Tag: Property News

A leading human resources expert predicts that agents who are poorly treated by their employers now will wreak revenge and move elsewhere when the virus subsides.

Recruitment guru Anthony Hesse, managing director of Property Personnel, says that when some form of normality returns “Those who have been treated poorly by their current employers won’t forget the experience in a hurry, and will start to look for other jobs – either within the industry or elsewhere.

“I expect to see a seismic shift in people moving around from job to job, and from profession to profession, with some of them making the move to becoming self-employed. Inevitably, a number of experienced and talented staff will leave, who we will be sad to see go and will be hard to replace.”

He says that one of the lasting legacies of this outbreak will be an increased understanding of why a good work/life balance is so important – and he forecasts that those agencies that recognise this will retain and attract the best staff.

“Over the past week or so of lockdown, I’ve been speaking to a number of senior directors in the big estate agency firms … the perspective I’ve been getting is that we are inevitably going to see some massive restructuring taking place in the estate agencies of the future.

“Most obviously, a new awareness of just what technology can do is going to drive decision making going forward. The ease and speed with which people have taken to communication platforms such as Zoom, Skype, and Messenger – and some of these individuals doing so for the first time – mean that virtual viewings and even virtual valuations could become the norm.

“Directors will ask why their agency doesn’t do more of what worked so successfully during time under lockdown. This means that operations are likely to be streamlined, and people previously brought in as temporary staff – such as those carrying out viewings at weekends, for example – might find that their workloads have melted away.

“Similarly, agencies with several branches across a relatively small geographic area will decide that a single office can do the job of three, with significant cost savings as a result.”

Two auctions held behind closed doors have been deemed a success, and evidence that the property market can still function despite the lockdown.

Savills has held its first ever remote-bidding-only auction, run by a single auctioneer supported by almost 30 staff working remotely connected using technology.

Over the course of the day it raised over £18m and successfully sold 67 per cent of the lots – taking 3,000 remote bids.

The company – which has its next auction on Wednesday May 6 – will supply an increased number of photographs alongside a virtual tour and floorplan for all lots.

Meanwhile SDL Graham Penny’s 100th Derby auction, and the first in its history to be held behind closed doors, was a success according to auctioneer Andrew Parker.

The firm says that for the 500 viewers watching on the internet, very little looked different – and the bids came in as thick and fast.

With over 120 pre-registered remote bidders, buyers placed their bids on the telephone, by proxy and over the internet, and more than £2.6m was raised for sellers.

“It was not the 100th auction celebration we had planned but we were delighted to have such great support from our remote bidders. I missed seeing everyone at the auction but it was wonderful to know they were out there, watching from the safety of their own homes” says Parker.

“We have proved that, despite the current social distancing rules, it is possible to keep the property industry moving – and that buyers are showing just as much interest in our properties as before.”

One of London’s most experienced estate agents says there has been a very significant surge in foreclosure sales in part of the capital’s housing market – even before the Coronavirus outbreak began.

Marc Schneiderman is the director of Arlington Residential, an independent agency that offers sales and lettings at the middle to top end of the market in central and north west London.

He says that clearly during the lockdown period that will be almost no new business, although he notes that predatory buyers are already on the prowl for casualties of the crisis – forced to sell at significant discounts.

However, Schneiderman believes there have been significant weaknesses in the market even before the Covid-19 calamity.

“Notwithstanding this current crisis, never before in my 35 years as an agent can I recall so many sales on behalf of banks and mortgagees in possession” he says.

“The property market has always been a barometer of the business world and reflected how well industry and retail is performing. For some time now bank foreclosures and mortgagee possession sales have been prevalent at the top end of the market.

“At the end of 2019 my firm acted on behalf of receivers on the sale of one of London’s largest flats. This penthouse apartment had an impressive 8,342 square feet of space and a further 4,125 square feet of terraces. It overlooked Regent’s Park, had underground parking for seven cars and an asking price of circa £10m.

“This is one of many receivership sales that have taken place in recent months at the top end of the London property market and it is no longer unusual for us to be contacted by a bank who are foreclosing on a £10m, £20m or even £30m property.

“Sadly it is just indicative of the wider depressed economic environment in which we find ourselves as a country”.

Separately, Savills has issued its routine quarterly figures for Prime London – unusually ending them not at the end of the quarter, but at mid-March to reflect the situation before the Coronavirus outbreak.

Nonetheless, in an introduction to the figures, the agency admits that the virus has impacted the market and Lucian Cook – the agency’s head of residential research – says: “It seems inevitable that there will be a period of low transactional activity over the spring and summer months, so it will probably be autumn before we can understand what this will mean for future price growth.”