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EXPLORING CONSUMER
ATTITUDES TOWARDS
ESTATE AGENTS
1.
IN TRO DUCTION
Consumers have never been better informed than
now. At their fingertips is a near-limitless supply of
constantly-updated information about products and
services that previous generations could not have
imagined.
Yet if one thing remains true throughout history, it
is that everyone needs a roof over their head. In the
contemporary world that means the majority of us
will at some point have dealings with an estate agent,
either as buyers and sellers, landlords or tenants.
It is almost a truism now to say that the property
market suffers from a poor reputation, with trust and
confidence in estate agents in short supply. Nearly
everyone is familiar with anecdotes about inadequate
service, over-pricing or unresponsive staff. The stories
continue despite the fact that year after year property
prices continue to rise and millions of houses and flats
are bought, sold and let.
This report, explores attitudes towards estate agents,
using research conducted by polling firm Censuswide,
commissioned by reviews and insights company
Feefo that drew on the direct experiences of 1,152 UK
consumers, asking them to offer clues as to how the
industry might evolve.
WHAT DO THEY LOOK FOR FROM
ESTATE AGENTS AND WHAT ARE THE
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THEIR
CHOICES? WHAT CHANGES THEY
WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN THE INDUSTRY
AND DO THEY THINK TECHNOLOGY
HAS A FURTHER ROLE TO PLAY?
✓
KEY DISCOVER IES:
✓C
onsumers have more positive attitudes towards
estate agents than commonly supposed, with the
majority saying the last agent they used was efficient
and effective
✓P
aperwork and the booking of appointments are
the annoyances that respondents would most like
removed by technology. Younger consumers are
more positive about the ability of technologies such
as virtual reality and artificial intelligence to improve
levels of service
✓ L ow fees are most important when consumers
What do people look for when it comes to service
from estate agents and what are the factors that
influence their choices? What changes they would like
to see in the industry, do they think new technologies,
such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality and
artificial intelligence (AI) has a further role to play?
And how are online customer reviews impacting
decision making?
The most interesting results have been selected for
this report, but to discuss the research further please
contact us at [email protected]
decide between online-only and traditional estate
agents, but only by a very narrow margin. Quality
of service is almost as decisive a factor
✓ T rust plays a big role in which estate agent
consumers select, with knowledge of the local
market the dominant factor when they have their
properties valued
✓R
eviews are rapidly growing in influence and are
especially important to the younger age groups
1. Introduction
2. The customer experience
3. T
he impact of technology
4. Traditional versus online
5. O
ther key influences in
decision making
6. The impact of customer reviews
Matt West
Chief Marketing Officer
03
2.
THE C USTOMER EXPERIENCE
As easy as it is to find people to talk down estate
agents, Feefo’s research reveals a startlingly positive
set of attitudes among consumers. When, for instance,
we asked them which of a series of statements they
agreed with, more than half of respondents (52%)
said the last estate agent they used was efficient and
effective, with almost a quarter (24%) saying their
agent had obtained a good deal for them.
Similarly, although the number of buy-to-let properties
has proliferated in the last decade, producing many
more landlords who deal with estate agents on a
regular basis, the general level of satisfaction remains
high. Only 14% of landlords claimed that their last
dealing with an estate agent was a disappointing
experience in which there was a failure to deliver.
In fact, when respondents were asked what it was
they liked about the service they received, the largest
group (44%) said it was the speed with which queries
were answered.
52% of consumers say the
last estate agent they used was
efficient and effective
Just 12% of consumers said
their agent failed to deliver
Indeed only 12% of respondents thought that the
last agent they used failed to deliver and was
disappointing.
44
%
44% of consumers liked
how quickly their agent
responded to queries
Almost half (49%) of the older group above the age
of 55, rated this as a positive aspect of how their
agent behaved. The good news for estate agents
on this measure was, however, more plentiful in some
regions than others. More than half of respondents
in the East Midlands (53%) and Birmingham (51%)
were impressed with how quickly their queries were
responded to, while the corresponding figure was
50% in both Northern Ireland and Brighton. Leeds
and Bristol on the other hand, registered the lowest
percentages on this measure (35% respectively).
3.
TH E I M PACT O F T E C H NO LO GY
Technology has certainly transformed
the business of estate agency. While allimportant advertising long since became a
predominantly online experience, now the
further advances of digitisation hold out the
promise of greater administrative efficiency
and more immersive experiences, allowing
buyers for example, to take 3D tours of
properties that have caught their eye without
having to visit them, saving time and effort.
Attitudes to these developments, which will
require substantial investment, are not clearcut, however, and with this mind, the survey
explored where consumers feel technology
will bring them significant benefits.
05
The responses indicate that paperwork remains
a real bugbear, being the one task the largest
proportion of customers (46%) would love to see
technology sort out for them. Next on the list was
reference-checking (36%), followed by booking
appointments (34%).
46
%
46% of consumers want
technology to sort out
paperwork
36% believe checking
references could be
improved by technology
32
%
36%
32% say virtual reality
tours of properties will make
transactions easier
36% of men favour virtual reality
tours compared with 29% of
women
While nearly a third (32%) thought that VR tours
of properties would make buying, selling, letting
or renting easier, substantially more (48%) thought
online booking of appointments would be an
advantage.
Attitudes to technology divided according to gender
and age. More men, for example (36%), were in
favour of VR tours than women (29%), and perhaps
unsurprisingly, the 16-to-24 age group had the
greatest level of belief that technology will transform
estate agency. More than a quarter (26%) of this age
group said they can see that VR and the advance
of artificial intelligence will replace more traditional
methods of conducting business that currently
require human interaction. This contrasts with the
mere nine per cent of the over-55s who see these
technologies as having such potential.
