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OnTheMarket says Covid crisis could be catalyst for change in portals

OnTheMarket says Covid crisis could be catalyst for change in portals

The acting chief executive of OnTheMarket says the Coronavirus crisis could indirectly create a catalyst for change in the portals marketplace.

Clive Beattie – the portal’s long-standing chief finance officer who is currently substituting for the sacked Ian Springett – says that as a result of the virus “we’re seeing a very vocal agency community arguing that this is a time for change, arguing against a return to ‘the old normal.’”

Although he does not refer directly to the Say No To Rightmove campaign, Beattie insists that OnTheMarket is ripe to benefit from that change, echoing the familiar comment that OTM was “founded by agents and founded for agents” and has provided the competition that he claims the portal market had been lacking for some years.

In an interview with the Edison TV business channel Beattie quotes figures dating back to January for the portal with some 13,500 advertisers representing about 12,500 branches and around 1,000 new build advertisers. In that first month of the calendar year OTM enjoyed a record 30m visit generating 126 leads per advertiser on average, he claims.

Beattie did not give any more recent figures – even for the February or March period before   the pandemic – but admitted that when the lockdown was announced traffic was “lower than it was” but had “rebounded” in the past fortnight, albeit not to pre-virus levels.

Beattie – whose performance was markedly different in tone and attitude to that of Springett on similar media appearances – said that future developments in the agency industry generally and his portal in particular were likely to take the form of additional services to agents.

He pointed to a recent deal, announced just before Christmas, in which OTM made a strategic investment for a 20 per cent share in Glanty Ltd the owner and developer of the PropTech lettings platform teclet. That deal was a cash purchase of £797,000, spread over 10 months from December plus an option to acquire the remaining 80 per cent of Glanty.

“It’s no surprise that there may be an acceleration of technical projects to help agents work differently and more efficiently” as a result of the Coronavirus crisis, Beattie claims.

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Mortgage holidays could be extended to up to a year

Mortgage holidays could be extended to up to a year

The Financial Conduct Authority is reported to be considering offering homeowners up to 12 month’s mortgage holidays.

Currently 1.2m mortgage payment holidays have been offered by lenders to customers impacted by the Coronavirus crisis – that’s equivalent to one in every nine mortgages.

These were expected to be short term.

However The Times this morning says the holidays could be for up to 12 months in a bid to avoid widespread arrears and eventually repossession.

The number of payment holidays currently in place more than tripled in the two weeks between March 25 and April 8 with an average of some 61,000 being granted each day.

For the average mortgage holder, the payment holiday amounts to £260 per month of suspended interest payments, with many benefitting from the option of extending the scheme for up to three months.

Now it appears a longer holiday is on the cards as the virus crisis has further impact on jobs.

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Rightmove launching biggest-ever marketing campaign – no news on fees

Rightmove launching biggest-ever marketing campaign - no news on fees

Rightmove says it’s to launch its biggest ever national marketing campaign in a bid to kick-start the market once lockdown eases.

The news comes in a 10-point plan from the portal, sent to all of its agent members this morning.

No comment is made in the plan about future fees but commercial director Miles Shipside says: “We recognise that agents will have a difficult period after existing pipelines complete. While we’re only five weeks into our four-month 75 per cent discount, we’re closely monitoring the situation as we’re profoundly aware that our customers’ revenue growth is critical to the way we all move forward in these uncertain times … We’d like to thank all of you that have been speaking to us about your hopes and fears for the market and how we as Rightmove can help you prepare for the future.”

Rightmove says each of the 10 points will be developed further with agents in the coming weeks.

The 10 points are:

– Special Relaunch Email Alerts to over two million home-hunters who have active alerts set up;

– A video strategy to promote leads and make “cost-saving efficiencies in order to cut the number of unsuccessful physical viewings”;

– Re-assuring home movers that viewing is safe – the portal says it’s “working with government to use Rightmove’s unparalleled reach to educate buyers, sellers, and tenants to feel confident”;

– Sharing early local sales demand indicators with agents;

– Faster qualification of tenant leads;

– Detailed analysis of the source of leads that result in a sale or a let;

– An “introductory rate” with external suppliers Moneypenny and Viewber;

– Training for the new normal and social distancing through webinars;

– Biggest ever national marketing campaign “using the strength of our brand and investing in our biggest ever national advertising campaign”;

– And a new property details page which will offer more focus on agents’ brands, photos and video content.

