Author: Benjamin

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: Richard Donnell London is the most valuable market for estate agents generating almost £3bn a year in revenues from sales and lettings alone. This is almost a third of the national total for a region with less than 15% of all homes. High property prices and rents have created a larger value pool, but it’s been far from plain sailing for London’s agents, especially those in sales and new homes. This theme was apparent in conversations with the over 230 agents who attended our London Property Pitch…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: Nine in 10 estate agents estimate that AI software – known as automated valuation models (AVMs) – are routinely undervaluing properties and sellers could be losing out on tens of thousands of pounds as a result. A poll of 250 estate agents from estate agency platform Alto revealed that 87% feel AI-powered valuation tools fail to reflect a home’s true value. Some 78% of agents rely heavily on AI or automated valuation models (AVMs) when putting a price on a home – and as many as 23% claimed to ‘always’ use…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: PropertyBox, the AI-marketing platform for estate agents, has announced a new integration with Alto, the cloud-based estate agency CRM software. The AI-powered platform seeks to support how agents handle property marketing by providing two-way synchronisation between PropertyBox and Alto. Agents signed up to this new offering will benefit from property details being pulled from Alto, while marketing content like photos, floorplans, videos and virtual tours sync back. Matt Gates, CTO and co-founder of PropertyBox, said: “Estate agents face constant pressure to juggle it all. Our goal is to help them do more…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: A landlord has been issued with significant fine after illegally turning six flats into 11 separate homes. Mohammed Abdul Kowsor Choudhury, from Cyncoed, and his company, Pine Best Ltd, were fined a total of £54,000, and ordered to pay a further £10,000 in costs, when the case was heard at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court. The rented property, 173 City Road, is a three storey Victorian property with planning consent for six self-contained flats – not the total of 11 self-contained flats found at the property. Rents for each flat were around…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: A new AI Academy has been launched for estate agents by industry consultant Toby Martin. Each course is written and delivered by Martin  himself, drawing on his 15 years of agency experience and his current role as a consultant to agents across the UK. From automated content creation to brand-safe marketing strategies, the estate agency trainer says the AI Academy will provide practical, jargon-free training – not tech theory. He said: “There’s a lot of talk about AI replacing jobs. “But the real risk isn’t AI –…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: Savills welcomes new head of residential sales in Reigate Holly-Ann Sibley Savills has appointed Holly-Ann Sibley as its new head of office and residential sales in Reigate. Sibley joins the Reigate team having worked within the residential sales team at Savills Haywards Heath. Prior to joining Savills, Sibley was an associate at Knight Frank in Tunbridge Wells and she has worked in the property industry in the south east for the last 12 years. Sibley joins David Reynolds and Fiona Pertwee in the residential sales team, who have both lived…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) continues to review mortgage lending rules in a bid to improve access to home ownership, especially for first-time buyers, the self-employed, and older borrowers. The UK’s financial regulator has published a discussion paper as part of its wider effort to help potential property purchasers and in turn support long-term economic growth. The paper outlines potential changes designed to improve flexibility in the mortgage market and make borrowing more accessible by tailoring products to ensure they are more effectively to diverse customer needs. Key areas under review…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: A landlord has faced prosecution for the second time this year due to neglecting safety standards at a property he owns in Derby. Ramazan Ali of Northdown Road, Nottingham was fined £10,000 for failing to comply with an Improvement Notice. The Notice was issued in July 2024 after Derby City Council’s Housing Standards Team conducted an inspection of the property on Eton Street, uncovering several serious safety concerns. Among these were three category 1 hazards and six category 2 hazards, which included issues such as damp and mould, excess cold, and…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: Ben Madden A few weeks ago, I posted a question on LinkedIn that sparked a bit of adebate: What makes someone the best estate agent in the world? Our office had been talking about it. Market share? Conversion rate? Customer reviews? Awards? Profit? Social media engagement? It quickly spiralled into a (very polite) argument, because no one could agree. And that’s exactly what made it so interesting. The post got great engagement, but while the answers were smart and varied, it highlighted something more important: It doesn’t really matter if you are the best agent in the…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: The government will reintroduce smart data programmes across the property sector to improve data sharing across the industry and boost products and services, it confirmed in the Industrial Strategy yesterday. The document sets out the government’s 10-year plan to significantly increase business investment in eight growth-driving sectors, by making it quicker and easier for businesses to invest and providing them with the certainty and stability needed for long-term investment decisions. As part of the government’s plan to spend £36m to support new smart data schemes, it will “allow consumers and businesses…