Peter Knight

Are awards worth winning?

As the deadline for entering The Lettings Agency of the Year Awards in association with The Sunday Times & The Times fast approaches*, (I thought I’d get a quick plug in early), I’ve been pondering their value and the reason why I first set them up almost a decade ago.

I remember very clearly one lunchtime eating a sandwich at my desk and reading several stories criticising estate agents, (the news must have particularly thin that week as these were all the same old tales lazily rehashed without any research), and thinking no one ever says anything about all the good things estate agents do nor highlight the best performers – and that was the moment that the longest running awards in the industry were conceived.

I don’t judge the awards myself, instead an expert panel is chaired by The Property Ombudsman, but I do know from the judges that the standard of entry has improved every year as has the number of entries, up by over 100% in the last two years. So we are definitely achieving one of our founding aims – to provide incentive to raise the standards of the industry ever higher, but how do we score with the other goals we set, to reward the achievements of the best agencies and to help raise the profile of the industry?

I’m grateful to Gareth Ashington of Ashington Page in Beaconsfield, who won Gold for his Best Small Agency in 2009, for sharing his experience. Using his achievement to spur his team on even further, the following year he increased turnover by 54% by repositioning his agency towards the higher end of the market, which resulted in double the sales of properties over £750,000. Of course it wasn’t just the award, Gareth gave his office a facelift and produced a new marketing campaign, but he confirms that the award actually won him business as a consequence of displaying it on all his communications plus it helped to give his team the confidence to know that they could compete with everyone in this highly contested area. Many other winners have told me that thanks to the awards they too have enjoyed huge publicity, won business and increased their profits.

As for raising the industry profile I fear we still have a long way to go. The tabloid media had a feeding frenzy when they learned that the number of complaints to The Property Ombudsman doubled last year although none chose to pick up on the Ombudsman’s report that the amount of compensation awarded in each case had halved which suggests that the issues people are complaining about are much smaller than a few years ago.  I’m not so naïve as to expect the press to run a story along the lines of “estate agents do a great job selling over 90% of all properties in the UK” however when we carried out a survey of 1,562 home movers recently, 84% did say they would recommend their estate agent, a statistic few industries would be able to claim and something I’m keen to get covered in the media.  We will persist in our pursuit to put the record straight – many sales and lettings agencies do a fine job for their clients and comprise teams of highly entrepreneurial people who contribute a lot for the general economy and to society as The Estate Agency Foundation charity, and many other examples of good works, clearly demonstrate.

The awards have rightly attracted criticism as well as plaudits, the most common being the judging process and we take all constructive points on board and have made several changes as a consequence.  The trouble is I don’t think a perfect judging system exists; some suggest the public should judge but how can they compare and contrast estate agencies when they normally only instruct one and move on average once every eight years?  So yes the judging has an element of subjectivity but this is true of all industries awards and each year our panel has had new blood, categories rotated and the format changed to include an interview with every single entrant rather than just relying on a written submission.  I’ve only had two rather nasty critics, and both made me smile recently when they were themselves the recipients of other awards similarly judged by a peer group but overall winners and losers alike have been very helpful and positive.

As both sales and lettings agencies struggle to find and to communicate their unique competitive advantage for their customers I feel that the awards are doing their bit to help the best performers differentiate themselves and so conclude that they are worthwhile and worth winning.  Of course only those who enter have a chance so with less than a week to register and two weeks to make your submission you’d better get your skates on.

*The deadline for entering The Lettings Agency of the Year Awards is still the 31^st March however the deadline for submissions has been extended to the 6th April. You can register to enter at www.estateagencyevents.com but only until 31^st March.

Silver Linings

I just love the way some people flick two fingers to the problems of the world and just get on with it.  Take Taylor Woodrow de España (TW) for example. This division of one of the UK’s oldest and largest property companies is facing unprecedented challenges and yet is turning the problems of buying holiday homes in Spain to its advantage.  In order to allay the fears generated through the extensive coverage of Britons who have lost their holiday homes through the so called “land grab” policies of some of Spain’s regional legislators, TW have teamed up with Safe Buying Experience (SBE). SBE offers an independent accreditation service to developers in Spain and Portugal effectively guaranteeing that every TW property has the correct legal title, conforms to planning and building regulations and that buyers are not burdened with a poor or unenforceable contract after handing over a reservation deposit.  Suddenly TW have turned the negative into their advantage, indeed have now put themselves in a position whereby their competitors look very risky and therefore poorer as a consequence. SBE is now being utilised by several leading banks to assist marketing their repossessed properties which leads me to another example of a company who have discovered a silver lining.

PropertyEarth.co.uk has just launched and this search engine allows investors to identify properties which are “chain-free” i.e. repossessions, builders stock and part exchange homes. The service is free for the investor; lenders and builders pay to have their properties highlighted and separated from the one million or so other homes for sale at any one time. It is unlike any of the numerous property web sites and portals as properties are listed by their potential yield and investment return rather than the usual criteria of location, number of bedrooms, etc.  Some people might look on ventures such as PropertyEarth.co.uk as cashing in on the misfortune of others however I see it very differently. Currently repossessions are advertised via estate agents for several weeks along with all the others for sale with no differentiation at all and then, if they haven’t been bought they end up being sold at auction for a knocked down price.  PropertyEarth.co.uk markets to a very specific audience, property investors, who are more likely to pay a higher price than they would in the auction room in return for the extra time and security they can have to thoroughly investigate each opportunity – consequently the lender and in turn the original borrower/home owner is potentially better off.

The number of boarded up shops on the High Streets across the UK is a clear indicator of the problems retailers are facing and yet for those who wish to expand there is a plethora of choice and some incredible deals available.  Senti.co.uk imports Dr Vranjes room fragrances from Italy, Akeewakee scented candles from America and distributes Kelly Hoppen’s new candles to retailers across the UK and has now decided to take advantage of the recession and explore opening up their own outlets.  In one London “village” alone there are more than 10 shops available, four of them in prime locations and available on very flexible terms with no premiums, break clauses after 12-18 months and rent free periods on top!  This is perhaps a “never seen before, never to be seen again” time for people looking to start up in retail – yes the risks are high but because of the economic problems these can be mitigated by negotiating with landlords desperate to have the rates and insurances paid by someone else. Previously a retailer with no track record would struggle to persuade any property owner to take them on as a tenant whereas now they will be welcomed with open arms – landlords are now experiencing the pain they have inflicted on many in the past.

I have no doubt that in five years time we will look back at 2009 as a year where there were as many opportunities as problems.  Yes things are tough, and the doom and gloom merchants are having a field day, but I suspect there are more entrepreneurs taking advantage of conditions than we get to hear about and these are the people who see the silver lining that every cloud has to offer.