EXPLORING CONSUMER ATTITUDES TOWARDS ESTATE AGENTS

Trustworthy, real reviews and customer insights to boost

business & build trust

Feefo helps any company that values its customer-

relationships and wants to expand, and enables people

to make more informed decisions about what to buy and who to do business with

1.

1. Introduction

2. The customer experience

3. The impact of technology

4. Traditional versus online

5. Other key influences in decision making

6. The impact of customer reviews

INTRODUCTION

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 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 marketing@feefo.com

Matt West Chief Marketing Officer

03

✓ KEY DISCOVERIES:

✓ Consumers have more positive attitudes towards estate agents than commonly supposed, with the majority saying the last agent they used was efficient and effective

✓ Paperwork 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

✓ Low fees are most important when consumers decide between online-only and traditional estate agents, but only by a very narrow margin. Quality of service is almost as decisive a factor

✓ Trust 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

✓ Reviews are rapidly growing in influence and are especially important to the younger age groups

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?

Technology has certainly transformed the business of estate agency. While all-important 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 clear-cut, however, and with this mind, the survey explored where consumers feel technology will bring them significant benefits.

3.THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY

05

2.THE CUSTOMER 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.

Indeed only 12% of respondents thought that the last agent they used failed to deliver and was disappointing.

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.

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).

44% of consumers liked how quickly their agent responded to queries

44 %

52% of consumers say the last estate agent they used was efficient and effective

Just 12% of consumers said their agent failed to deliver

07

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.

4.TRADITIONAL VERSUS ONLINE

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.

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

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%).

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%).

46% of consumers want technology to sort out paperwork

46 %

32% say virtual reality tours of properties will make transactions easier

32 %

36% believe checking references could be improved by technology 36%

36% of men favour virtual reality tours compared with 29% of women

19% don’t believe technology will transform the industry

19 %

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.

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%.

5.OTHER KEY INFLUENCES IN DECISION MAKING

42% rate knowledge of the local market most highly in a valuing agent

28% say being able to trust the agent is most important

16% follow recommendations from family and friends

09

34% put the ability to get them the best deal top of their list of qualities

11

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”.

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.

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.

6.THE IMPACT OF CUSTOMER REVIEWS

70% of 25−34 year olds rely on reviews when selecting an agent

68%

56% use reviews to choose an estate agent

68% of renters read reviews first when deciding on an agent

Fancy a chat? Get in touch with questions, and our friendly Feefo

team will be happy to help you.

UK: +44 203 362 4209US: +1 617 861 0611

Australia: +617 5406 1249

Sales@feefo.comwww.feefo.com