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| Should we feel sorry for estate agents? | Should we feel sorry for estate agents? |
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| By Tom Geoghegan BBC News Magazine Do estate agents get a rough deal? | By Tom Geoghegan BBC News Magazine Do estate agents get a rough deal? |
| With the housing market slowing down, times are hard for estate agents. But given their reputation - however unfair - will people care? | With the housing market slowing down, times are hard for estate agents. But given their reputation - however unfair - will people care? |
| "Sympathy" and "estate agent" are not words often found in the same sentence. | "Sympathy" and "estate agent" are not words often found in the same sentence. |
| Characterised as pushy and insincere, the good ones, just like journalists and politicians, are viewed as the exception rather than the rule. | Characterised as pushy and insincere, the good ones, just like journalists and politicians, are viewed as the exception rather than the rule. |
| But given the doom and gloom headlines about the housing market, how badly are they suffering? | But given the doom and gloom headlines about the housing market, how badly are they suffering? |
| As they depend so directly on sales, the fall in mortgages does not make happy reading. Between November and February, the monthly figure for mortgages on new homes fell from 80,000 to below 50,000, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). | |
| It's tough out there, says Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the National Association of Estate Agents, but save your sympathy because it's only the bad ones who are going to the wall. | It's tough out there, says Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the National Association of Estate Agents, but save your sympathy because it's only the bad ones who are going to the wall. |
| "Estate agents offering a good service, qualified people who know what they're doing and employ quality people, they always rise above others in this kind of market. The cream rises to the top. | "Estate agents offering a good service, qualified people who know what they're doing and employ quality people, they always rise above others in this kind of market. The cream rises to the top. |
| "So far the people closing offices and laying off staff, the feeling I'm getting is it's not our members - it's not the older established agents - it's those who set up in the boom period and thought 'Anyone can sell property'. | "So far the people closing offices and laying off staff, the feeling I'm getting is it's not our members - it's not the older established agents - it's those who set up in the boom period and thought 'Anyone can sell property'. |
| "I don't have massive sympathy for those who aren't doing a proper job." | "I don't have massive sympathy for those who aren't doing a proper job." |
| Knowledge base | Knowledge base |
| Overall it's a mixed picture with agents in some areas prospering and some not. Lettings are doing well but the corporate sector has wielded the axe, with big names like Countrywide among those closing offices in this sector. They may be taking home less money than they need to pay the mortgage, with the obvious irony that entails Henry Pryor, ex-estate agent | Overall it's a mixed picture with agents in some areas prospering and some not. Lettings are doing well but the corporate sector has wielded the axe, with big names like Countrywide among those closing offices in this sector. They may be taking home less money than they need to pay the mortgage, with the obvious irony that entails Henry Pryor, ex-estate agent |
| "A lot of estate agents haven't seen this sort of slower market before, and it will come as a shock to them. But it shouldn't because it means it's a proper negotiating, selling market when you have to know what you're talking about." | "A lot of estate agents haven't seen this sort of slower market before, and it will come as a shock to them. But it shouldn't because it means it's a proper negotiating, selling market when you have to know what you're talking about." |
| A bleaker picture is painted by Henry Pryor, a former estate agent and housing expert, who says that with sales falling so dramatically, it's a desperate situation for people dependent on commission. | A bleaker picture is painted by Henry Pryor, a former estate agent and housing expert, who says that with sales falling so dramatically, it's a desperate situation for people dependent on commission. |
| "A lot of estate agents are paid a basic salary and a performance bonus. | "A lot of estate agents are paid a basic salary and a performance bonus. |
| "Through no fault of their own, they will not be doing the business they would expect to be and this will have very serious repercussions on relationships and marriages because they may be taking home less money than they need to pay the mortgage, with the obvious irony that entails." | "Through no fault of their own, they will not be doing the business they would expect to be and this will have very serious repercussions on relationships and marriages because they may be taking home less money than they need to pay the mortgage, with the obvious irony that entails." |
| HOW MANY ARE THERE? It's unlicensed so no set figuresAbout 35,000, excluding those working in administrationAbout a third are members of National Association of Estate Agents Will mortgages queues return? Estate agents will be looking at cutting costs in property and in staff, he says. Indeed, his friend who opened a new office in January closed it only last week. | HOW MANY ARE THERE? It's unlicensed so no set figuresAbout 35,000, excluding those working in administrationAbout a third are members of National Association of Estate Agents Will mortgages queues return? Estate agents will be looking at cutting costs in property and in staff, he says. Indeed, his friend who opened a new office in January closed it only last week. |
| And with banks reluctant to lend money and withdrawing products, even if an estate agent does his job and matches a buyer to a seller, it's still in the lap of the gods whether it goes through, says Mr Pryor, because the buyer may not get a mortgage. | And with banks reluctant to lend money and withdrawing products, even if an estate agent does his job and matches a buyer to a seller, it's still in the lap of the gods whether it goes through, says Mr Pryor, because the buyer may not get a mortgage. |
| Although some expect this tougher climate to soften the approach of agents, he expects they will actually become even keener to close deals. | Although some expect this tougher climate to soften the approach of agents, he expects they will actually become even keener to close deals. |
| "But it's highly unlikely we will change the public perception of the industry just because we should feel sorry for them. That would be a Damascene experience." | "But it's highly unlikely we will change the public perception of the industry just because we should feel sorry for them. That would be a Damascene experience." |
| And we shouldn't forget the other professions affected, he adds, like removal firms, builders and joiners. | And we shouldn't forget the other professions affected, he adds, like removal firms, builders and joiners. |
| Glass half-full | Glass half-full |
| But estate agents are such optimistic people (or great actors), says property blogger Ben Brandt, that you won't find any of them feeling sorry for themselves. | But estate agents are such optimistic people (or great actors), says property blogger Ben Brandt, that you won't find any of them feeling sorry for themselves. |
| You quickly forget what they've done for you when you sign on the dotted line Ben BrandtProperty blogger In defence of estate agents "Nothing seems to bother them or get in their way, and they have this incredibly bullish view of the market which has them bouncing out of bed in the morning, even when Halifax index tells us prices fell 2.5% in a month." | You quickly forget what they've done for you when you sign on the dotted line Ben BrandtProperty blogger In defence of estate agents "Nothing seems to bother them or get in their way, and they have this incredibly bullish view of the market which has them bouncing out of bed in the morning, even when Halifax index tells us prices fell 2.5% in a month." |
| Despite that, he says, it might be time to reassess their reputation because it's unfair. | Despite that, he says, it might be time to reassess their reputation because it's unfair. |
| "You quickly forget what they've done for you when you sign on the dotted line and then you're faced with the huge commission bill." | "You quickly forget what they've done for you when you sign on the dotted line and then you're faced with the huge commission bill." |
| Make it up to them. If you see an estate agent this week, smile. | Make it up to them. If you see an estate agent this week, smile. |
| Add your comments on this story, using the form below. | Add your comments on this story, using the form below. |