Yearly Archives: 2010

Despite many homeowners being worried about a possible double-dip recession, this year’s spring and summer months witnessed a surge of property coming onto the market.

Our portals experienced this too – properties for sale on our sites are up by 30 per cent since February (and in some areas by much more) and, many experts say, it is this imbalance between supply and demand that is driving house prices down, rather than the country’s economic woes.

So we have been looking at the newest addition to the TDPG portfolio, Globrix.com, to see which UK postcodes have seen the largest number of sales and rental properties come on to the market over the past month – and we’ve got the results.

Looking at properties for sale coming on to the market, the busiest is the CRO postcode, which includes the central parts of Croydon, London’s nearest large suburban town, but also covers Addiscombe, Shirley, Addington, New Addington, Forestdale, and Waddon. Within these areas there are currently 1,642 properties for sale at an average price of £214,000.

To read which postcodes follow Croydon in the pecking order, see below.

Do you like a challenge? Then perhaps you’d consider a sixty-mile, day-and-night walk along the south coast or a 300-mile bike ride from London to Paris.

If neither tempts you right now then spare a thought for the hardy TDPG employees who recently completed these challenges and raised £11,000 for charity.

The first gruelling journey took place July when TDPG Chief Executive Mark Milner and Chief Operating Officer Richard Shamsi cycled from London to Paris to raise money for children’s charity Action Medical Research.

Mark and Richard plus six friends (known as The White Knights) got peddling and rode the 300-plus miles from London to the French capital in three days – 24 hours quicker than their previous attempt – and helped raise £9,000.

“The high point of the ride was cycling down the Champs Elysees in Paris ahead of the Tour de France and the low point was the 15-mile detour we took after getting lost,” says Mark Milner.

Their efforts were admirably matched by four other TDPG employees who, also last month, completed this year’s 60-mile Trailwalk on the South Coast. The foursome (pictured) walked day and night across Sussex from Petersfield to Brighton and raised £1,600 for their two charities, Oxfam and the Gurkha Welfare Trust.

Andrew Smith, TDPG’s Research Director, plus Creative Developer Mandip Ahdan, Major Account Manager Roxanne Blankson and Campaign Manager (New Homes) Lisa Smith walked for 23 hours and 12 minutes, arriving to a rapturous welcome from friends and family at the finish.

Andrew says the low points were when night fell on the downs and real fatigue set in but one high point was being met by their support team with Pimms and muffins at 2am.

“It really raised our spirits, despite the burst blisters and aching legs and we went on to smash our previous record at the event,” he says.

High profile industry names have appealed for funds after a British charity cycle duo were hospitalised in the US. Some of the best-known names in the industry are urging agents to help the two fund raisers achieve their £100,000 target after their charity cycle ride across the US was interrupted by a serious road accident.

Last month Midlands estate agent Sean Newman and his friend James Golding set off on a gruelling, 3,500 mile cycle ride between Los Angeles and Miami to raise money for the Macmillan Cancer Fund.

The idea came to them after James, who used to work as an estate agent before moving into construction, was diagnosed with cancer and given a five per cent chance of surviving - but after nine months in hospital, he pulled through.

To thank Macmillan Cancer Fund for the care and support they gave his family, James and Sean, who is MD of West Midlands firm Newman Estate Agents, set off on June 21^st from Los Angeles aiming to cross the US in just 30 days, cycling up to 120 miles a day.

But on the way the duo were hit by a speeding lorry and both were hospitalised with serious injuries. Although James is now recovering fast, Sean is in a more serious state after suffering two broken legs, a broken pelvis, back and numerous other injuries. He is currently undergoing a series of operations.

Their family, friends, colleagues and all of us at TDPG are thinking of them but they still need help. The two remain committed to raising the £100,000 for Macmillan despite their injuries and are appealing to agents across the UK to help with donations.