There is perhaps a reassuring message for estate
agents that not everyone wishes to see them
replaced with algorithms. Nearly one fifth (19%) of
respondents said that not only did they not believe
new technologies would transform the industry, they
were also pleased that it wouldn’t be transformed.
This suspicion of technology was highest among
sellers (26%).
19% don’t
believe technology
will transform the
industry
19
%
4.
TR AD I TI O NAL V E R S U S O NL I NE
The emergence of online-only estate agents
in the UK has grabbed headlines, particularly
since the most high-profile among them
announced that it had moved into profit at the
end of 2016. Yet their impact, at least for the
time being, has not shattered the prevailing
model that combines high-street offices with
websites and portals displaying thousands of
properties.
The survey explored whether the low fee
structures of online-only companies are the
primary attractions for consumers. From a list
of factors that influence their choice between
online-only and more traditional estate agents,
low fees certainly did top the list but only by a
very narrow margin. While 35% of respondents
chose this as the most important factor, 34%
put quality of service at the top of their lists.
35% say low fees are
important when it comes to
deciding between online and
traditional estate agents,
but 34% say it is
quality of service that
counts
There are two sides to reviews: the overall rating,
and the written review itself. Both quantitative and
qualitative aspects are important: the tone and
language that reviews are using, as well as their overall
star rating, both play a part. Our research revealed that
consumers look for these two aspects of a review above
all else.
The roles of respondents in the market also seemed
to have a bearing on their answers. Sellers (41%) and
landlords (38%) were more concerned with quality of
service, whereas buyers and renters said low fees were
uppermost in their minds (35% and 36% respectively).
Only 13% of respondents viewed ease-of-use as a
determining factor and even less (10%) thought they
would be swayed by the number of properties on offer
from an agency, whether online-only or conventional.
07
28% say being able to trust the
agent is most important
5.
16% follow recommendations
from family and friends
OTHER KEY INFLUENCES
IN DECISION MAKING
The survey also sought to establish the other
factors that are influential when consumers
decide which estate agent to use, irrespective of
business model. Buying and selling a property are
the biggest personal transactions most people
conduct and are not undertaken frequently.
With so much riding on the outcome, how do
consumers choose who to go to?
The survey asked respondents to choose from a
list of potentially decisive factors and found that
by far the most influential for consumers was the
feeling that they can trust the agent. This was
chosen by 28%, with recommendations from
family and friends the next biggest, selected by
16%. The belief that the agent they have chosen
will get them the best deal was a factor for 15%.
Location was the primary factor for 14%, while online
reviews were most important to 10% of respondents.
Interestingly, online reviews were the dominant
influence among nearly a quarter (24%) of the 16-24
age group, compared with just four per cent of those
aged 55 and more. Reviews also mattered most to
renters (16%) compared with buyers, sellers and
landlords for whom the average was six per cent.
The responses were similar for all respondents,
irrespective of role, although understandably, sellers
laid slightly more stress on obtaining the best deal
(18% compared with an average of 13% for the
rest). Buyers and sellers were more likely to rely on
personal recommendation (17%) than landlords and
renters (14%).
When consumers were asked for the three qualities
they had most wanted from an estate agent when
their property was last valued, however, the highest
proportion opted for knowledge of the local market
(42%), followed by wanting the company to get
them the best deal (34%). Speed and efficiency
were most important for a quarter (25%). The human
touch also still counts. More than one in five said
they wanted their estate agent to be friendly and
approachable. It seems that once consumers have
chosen which agency they will use, they have firmer
ideas about what they want from a specific piece
of work.
42% rate knowledge of the
local market most highly in a
valuing agent
34% put the ability to get
them the best deal top of their
list of qualities
09
6.
THE IMPACT OF CUSTOMER
REVIEWS
Reviews, especially online, are becoming
ever-more crucial as consumers use them
to assist with big decisions about goods and
services. The survey examined how they are used
by prospective customers in the property market
where competition is so fierce and differentiation
hard to achieve. The results show that reviews
now have very significant influence, with 56%
of respondents saying they read them before
deciding which estate agent to use. In Scotland,
two thirds of respondents (66%) said they read
reviews for this purpose. A high percentage of
renters (68%) also reads reviews first.
56% use reviews to choose
an estate agent
70% of 25−34 year olds rely on reviews when
selecting an agent
68%
Very strikingly, 70% of 25-to-34-year-olds said they
rely on reviews before they decide on an estate agent,
(compared with 40% of those aged 55 and above).
The figures indicate very directly how estate agents
will need to make sure they fully adjust to this trend,
which is bound to gather pace as the property market is
entered by more young people completely accustomed
to apprising themselves of online review content before
making a decision.
Trust however, remains an issue, with only one in ten
(10%) saying they completely trust reviews. The findings
show that the older a respondent is, the less likely they
are to place complete trust in reviews. However, 30%
said they trust reviews “to a great extent” and 58%
“to some extent”.
68% of renters read reviews first
when deciding on an agent
To conclude, while consumers have more positive
attitudes towards estate agents than commonly
supposed, the quality of service and trust are key
decisive factors for people when choosing and working
with an agent.
The introduction of new technologies will no doubt
continue to impact the property industry, and the
adoption of trusted reviews from verified customers
will affect people’s buying decisions. For any agent that
values its relationships with its customers, and wants
to grow, placing customers and service at the heart of
everything they do will no doubt be crucial for success.
11
Fancy a chat? Get in touch with
questions, and our friendly Feefo
team will be happy to help you.
UK: +44 203 362 4209
US: +1 617 861 0611
Australia: +617 5406 1249
[email protected]
www.feefo.com