Shipside tells agents: “We’ll play our part in helping you to get the market in your area moving again, and to do that more innovatively and efficiently. More detail on these actions will be published with time for you to take full advantage of them. Many of these actions are inspired by your comments to us, so please keep making suggestions on what will help you most.”

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Fury over agent breaching government rules on opening to public

Fury over agent breaching government rules on opening to public

There’s been a furious response to the agent who appears to have breached government rules by opening his branch to the public – believed to be the first agent to do so.

Yesterday we revealed that Liddington Bone Property, a single-office sales and lettings agency in Gloucester, opened its doors and adopted a ‘one in, one out’ policy. Extensive social distancing measures were implemented.

However, a poll of over 600 readers of Estate Agent Today showed a strong 66 per cent against the move, and none of the 21 strongly-worded comments left on EAT, all by known agents, backed the company.

Last evening the company’s telephone was not being answered and its Facebook page appeared to have been taken down; it is not known if it will repeat the opening today.

Yesterday evening NAEA Propertymark’s chief executive Mark Hayward told EAT: “Estate agents are still termed a non-essential business and should therefore be obeying the government’s guidance. Agents should continue working from home and utilise virtual viewings. Offers are still being accepted virtually, and agents are agreeing to sales, subject to contract and a physical viewing once lockdown measures are eased.”

And Paul Offley, compliance officer for The Guild of Property Professionals, told EAT: “While The Guild has been lobbying the government to consider estate and lettings agents to be among the first sectors to open, and we have been issued government-back guidelines to our nembers on safely returning to work, our advice to our network remains work from home unless you are unable to do so.

“If the government and health experts’ advice and guidelines are not adhered to, we run the risk of a prolonged lockdown, a possible second wave of infections and far greater damage to the economy and our sector.

“The advice is, if you can work remotely, do so … We will continue to follow government guidance until such time as any restrictions are lifted.”

Arguably the most relaxed response came from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Late last evening it gave Estate Agent Today a statement saying: “The single most important action we can all take, in fighting coronavirus, is to stay at home in order to protect the NHS and save lives. When we reduce our day-to-day contact with other people, we will reduce the spread of the infection.

“To reduce social contact, the Government has ordered certain businesses and venues to close to members of the public. The government has agreed the list of closures in line with advice from medical professionals. In England, Environmental Health and Trading Standards officers will monitor compliance with these regulations.”

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Third of agents say some staff will permanently work from home

Third of agents say some staff will permanently work from home

A third of agencies say at least some of their staff will be working from home permanently when the Coronavirus pandemic ends.

A survey by The Guild of Property Professionals reveals that while over 80 per cent of agencies believe a traditional bricks and mortar office will remain important – and that this would continue to form the basis of their business model – there are different views as to what form this would take.

When asked if they would consider a hub style agency in the future with agents working remotely, half said yes while the other 50 per cent said they were happy with their current model and wouldn’t want to change.

The Guild consists chiefly of smaller independent agencies, which according to chief executive Iain McKenzie makes it more likely they will regard a High Street presence as critical to promoting their brand and services, and to help them be part of their community.

“While most said that their office environment would need to be set up differently to ensure social distancing restrictions and health guidelines were adhered to, the majority were hoping to return to their offices and keep their agency model as it was” notes McKenzie.

“Although websites, portals, social media, and more recently virtual viewing and valuation tools, are key elements to the estate agency, many still feel that a physical office presence and being able to interact with the public will remain a large part of their business going forward, even with social distancing measures in place.”

In the short term, he says agencies are clearly open to accommodate whatever changes are required to meet restrictions imposed by the virus crisis.

“Around 53 per cent of members said that they would have fewer desks in their offices, with approximately a third saying they would enable some of their employees to work remotely on a permanent basis. If the last few months has taught us anything, it is that agents need to be adaptable, ready to innovate and of course resilient” adds McKenzie.

He says the Guild has worked with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to develop the six-point guide for agents returning to work safely

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New plea to help self-employed agents missed by Corona schemes

New plea to help self-employed agents missed by Corona schemes

NAEA Propertymark has made a series of demands on the government in the light of the Coronavirus crisis.

In a formal written response to the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee’s Inquiry into the impact of Coronavirus on the private rented sector, NAEA makes several calls for action.

The aim of the inquiry, which closed its deadline for written submissions on Tuesday, is to examine how effective the government has been in supporting individuals in the private rented sector.