“Sean is inspirational in the way he runs his business and the work he has done for good causes. All of us at the Estate Agency Foundation and TDPG wish him a speedy recovery. The Foundation’s ‘1 in 1000’ campaign is an opportunity for fellow estate and letting agencies to recognise Sean’s work and lend their support,” says Jon Notley, Sales Director at TDPG.

Peter Knight, Lucy Morton, Michael Robson, Jon Notley and many other members of the Estate Agency Foundation, which is helping coordinate the effort, say that if just 1,000 estate agent branches could donate £100 each then James and Sean’s £100,000 target will be achieved.

“Sean has contributed so much to this industry and it would be great if we could give him a little back now by donating money to the charities that he is so keen to support,” says Peter Knight. “I know that he’s worried at the moment that the accident will stop them delivering on their fund raising promises so if we can lift that burden from his shoulders then he and James will be able concentrate on getting better.”

To help Sean and James reach their target, please donate here

Noel Flint is one of London’s best-known agents and has worked at Knight Frank, where he is a partner, since the 1980s. He currently heads up its Knightsbridge office and his recent work has included the launch of the company’s award-winning website, www.knightfrank.com.

How did you get into estate agency?

I’ve been with Knight Frank for 30 years and I started out as land agent in Herefordshire and then when I had qualified, transferred up to London where – can you believe it? – we had just one office covering Totteridge in the north, across the capital and down to Chislehurst. It wasn’t long before I knew London’s streets better than many black cab drivers.

What sales are you most proud of?

The most thrilling is when I sold The Old Rectory in Chelsea. It was in 1990 and a Greek shipping magnate was in town and his wife contacted me and said she wanted a large house in central London. But she was choosy and we had soon seen almost every property on our books. And then, in a final roll of the dice, I showed her The Old Rectory. It has the largest gardens in London after Buckingham Palace – 2.5 acres – and she put in an offer and bought it. It was and remains one of the most expensive addresses in London, and was sold on in 2001 to another shipping magnate, John Frederiksen, for a reported £46 million in a private sale. But what I loved about that was the strategic game I had to play during the negotiations – I like to think I’m a good gauge of people’s subtle mannerisms and the unspoken signals they give off.

Who have been your most famous clients?

I once sold the house of a very high profile cabinet minister – I can’t say who – but the letter he sent afterwards complimenting me on the sale being a ‘masterpiece of psychological warfare’ still hangs in my toilet. I’ve also had several pop stars in the back of my car.

The recession has been hard for estate agents – but the number of closures hasn’t been as high as expected. Why do you think that is?

This recession has been similar to the last one; estate agents have proved more resilient than people expected. Yes, of course it’s been sad to have to let people go, but I can only speak for London when I say that the trimming hasn’t been too harsh. But after such a strong bull market, it is a good time to re-evaluate your business and look at a new business plan. And it’s worked for us – we’ve doubled our turnover in the past 12 months. Low interest rates are keeping the domestic market at the lower end ticking over, and at the top end it’s the favourable exchange rate that’s helped attract overseas buyers.

Do you think the recession is over?

Looking at current trading conditions, I think that the recession is indeed over.

What have been your worst and best days at work?

The worst was when, on two occasions, I had to report the death of a colleague to my team – it was an incredibly hard thing to do. A less stressful but nevertheless uncomfortable moment was when I had to phone one of the world’s most famous City figures, the late Robert Holmes à Court, and tell him a property transaction had fallen through. He wasn’t a happy man.

The best days at work are when the deals that you’ve masterminded come through. It’s the five minutes afterwards when the call has come through that I like to savour. But I particularly enjoyed the day when I had Annie Lennox in my car. She had recently split from her partner Dave Stewart and was looking for a new home, and was a lovely person.

What does the future hold for estate agents?

The industry is changing very fast. We’ve embraced the internet and 70 per cent of all leads now come from it. But I believe that people still want to deal with a person when it comes to negotiation and I believe there will always be a role for an estate agent. I think portals have made it more difficult for agents to make a name for themselves because buyers and sellers do all the initial research from home and don’t engage directly with the agents so much. One indirect result is that commission sharing is now much less common.

