of a survey have revealed.
However, many also consider increased regulation and transparency to be important in helping the industry sustain this success well into the future.
The poll of 712 property professionals, carried out by ProperPR and the Property Redress Scheme via consumer research platform FindOutNow and the PRS member database, asked how optimistic they are about their business prospects in 2022.
The weighted response was 7.2 out of 10, with 10 being “very optimistic.” In fact, more than 50% of respondents scored their confidence between eight and 10.
When asked for their views on how the property market will perform for the remainder of this year, 64% said the performance will be positive, while just 11% said negative. The remaining 25% said the market’s performance will remain static.
Looking to the future, most believe that a “business as usual” approach is the best route to continued success instead of experimenting with new business models or technologies.
When asked if, in the near future, they would consider switching to a US-style agency model - where agents are self-employed but use the company’s brand and infrastructure, as recently pioneered by the likes of Keller Williams and eXp - 74.8% responded in the negative, 18.8% said ‘maybe’, and just 6.4% said ‘yes’.
When asked if they considered this new business model a threat or opportunity to their business, respondents demonstrated broad ambivalence with 56% saying ‘neither’.
As for technology and innovation, when respondents were asked if they considered their business to be an early adopter of proptech, 70% said ‘no’, 16% said ‘slightly early’, and just 14% said ‘yes’.
“It’s little surprise that industry confidence is high at the moment. Property professionals have had a bumper couple of years thanks to the booming housing market,” Eddie Hooker, chief executive at the Hamilton Fraser Group, said. “This success means that many don’t see any need for change, whether it be via the introduction of new tech offerings or the adoption of the US-style, self-employed model.”
In terms of client relationships, when asked who they would prefer be responsible for dealing with redress matters involving their landlords, 64% said that landlords should be covered by a redress scheme, while 36% said they would rather take charge of dealing with redress matters themselves.
Finally, when addressing the much-debated subject of licensing in today’s property industry, 71% of property professionals believe that estate agents should be required to have an official licence to operate, while just 9% believe licensing is unnecessary, and 19% are undecided.
“It does seem that the industry is keen to do more to ensure that they and their clients are protected against poor practice and rogue traders and the vast majority would like to see the introduction of licensing for agents and landlords,” Hooker said.
“Such a move would help to further bolster the work of The Property Redress Scheme, helping to improve the standards of the sector from the get-go. So, while operational change is not a popular idea, there is definitely an appetite for increased honesty, transparency, and integrity within the industry,” he added.
