Only 2 per cent thought it would be a negative move and 8 per cent thought regulation would make no difference at all. The findings also revealed that while the majority of agents are in favour of regulation, 36 per cent believe that it will cost them money and 34 per cent believe that it will add to the administrative burden of running their businesses. 8 per cent believe that they will need to employ more staff as a result of regulation and just 1 per cent believes it would lead to them laying off employees.
Researching the views of current home sellers, movewithus found that, 72 per cent of the respondents to the question of whether industry regulation would improve service said that it ‘would’ or ‘probably would’. Only 5 per cent said that there was ‘no chance’ the industry would improve. The research also found that, of those that have had previous dealings with estate agents, more than half (59 per cent) believe they have received an ‘excellent’ or ‘mostly good’ service from estate agents in the last five years. Just 15 per cent expressed a view that they had received a ‘terrible’ or ‘not brilliant’ service.
movewithus director, Nigel Higgins, said: “The findings of our poll are very conclusive – the industry suffers from a lack of trust from the end consumer, despite the fact that 54 per cent have been happy with their past dealings with agents. The estate agency community at large believes that a regulated industry would address this problem and our customers think service levels would be raised. Especially in light of recent scandals surrounding the industry it is very important that we listen to the requirements and concerns of both customers and agents and act on them. A tiny minority of bad eggs has tarnished the reputation of estate agents and adhering to a regulated standard would help get rid of these cowboy outfits and help to improve the image, reputation and service levels of the property industry.
“movewithus would welcome an open dialogue with the government to address this issue as we feel it is very important to listen to the requirements and concerns of both customers and agents and act on them, clearly regulation, administered in the right way, is desired by both.”