Given unlimited funds, what would be your ideal home?

The trouble is that I’ve been inside so many of London’s prime addresses and seen so many lovely homes that it makes this question difficult to answer! But I’ll have to go for the amazing house I sold many years ago on the west side of The Little Boltons in Kensington and Chelsea. Not too big, lovely high ceilings, a stone staircase and parking. There’s no such thing as the perfect house, but this one offers the fewest compromises.

Thank you very much to Noel Flint for taking the time to speak to us.

This is a regular feature, so if you would like to be interviewed for the TDPG Newsletter, please contact camilla.andersen@tdpg.com

If you step out and take the local perspective it’s usually easy to spot the areas where competition between agents is fierce. The tell-tale signs include a local high street crowded with branches or nearby roads peppered – at least during the boom years – with sale and rental boards.

But on a national level, do agents fight tooth and nail for their slice of the most lucrative and active markets?

After weeks of investigation by the TDPG Research team we can now reveal the Top 20 most competitive housing markets in the UK.  At the head of the list is London’s SW3 (Chelsea, Brompton and parts of Knightsbridge). This is where, at the moment, 720 properties are for sale and 75 agents battle it out to sell or let some of the world’s most expensive and desirable homes.

The No.2 is another upmarket London area, W8 (Kensington and Holland Park), where 611 properties are for sale and 53 agents are in competition. But not all the ‘hot’ markets are in central London – just six out of the top 20 are the usual, multi-million-pound property suspects.

The third most competitive is GL50 (Cheltenham), followed by EX1 (Exeter), SW7 (South Kensington, London), NG1 (Nottingham), DE1 (Derby) and KT11 (Cobham, Surrey).

“Postcodes that estate agents compete in the most fiercely are usually densely populated and in either central urban or highly desirable rural or suburban locations,” says Andrew Smith, TDPG’s Research Director. “This is true regardless of where you look and this gives our list such a wide geographical reach from Corby to Cobham.”

The research examined postcodes containing more than 6,000 households and related this with the number of agents operating locally and the level of sales. So, for example, in BS8 (Bristol) there is one agent for every 387 households – placing the area at No.17. But SW3, by comparison, has an agent for every 194 households.

The full list

If there’s one thing the emergency budget proved, it’s how important an active property market is to the coalition. Chancellor George Osborne’s budget may have slashed benefits, raised taxes, duties and frozen civil service pay packs and yet property has survived largely unscathed.

Yes, he’s to review the Stamp Duty holiday for first time buyers and has tinkered with the fringes including a limit on housing benefit, but the big news from the budget was the immediate increase in Capital Gains Tax to 28 per cent for higher rate tax payers. There are approximately four million people in the UK who earn enough to pay the top income rate tax of 40% on an income of between £37,500 and £150,000 a year or, if you earn over £150,000, 50%.

For middle-income earners – namely those earning up to £37,500 – Capital Gains Tax remains the same.

So the higher CGT will only impact higher income bracket earners who are landlords looking to sell off their buy-to-let property now – which at any one time is thought to be approximately 50,000 (or 5%) of the UK’s one million buy-to-let investors – with another 50,000 facing the new higher rate on sales of other, non-property assets.

But if they were planning to sell up now then the tax-revenue argument kicks in. Too much tax and people avoid it instead. So people will simply delay selling their buy-to-let properties – particularly as the rental market is strong at the moment as short supply and high demand forces rents sky high.

But many property experts think Osborne has shut the stable door too late. Most of the country’s ‘reluctant’ landlords have already sold up and exited the buy-to-let market.

The most severe impact on the market may be to subdue demand for buy-to-let properties, particularly new builds. Investors wary of CGT remaining high for a prolonged period may decide property investment is not for them.

Lastly, the VAT rate hike is also unlikely to upset the market. New builds or conversions completed as a business projects are zero-rate – i.e. people can reclaim the VAT on building materials and services after the project is finished. So the only pain is that you’ll need to pay an extra 2.5% upfront in VAT before claiming it back.

