Wednesday, Aug 13, 2008
What do estate agents do all day?
Guardian: What do estate agents do all day?
Why doesn't an estate agent look out of the window in the morning? Because it would give them nothing to do in the afternoon.
Posted by peter_2008 @ 01:06 AM (606 views) Add Comment
12 Comments
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1. mark wadsworth said...
Tee hee.
Here's some anecdotal: A local estate agent opened up a new lettings division in a new office on our High St yesterday, I popped in to say hi and to ask why the letting department didn't just share the offices of the sales department, which are big, well placed and, er, somewhat underutilised.
The chap laughed and said that all the sales people did was refer vendors to him to try and let their houses out 'until the market recovers'
(and no, I didn't find out why the two departments weren't sharing offices)
2. renting2 said...
I gather that they're still quite busy valuing houses at unrealstic prices and showing dreamers around unaffordable property. i.e. engaged in totally profitless tasks.
3. Bobed said...
A sale is required to get the buyers interested. 25% off. Less stamp duty, less interest, estate agents keep their jobs.
4. Prof said...
"Many agents say times are tougher than last time around. Then, high interest rates meant agents could survive on forced sales as people slipped into negative equity. "This time, people can sit on property because interest rates are low," says one."
There`s the solution to get the property market moving again - raise interest rates. Straight from the horse`s mouth.
5. whiteknight said...
Banks loan money to estate agents at the moment.
Ah ha... now i see why these morons have lost all that money
6. mark wadsworth said...
"Why doesn't an estate agent look out of the window in the morning?"
Because it was boarded up after a colleague jumped through it the day before?
7. Keth said...
Heh... I actually work in an estate agent (i am not an estate agent)... i spend most of my time on here, and looking for other jobs.
8. crash bandicoot said...
The estate agent's job is to get the best price for their client. This actually impies that a sale must be made. If they put the house up for sale at a price that won't be met then they are not meeting their obligations. It is a poor defence to say that their clients wanted an unrealistic asking price or that they would not have been given the instruction if they had suggested an appropriate valuation. They are supposed to be property professionals after all............
9. Kruador said...
@crash bandicoot: they have to actually ask the client if they're willing to consider a price drop, though. Romans in Woodley, Reading (strictly Wokingham Borough but it's on the outskirts of Reading Borough, nowhere near Wokingham facilities) dropped the advertised price twice without asking the seller. Because she was monitoring the adverts, she made them put it back up again and make grovelling apologies.
She got a valuation in February, advertised it 1% above valuation, and eventually agreed to 10% below valuation after it didn't shift for three months (and had already moved into a new house). She was damn lucky to get that IMO - apparently it was an investment buyer! Hope he enjoys a 50% drop in the value.
10. Letsgetreadytotumble said...
Do we need EA's these days? Can't the interenet be promoted as a sales tool.
We talk about EA's like they are a necessary part of the house buying/ selling process.
We don't actually need them.
I'm wondering if the demise of EA's might be the opportunity to make the changes.
11. Keth said...
There are a lot of cowboys in the estate agency field. A great many estate agents are run by greedy lazy people... the culture is one of low fees, high values to attract people; rather than be honest and offer a decent service. They employ 'agents' who are nothing more than aggressive 'bottom line' salesmen (not property experts), and office staff who are underpaid. They're suffering now. The death of the 'professional' has been greatly exagerated.
12. Jungli said...
Thinking up new lies about the state of the property 'market'?