Gone are the days when someone came to an estate agent looking to buy or sell their property and needing to be told all about interest rates and recent sales in the area and what kind of price to expect. With the wealth of information available not only from property portals but also online search engines, dedicated property advice websites, apps and satellite TV, buyers and sellers have access to more information than ever before. It’s quite simply much easier to research and keep up to date with the latest developments in property.
Private Property, for example, has an Advice Centre filled with property-related tips and advice, as well as a Neighbourhoods section with area-specific stats and lifestyle information – which means that by the time agents meets a prospective buyer they may already know about sales and rental statistics in the area, average prices for the property type and even what it’s like to live in a neighbourhood from the local videos and photos online.
While it might seem like a disadvantage at first to be working with such well-informed buyers, what it actually presents is an opportunity to find the ideal property for the buyer at the ideal price for the seller: a price that is based on reality and recent statistics, not on wishful thinking. It’s also an opportunity for estate agents to be even better-informed about their areas, with knowledge that a client wouldn’t be able to find easily themselves – crime rates, infrastructure projects, new buildings and the quality of local schools.
In short, it’s the perfect time for agents to fulfil the local expert role – in more depth than ever before.
Words: Bridget McNulty