Gavin West is one of the most experienced and thoughtful agents in the country. He entered the business in 1983 after seeing his local estate agent undertaking viewings in his gleaming Bentley – the choice between an estate agency career or rock stardom had to be made.

Today he owns Kemp and Kemp Residential in Oxfordshire which, as well as being strong in residential and commercial sales, is one of the county’s largest land agents and planning consultancies.

Are the Cotswolds and Oxfordshire markets closely linked to London’s fortunes or do they have a life of their own?

Our work takes us across Oxfordshire and surrounding counties but the Cotswolds is a prime target for us. The residential market in the Cotswolds isn’t inextricably linked to London, unless you are talking about prime properties. People often think the Cotswolds is about high end second homes but there is considerable demand among the area’s local working population as well as empty nesters moving to this much coveted area of the English countryside. But at the top of the market in The Cotswolds, international buyers are most certainly driving prices for country houses and prime sporting estates.

How has the credit crunch affected your business/market – what has been your strategy to survive it?

In Oxfordshire the top end of the market has survived unscathed and at the moment the market for homes over £2m is more robust than it was in 2007. This is particularly true of North Oxford with its blue chip areas around schools such as Oxford High, The Dragon School, Magdalen School, Headington School and St Edwards – the market here is driven by high net worth parents who are a very international crowd seeking the high levels of attainment of these reputable schools.

We have survived the recession through very careful cost management and we brought on board a non-executive director figure who has enabled us to strengthen management during a trying period.

Is this your first downturn and if not, how do you think this one is different?

I have now survived three recessions including the year I began my career in 1983. But this one is both worse than its predecessors and truly odd too because the market is being kept alive by low supply and low interest rates. But 2008 was a horrible year and I haven’t seen such an acute contraction in supply before. Even during the worst downturns, sales in the UK have not dipped below a million nationally but we are currently bumping along at well below this level. Whilst the market feels robust enough there is still a sense of fragility and a negative twist in national/global economics could change things overnight.

What did you do before becoming an estate agent – how did you get into property?

I was a musician and played guitar including jazz and rock music and it still remains my back up plan if there is a global market meltdown – people will always want to be entertained! But by 1980 it was time to get a real job and I started work in London within the marine re-insurance market. Then one day I saw a well-known agent driving around in a Bentley and realised where I really wanted to work – how shallow! In 1996 I became involved in the buyout of a famous agency brand which was very successful but in 2001 I sold my shares in that business, spent a couple of years relaxing in France and came back to the UK in 2003 and established my own business.

What has been your best and worst day at work and why?

I think the best day was when, after a company Christmas party in London in 2000, I got a phone call from my wife to say she was pregnant with our first child, a daughter. The worst days have bizarrely been when I left my two previous firms, both of which I had had a great time working for and they were both highly influential in shaping me as an agent and businessman.

What makes Kemp & Kemp different from other agents?
We wanted to take the national names on at their own game in the mid to high-end markets and, compared to their very traditional ways, bring a modern and more stylish approach to marketing both in printed media terms and of course web marketing. These days they are playing catch-up but this only sharpens our game and we change our approach by degrees in order to maintain an edge – we are up against some highly established brands who have considerable war chests in terms of marketing spend but there is nothing quite as driven as the owners of a business undertaking the task themselves, because it matters more to them. Kemp and Kemp is also a seven days a week business and we use technology to enable that; we don’t have to be at our desks to be ready to service our clients. Again, this differentiates us from competitors in our sector but accessibility is also another key marketing edge.

Who is the most famous or interesting buyer to come through your doors?

Two spring to mind. The late George Melly, the jazz and blues singer and great English eccentric, came in to my office in the early 90s. He was witty, charming and the character we’d all hoped him to be and more. More recently in Oxford I met the actress Emma Watson of Harry Potter fame and I’m afraid, yes, I did ask for her autograph – for my niece, of course!

If you had unlimited funds, what would be your dream home and where would you live – UK or overseas?

