We’re delighted to announce the success of our annual conference held on Wednesday 14th May at the National Motorcycle Museum, as industry experts including James Knightley from ING, Bruce Harryman from John Lewis, Peter Williams from IMLA and Adam Day from Hatched, shared their insights and knowledge with over 200 delegates on the day.
Themed around the business model ‘Brick and Click’ the speakers and panelists discussed how the internet has changed the way businesses operate and whether traditional High Street estate agencies have a future compared to their online peers. Key speakers also shared their views on the economy, rising interest rates and how businesses need to respond to consumer behaviour, to ensure their future success.
Key predictions from the ‘Economic update’ and panel session ‘UK housing strategy’
- James Knightley, Senior Economist at ING:
“Interest rate rises could occur as soon as November of this year…the trigger will be when wages begin to rise, as otherwise a quarter of all households will be in real financial difficulties.”
“Housing supply issues likely to remain as UK population grows, as we are just not building enough new homes and are unlikely to.”
- Dr. Peter Williams, Executive Director of the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association:
“The Government has no real substance behind it, in terms of housing strategy. It is now nothing more than a guarantor of mortgages.”
“By 2032, renting will be bigger than home ownership.”
- Robert Sinclair, Chief Executive of Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI):
“We need a cohesive housing strategy, and building on green field sites needs to form part of this.”
In preparation for the Conference, we conducted a survey of our home buying clients and introducing customers to better understand their feelings regarding online transactions. Through this research it transpired that home buyers (60%) turn to online services like Rightmove and Zoopla when property hunting, while sellers (50%) still opt for word of mouth recommendations when sourcing an agent to act for them. For a full breakdown of the survey results please click here
Key predictions from the panel session (Traditional vs. online estate agency)
- Jon Cooke, Managing Director of Your Move:
“Having a High Street presence helps us to build trust with our clients.”
- Adam Day, co-founder of Hatched:
“2017 will be the tipping point for estate agents, when online estate agency will overtake the traditional High Street model.”
“Estate agencies who fail to consider technology will be the first to exit the market.”
The event was followed by a gala dinner and charity auction which raised over £2,000, for the My Home Move Charitable Trust, which supports homelessness organisations in the UK, India and Sri Lanka.
Feedback from the day
“I just wanted to thank you for an excellent event on Wednesday. It was clearly very well organised and the quality of speakers and delegates was extremely high.” Ben Harris, TM Group (UK) Limited
“Many thanks for an excellent day yesterday. That is one of the best conferences that I have been to for both the quality and content of the presentations and the quality and interest shown in our services by the delegates.” David Brierley, Evolve
“I thought it was a really excellent day and went with a real swing. They were really good and informative speakers making it so worthwhile attending.” Bill McClintock, Property Expert