In a statement on its submission, Propertymark says it highlighted the positive steps the government had taken so far such as extending business rates relief and including commission in furloughed pay.

However, it says concerns remain about access to support for agents who are self-employed and the disparity in how the Small Business Support Grants are being administered by different local authorities across the country.

In a section of its submission entitled Support for self-employed agents, Propertymark says:

“Some limited company directors and small businesses have fallen between the government’s economic support packages. 

“To support this segment of the employment market the government could ask company directors to self-report their average dividend income in order to obtain a similar measure of support to the 80 per cent of income that self-employed and PAYE workers can access. 

“Furthermore, agents who are self-employed had to have filed their 2018-19 tax return by 23 April 2020 to receive support under the Self-employment Income Support Scheme. 

“However, if they had more recently become self-employed, such as from April 2019 it is not clear what support is available. In addition, payments will not be made until June 2020 which means three months of no income when many agents continue to have bills and overheads to pay.”

Propertymark also makes a series of demands on renters’ knowledge of packages available to help them, the suspension of mandatory electrical checks, a review of future maintenance and safety checks, the postponement of all rental licensing schemes, and the treatment of arrears.

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Mortgage demand rises as market sees light at the end of the tunnel

Mortgage demand rises as market sees light at the end of the tunnel

The demand for mortgages in April was scarcely a quarter of what it was in March – but the figures show that there’s been an increase each week since Easter suggesting there’s light at the end of the lockdown tunnel.

Technology company Twenty7Tec analyses mortgage statistics and shows that for the week ending Saturday May 2;

– The volume of online searches for mortgage information was 5.36 per cent up on the previous week and 21.32 up on two weeks before;

– The total value of loans granted was up 2.93 per cent on the previous week and up 23.59 per cent on two weeks before;

– Mortgages for new purchases represented 31.74 per cent of the searches made online last week, compared to recent lows averaging 24.5 per cent;

– Searches for mortgages for buy to lets (both to purchase and to reportage) stood at 25.01 per cent of all mortgage searches.

“The data tells us that we are gently on the up again and have been ever since Easter. Across the board, we are seeing higher search volumes, higher levels of documentation prepared and higher total levels of loans requested” explains James Tucker, chief executive of Twenty7Tec.

“Buy to let is probably the story of the week, representing around one-fifth more of the total market than the long-term average [ but] whilst it’s great news that this week’s searches for purchase mortgages continue to rise, the volumes remain considerably down on their January to March peaks. This week’s volumes are only 26 per cent of the weekly volumes in mid-March.”

He continues: “In comparing April to March, it’s worth noting that April had two Easter bank holidays and that March was a day longer, but also that the volume of mortgage products on the market was considerably lower than the month prior.

“Despite the difficult conditions, lenders quickly moved to address the changes in the market conditions and amended, updated and replaced their products at an unprecedented rate. Brokers responded well and were able to focus in on those areas of our industry where volumes remained higher.

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ONEDOME – A breath of fresh air

Ladies & gentlemen, I had the pleasure of speaking to George Lawson yesterday, on behalf of Onedome, an emerging property portal that has really been gathering pace in recent months.

Onedome guarantee to be free for 100 years, laying the foundation for a revolution in property marketing. Having acquired nethouseprices a while back and now in partnership with Facebook marketplace, properties are placed in all three locations, for even greater exposure.

The current crisis has highlighted many issues that agents have with the current portals, with many having faced large overheads, regardless of the fact that their ability to operate has been seriously constrained by the lockdown.

Understandably, there has been mutiny in the ranks, with many agents leaving one or more of the ‘big three’ portals, for obvious reasons.

I have no doubt that any agent willing to make the effort can sell property without being a slave to any portal, I know from experience the we at Fine & Country take pride in our relentless proactive approach to marketing property, but that is not the issue here.

As I see it, amongst all the figures, the overheads, the contractual agreements and the frequent and often justified claims by agents of being at the mercy of the portals, there is one other factor that concerns me more, that is the public.

Whilst it is more than possible to bring property to the attention of potential buyers, both active and passive in many ways, we must ask ourselves, where do the public look first and why?

I conducted a poll recently in the Northants Property Post, the response was mainly local, although being online, there was some response further afield and the results were pretty much what I expected, however, I have no doubt that should I have asked the public a different question, I have no doubt that I would have received a different response.

What if I were to ask the public this question?

“Would you be more or less likely to search the portal with the most property first?”