It’s not a dream – it’s where I will end up. I have a plan to buy a chateau or manoir in Burgundy over the coming 5 years. Ideally with river frontage so I can generate my own hydro-electric power and go “off grid”, and it’s where I will practise (being the operative word) the fine art of viticulture and try to grow the Burgundian equivalent of Le Pin.

We would like to thank Gavin for taking the time to answer our questions.

This is a regular feature, so if you would like to be interviewed for the TDPG Newsletter, please contact camilla.andersen@tdpg.com

Lucy Morton is managing partner at Knightsbridge-based firm W A Ellis which covers residential sales, lettings and management.  She is the former President of the Association of Residential Lettings Agents (ARLA) and a director of both NFOPP and CLEA. W A Ellis is one of the leading names in the capital’s prime central lettings market and also acts on behalf of the big London estates– Cadogan, Ilchester, Crown and Grosvenor.

What sort of lettings do you specialise in?
Anything really, from £250 per week studios to £40,000 per week prime houses.

Did the volcano eruption affect your business?
If it had lasted much longer, then we would have begun to worry about our pipeline as so many of our tenants are from overseas, but it did have some positive effects.  For example, an American banker who was trapped here over the weekend by the volcano dust cloud decided to bring his UK home hunting forward – he is due to move here anyway in the summer – and we showed him a substantial property which he is currently interested in renting.

How has the recession affected the prime central lettings market?
Overall the number of properties available to let is down by 60%.  City employees, who make up a large majority of our tenants, have been staying put and hunkering down during the recession so fewer properties are being released back onto the market.   We are a good barometer for the City because we know which banks are hiring and which are not – i.e. the first thing a new arrival needs is somewhere to live.  From the terrifying days when Lehman’s went down to last year, it has been a tenant’s market – rents were dropping, driven by supply outweighing demand, and tenants were negotiating down when their lease came up for renewal.  The savvier ones even asked for two to three year price lock-ins, but we advised landlords not to commit to more than two years, which has proved wise counsel.

So which way is the market going at the moment?
During the banking crisis rents dropped by between 20% and 30% but the acute lack of stock at the moment means they are rising again – fast.  There are plenty of potential tenants around too, one trend being the ‘reluctant tenant’.  They are relatively wealthy 30-somethings who would prefer to buy but can’t get a mortgage, so they’re stuck for the moment in the rental sector.  Also, families who can’t or won’t sell their homes but need more space are letting their existing houses and renting bigger ones elsewhere – a client of ours recently did this and moved from Fulham to Kensington to be nearer their daughter’s school.

What have been your worst and best days at work?
The worst was 9/11 when we all realised suddenly that the world was a dangerous place.  At least 50% of our tenants are Americans and for a while they were quite understandably afraid to fly or even be away from home.  The best days are when we sign a lease for £10,000 or more a week – I love the buzz.  But the most rewarding day was when I became ARLA President so that I could put something back into the industry that has served me so well for many years.

What’s it been like being ARLA president – would you do it again?
It’s had a glamorous side including interviews on Radio 5 Live and lots of public speaking – something I hadn’t done before really – but it’s also been hard work on top of my day job.  But when you do this role there’s lots of support offered by Peter Bolton-King and his team at the National Federation of Property Professionals in Warwick.   I’ve visited many regions and tried to meet as many ARLA members and fly the ARLA flag.  The biggest focus of my time at ARLA has been to encourage the government to regulate the industry and we’ve made some progress.  I handed over to my successor Sue Hughes-Thomas on 14th May. 

How is the lettings market different to property sales?
I think it’s much more demanding and you have to generally work at a much faster pace, as quite often you are on call 24-7.  Once I had a tenant phone me up at 1am in the morning to tell me that she had locked herself out of her bedroom and ‘could a locksmith come around’ and get her in.  I was tempted to ask if she might consider sleeping in the spare bedroom, but that’s not the point – the customer is king!

