The OFT investigations revealed that a quarter of recent sellers believed estate agents offered poor value for money, delayed sales and were inadequate communicators. Buyer complaints focused on misleading property descriptions or a failure to pass on offers to the seller and sellers commonly felt estate agents did insufficient work to justify their fee.
The investigation also felt that greater transparency, and so more competitive pricing, would benefit the industry.
After the 21-month enquiry, the OFT warned estate agents that a compulsory code of conduct could be introduced if a voluntary code fails to raise standards. The OFT also recommended changes to the Estate Agents Act to drive out those unfit to practice.
Jeremy Leaf, spokesman for RICS, said: “By leaving the door open for anyone to set up as an estate agent, this report does the industry and the public no favours. When compulsory Home Information Packs (HIPs) are introduced in 2007, estate agents will have an even greater role to play. This was an excellent opportunity to clean up the industry and get rid of the cowboys. Unfortunately the OFT has bottled out.”
