My Home Move survey reveals that the future’s bright for online estate agents   

Research conducted by My Home Move, the UK’s leading provider of mover conveyancing services, has revealed that despite nearly all estate agents currently operating out of high street branches, many believe the future lies in online estate agency.

• 83% of estate agents surveyed believe more people are turning to online sites to find their next property, than five years ago
• 65% of estate agents surveyed believe there will be more online estate agencies without high street branches in the future
• Only 31% of estate agents surveyed believe there is still a need for estate agents to have high street branches.

Speaking at My Home Move’s annual Conference, themed ‘Brick and Click’ (14^th May), Adam Day, co-founder of Hatched, supported these views as he said, “2017 will be the tipping point for estate agents, when online estate agency will overtake the traditional High Street model….and estate agents who fail to consider technology will be the first to exit the market completely.”

In contrast, Jon Cooke, Managing Director of Your Move, who also spoke at the conference, countered Day’s argument, saying, “Having a High Street presence helps us to build trust with our clients” – a view shared by home sellers; 50% of whom choose their estate agent based on word of mouth and recommendations.

My Home Move also asked its clients to explain how the internet has influenced the way they buy property, resulting in further support for online services.

• 60% of home buying clients used online listings sites (e.g. Zoopla/Righmove) to search for their new property
• 52% of home buying clients dismissed viewing potential properties because they didn’t like the look of them online
• 64% of home buying clients believe that the traditional marketing tools for properties (e.g. newspaper supplements) are less relevant than five years ago.

Doug Crawford, CEO of My Home Move said, “Collectively these results suggest that when it comes to buying a property the majority of consumers favour online services; most likely for their convenience and ease of use, while estate agents themselves are wavering towards a future that involves utilising technology. It will be interesting to see how consumer behaviour continues to shape the way our sector conducts its business, and who knows, maybe 2017 will be the tipping point as Adam Day predicts.”

My Home Move’s conference was attended by over 200 delegates from across the property and financial sectors. For further details on the event and a full list of survey results, please visit http://www.myhomemove.com/brick-and-click/