If you had unlimited funds, what would be your ideal home?
I live in Fulham with my husband Guy and three boys, Henry who is 15 and my twins, Will and George who are 10.  As Guy is half Swiss, I guess our ideal home would be a house in the mountains as they are all intrepid skiers and tend to leave me behind on the mountain.  All you can hear is the echo of ‘Hurry up, mummy!’

We would like to thank Lucy for talking time out of her busy schedule to speak to us.

This is a regular feature, so if you would like to be interviewed for the TDPG Newsletter, please contact camilla.andersen@tdpg.com

Have you ever wanted to contact TDPG but don’t want to pick up the phone or use email? To support customers in this position, we’ve launched a first in the property portal business – a ‘Live Chat’ service for agents who want to ask questions and solve queries using online, real-time conversations.

By visiting the Live Chat site and entering their details – including name and company – and then clicking the ‘Chat’ button, TDPG customers can communicate directly with one of our technical support specialists, making us the only portal to offer this personalised service.

Another innovative service launched this month is the Personal Advertising Assistant, which TDPG’s Customer Care Team offers on the phone to agents to enable them to make the most of their advertising on the sites, including help with our property market toolkit, Insight, and maximising advertising opportunities.

Customers can also order sales literature more easily now. TDPG has launched a new page on its site where agents can order all of the marketing material for FindaProperty.com and Primelocation.com for free – including window stickers, window cards, flyers and leaflets, and stationery including pens, notepads and key rings.

All of these features are available on www.tdpg.com.

In his early days Peter Knight worked for some of the biggest names in property before leaving to set up a successful PR and marketing firm. He’s also an ardent supporter of several good causes, including the Estate Agency Foundation. At the moment he’s busy launching The Academy’s new accredited online training programmes.

You used to be a big name at Halifax Property Services – why did you leave to set up a PR company?

During the 1980s I helped build up Jackson Property Services, but in 1988 it was bought by the Halifax and turned into its property arm with me heading up its 120 branches in London. Working there did my head in as I felt that, at the time, Halifax still had a very narrow-minded, building-society culture. So I decided I wanted to do something different but still stay in the industry. In my front lounge I set up Phoenix PLC with the aim of establishing an integrated property design, marketing and PR agency. It’s now a leading name, working with a diverse range of companies including architects, house builders, estate agents, building trade suppliers and government agencies.

We’ve heard you love cycling – are you a frustrated Chris Hoy at heart?

No – but I do love keeping fit and part of my fundraising for the International Childcare Trust has been to cycle to the projects I support and make a more direct connection. I’ve completed fund-raising rides across India and Sri Lanka. But I enjoy walking too and in September I am to climb Mount Kilimanjaro with 15 international rugby captains to raise funds for another charity, the Velindre Cancer’s Stepping Stones Appeal.

The recession has been harsh for estate agents – but the number of closures hasn’t been as high as expected. Why do you think that is?

Despite everything that’s said about agents, they’re a hardy breed and street savvy. Most have battened down the hatches, made difficult decisions about staffing and, particularly if they own their own branch freeholds, survived and even prospered during the recession. One of my clients, Romans, had one of their most successful years ever in 2009, breaking through the £2 million a branch revenue barrier, so for some people it’s been a time of opportunity. But it’s still been very tough.

What would you say have been your best and worst days at work to date – and why?

The best was five years ago. I took the senior management team at Romans to Spain’s La Manga for a week to create a new direction for the business, and it’s something they have followed through successfully. 

The worst days are the ones when, occasionally, I have to deal with the small-minded dinosaurs you come across in the industry, which can be deeply frustrating.

What is The Academy and why did you launch it?

There are great qualifications for estate agents, such as the NAEA’s Technical Award, but I felt that these could be improved on, mainly because agents struggle to find the time and money to leave their desks and go on courses. So I’ve launched an online business that enables agents to access training while they are working. For example, if a trainee agent is writing a property advert and knows it has to comply with the Misdescriptions Act, where can they access the knowledge both there and then and as part of a structured learning environment? The Academy will bring customer service, business objectives and legal and technical training together for the first time, online.