I have no doubt that the vast majority would say yes and this my friends is the foundation of any portal. It is we, the agents who can and do make or break the portals, it is we who provide them with the very content that drives people to their site, without us, they are little more than a few pages of php code.

For this reason, I was delighted to welcome a portal that acknowledges this fact and has been established with an ethos that appreciates the value of the agent. However, on the subject of the public, I would like to make one final point, the easier it is for the public to search for a property, the easier it is for them to find a property, and that cannot be a bad thing.

If a potential buyer is not aware of a property, because it is not in the first one or two place they may look, they may have missed out on that property, but simultaneously, the seller of that property may have missed out on a buyer and potentially, a higher offer.

Although I have no doubt that we will commence our journey to recovery soon and that we will succeed in doing so, we must not underestimate the severity of the current situation. Therefore, the opportunity to present our properties to the public, collectively and ubiquitously, is an opportunity that we should not be ignored. The property market is in many ways the start of the financial food chain, with thousands of jobs and billions of pounds generated as a result. For this reason, in my opinion, I consider this to be the right opportunity at the right time.

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Virtual Viewings here to stay even after lockdown – PropTech chief

Virtual Viewings here to stay even after lockdown - PropTech chief

Babek Ismayil, founder and chief executive of the OneDome Group – which operates the free to list OneDome and Nethouseprices portals – says the use of virtual viewings during the Coronavirus crisis has triggered interest and enthusiasm that will continue into the future.

Ismayil, a former senior vice-president of credit trading at JPMorgan, says: “For many properties, traditional in-person viewings will still be required. However, virtual viewings are very useful for prospective buyers who live far away from the property or those who want to get an initial feel of a home before deciding whether it is worth visiting.

“Virtual viewings can therefore help agents to identify the most serious buyers and potentially contribute towards speeding up transactions.”

He believes agencies should now be preparing and training staff for the post-lockdown market, with virtual viewings as an integral offer to customers.

OneDome has created a free guide for agents on setting up and using virtual viewings, via Zoom, Facebook or Facebook Live. You can see it here.

Ismayil says his OneDome portal allows prospective buyers to request a video viewing of a property where they would usually request a traditional viewing. The request is then sent directly to the agent for them to confirm whether or not they can provide a virtual viewing.

The group has over 5,500 estate agents as customers and says that last month it received 1.37m unique monthly visitors to its sites, generating 120,000 leads for agents listing with it.

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Buy-to-let remains ‘a solid long term investment’

Buy-to-let remains ‘a solid long term investment’

With savers receiving poor returns from banks and building societies, thousands of people unsurprisingly continue to turn to residential property as a means of supplementing their income, supported by low mortgage borrowing rates, solid demand from tenants and stable yields, as buy-to-let consolidates itself as the investment of choice.

Despite a challenging few years for the buy-to-let market, characterised by tax and regulatory changes, investment in buy-to-let continues to outperform most major asset classes, as Britain’s rented sector continues to expand, with a sixth of the population – some 10 million people – now living in accommodation rented from private landlords.

A new survey carried out by Perrys Chartered Accountants has found that Londoners are mostly positive about the possibilities of buy-to-let as an investment with four in five – 82% – believing it would be a good investment.

Unsurprisingly, the most likely type of property a Londoner would consider for a rental investment would be a flat or apartment, with 46% of respondents choosing  this option, a higher number than any other region with only Scotland coming close.

Brexit and increased tax and stamp duty rates remain barriers deterring for some investors, which partly explains why 42% of those surveyed cited a reduction in stamp duty and other relevant taxes as their biggest desire when it comes to investing in buy-to-let property.

Some 45% of Londoners thought a buy-to-let property could be utilised as a pension, which is fewer than respondents in all other areas of the country other than Northern Ireland, which could be explained again by the higher proportion of younger people concentrated in the London area.

Almost a third – 32% – would like to use buy-to-let income as a replacement for their current income, while just under a quarter – 24% – saw it as an inheritance for their family.

Donna McCreadie, who is a buy-to-let tax specialist at Perrys, commented: “Buy-to-let is still a solid long term investment despite what current market indications and the drop off in purchases might suggest. It’s interesting that the younger generation still sees it as a way to plan financially for the future. However, there are many things to consider before jumping in, including stamp duty charges, how income tax might be affected and what the return on the investment is likely to be.”

“Investing in a property is a long term plan rather than a quick fix to financial freedom so it’s important to gather as much information as possible and speak to a professional tax specialist and mortgage advisor before making a commitment.”