Seeing The High Street Property Market from the Outside

Now that I no longer work under a corporate estate agency umbrella, I really see the high street property market with different eyes. How much work is actually done inside these offices? The answer is very little. It’s all done on the outside, rendering these expensive shop fronts largely obsolete.

Living in a property agency bubble

Having worked on the inside you become cocooned in a bubble believing that your office is the centre of the world. You go about daily life feeling to some extent that you’re living in a fish bowl: So many necessary, but mundane administrative tasks; all the demands of managing a large team and their needs and all in front of a very public audience, the passers by. But over time, you don’t see the people looking in the window anymore, because in fact, hardly any do!

No time for clients

In my former office, I was the daddy, the peace maker, the fixer, the handyman, the first to arrive and the last to lock up. The tears, the dramas, the ups, the downs, it was thrilling and exhausting in equal measure.

Much of my time was stolen from me, in not being able to do what I’m best at – selling property. And this was frustrating and my clients kept urging me to work differently.

If I calculated my actual client time, it was simply never enough. There were manic days and crazy days and these were most days. And I always felt that I owed my clients more than the time I had to offer.

High street agency offices are little more than trophies

Now I stand outside the large illuminated glass windows filled with properties screaming out ‘buy me!’, ‘rent me!’ and I question the value of the high street.

Is it really for the customer? After all, how many really walk in or put their noses to the glass? Or is it for the agents, many of whom regard these offices as prime trophies that they keep collecting and sometimes spend millions setting up.

Even when I was on the inside, all my business took place outside. Early morning breakfasts, catching my clients before they set off to work, coffees during the day, introductions from my contacts and fresh relationships from my social activities.

No office means my time is all client time

Now, I take calls whenever my clients need me. Anytime, I’m there. It’s incredibly simple: Customers don’t want expensive offices. They want my attention, service and sales. Bricks and mortar don’t tick those boxes. It’s about people and property and it’s as simple as that.

I’m a great fan of agency, I just don’t understand the obsession with the high street when most of our purchases are done online or over the phone.