What do you think the estate agency business will look like in 10 or 20 years’ time?

The industry will become more focused on long-term relationships. At the moment we ‘eat what we kill’ and struggle to sustain relationships because it is a sales-dominated business. The industry is already switching to lettings as well as sales in order to secure more long-term relationships. Also, more agents may go ‘freelance’ and become individual experts in their area and offer a more personalised service. Customer relationship management will become more important.

Do you think social media will be a key tool in online estate agent marketing – or is it a passing fad?

There’s a story that a very well-known builder once said that only five per cent of homes would ever be marketed online. The internet now dominates the industry and Twitter and Facebook are expanding fast, and yes, there are Luddites who like to complain. But the trick is, if you embrace social media then don’t do it crudely – be appropriate. You are never going to sell homes via Facebook, YouTube or your blog straight off, but by putting effort in and being patient you can grow a relevant and useful fan base that will help your marketing effort.

If you had access to limitless funds, what would you call your ideal home and why?
I built the house I call home and therefore would stay put. But I would love one day to buy a ski chalet in the Swiss Alps, so if I had limitless funds that’s where I’d choose.

Massive thanks to Peter for taking time out of his very busy schedule to answer our questions.

This is a regular feature, so if you would like to be interviewed for the TDPG Newsletter, please contact camilla.andersen@tdpg.com

Michael Robson is Chief Executive of Andrews & Partners, the estate agent with a heart founded to fund three charitable trusts. Michael has 35 years in the industry and has been Chief Executive since the age of 36. Michael is also a trustee for the Estate Agency Foundation which is supported by The Digital Property Group.

He takes the hot seat for this month’s five-minute interview.

How and why did you get involved with the Estate Agency Foundation? 

I have quite a long history with trusts and foundations and so I was aware of the positive partnership that can be formed. As we all know, estate agents tend to come across relatively poorly in the media – we’re not thought of as being as professional as, say, a lawyer or surveyor. If estate agents could realise what a fantastic opportunity there is to redress that balance by contributing to charity, I think in time the media would pick up on the contribution rather than focusing on the negative reputation.

Is Andrews different to other estate agents?

Andrews is still a commercial outfit that competes just like everyone else and has to make a profit, so in that respect, no. But I do think that, due to our unique heritage, we hold some very strong values: integrity, transparency, straightforwardness, reliability, caring. I would be confident that, if you spoke to any of our staff and asked them what we were like as a company, they would use these words. I would be really disappointed if they didn’t.

What has been the biggest impact of the credit crunch on your business?

There is no doubt that 2008 was awful, the most difficult year I’ve ever seen. The worst thing was letting 150 staff go, although we were able to redeploy 40 of them into lettings and management.

On the positive side, it has led to us being a leaner and more efficient organisation. We’ve had to work much, much harder, and be sharper and more competitive. We’ve learnt that we have to treat customers better, and work harder to retain them.

What is your view on licensing of estate agents?

I would support it, and I always have supported it. I don’t think there’s anything to fear from it. There is a need for estate agents to up their professional competency. I think it does worry people that just anybody could open up an estate agency tomorrow, with no experience. You need more training to be a driving instructor than you do to be an estate agent. And when you think what clients are asking you to do and how much we charge them for it, I think they have a right to demand that the industry is regulated.

What does the future hold for estate agents?

We’ve got a lot of challenges ahead. Anyone who thinks the world is going to be the same in five years’ time has a lot of thinking to do. We’re living in a digital age, and you have to learn to adapt very quickly. People expect more and different things now – they won’t be satisfied with a flog-it-and-forget-it mentality.

What’s next for Andrews & Partners?

We’re in a unique position in the league table as we’re neither a huge corporation nor a tiny firm. For us, the most important thing to focus on now is improving market share and continuing our steady growth. We have a very good reputation as a middle-market business but we have to learn how to attract vendors with houses between £500,000 and £1 million.

What did you do before being an agent? 

I was a mechanical engineer with the Dowty Group – I did a five-year student apprenticeship with them. At that time, during the 1970s, it was dominated by disputes between the management and the unions. I didn’t want to spend my time on strike, I wanted to work. I longed to be in a more people-orientated business and to shine as an individual, which is difficult to do in the engineering world, but is something I can do in this business.

Massive thanks to Michael for taking time out of his very busy schedule to answer our questions.

This is a regular feature, so if you would like to be interviewed for the TDPG Newsletter, please contact camilla.andersen@tdpg.com

David Pollock is managing director of Greene and Co, one of the UK’s best-known, most innovative and successful estate agencies which, as well as covering some of London’s most glamorous northern postcodes, has been helped by David’s ability to enlist famous friends to help steer its fortunes.

We pinned him down this week for a five-minute interview.

What’s all this about famous friends?
Both Julian Richer of Richer Sounds, John Hitchcox of developer YOO and Harry Handelsman, the founder of Manhattan Loft Corporation have at one point or another been kind enough to offer me both their friendship and business advice. I am just friends with Julian these days, but Harry and John are still involved in the business and also mates.

Where are you based?

Greene and Co covers Belsize Park, Crouch End, Maida Vale and West Hampstead in North London. I also own Urban Spaces, an agency specialising in loft-style apartments that’s based in Clerkenwell.

What do you think of today’s property market?

I can’t get my head round it, really. I would understand the speed if I had seen the pain but despite the depth of the downturn very few agents or developers in London have gone bust. It’s like someone who’s been punched but doesn’t bleed or wince – you know it must be hurting so you wonder how they’re covering it up. So far the market has been shielded from the credit crunch by both low interest rates and low stock levels, so I wonder what will happen if rates start to rise again or properties flood onto the market.

What other big market changes have you noticed?

The downturn has created uncertainly both for buyers and sellers – and this makes everything more difficult because people don’t know what to do. A couple of years ago the selling cycle was easier to manage – if a vendor got an offer it was likely that it would be higher or lower the longer they held out, depending on the market. At the moment offers made in week one are often the same as ones made in week ten. People just don’t know.

Are you recruiting at the moment?

We only recently started recruiting again, partly to be positive about the market and partly because we decided to approach new homes sales differently and we’re recruiting for that. Basically, we can now enable developers to outsource their sales rather than having to run it in-house.

Why do you use portals?

It’s all about cost. At the start of the credit crunch we looked at ours and in particular our cost per lead. The figures were something like 68p a lead online and £4 a lead when we advertised in a newspaper. I’m not saying papers aren’t important. They matter particularly when it comes to keeping customers happy as a big colour ad can be shown to all their friends. But as a business the portals are the quickest and cheapest way to get to market. It’s like having a national, rather than street-level, for sale board.

What have been the worst days, and best days of your career?

The worst days are when I’ve had to get rid of people we’ve wanted to keep in the business but couldn’t – I believe we are an innovative and caring company when it comes to staff, so having to let them go is pretty horrible. The best days are those when you really enjoy the thrill of the deal – whatever form that takes.

What makes Greene and Co different to other agencies?

We always assume that we’ve got to do better – that ‘we’re not there yet’. And that applies to all areas of the business including managing people, customers, everything.

What are your tips for surviving a recession?

You’ve got to cut costs quickly and harshly – it’s better to overreact than to under react. And then, at the same time, go out and look for any opportunity you can find to bring business in.

Why did you go into estate agency?

I left home at 16 and the only work experience I’d got was a few Saturday jobs. But I had always admired a friend of the family, Reggie Shaw, who ran one of London’s most high profile agents – Druce and Co (which lists on The Digital Property websites) -  and I’d always looked up to him. So off I went to be an estate agent. It was perfect. I had left school with no qualifications but here was a job I could do that didn’t need any.

Massive thanks to David Pollock for taking time out of his very busy schedule to answer our questions.

This is a regular feature in our newsletter, so if you would like to be interviewed for the TDPG Newsletter, please contact camilla.andersen@tdpg.com