Do People Trust Estate Agents? Dr Amna Khan

Levels of trust in different professions fluctuate over time. Some occupations, such as nurses and teachers, often score highly when people are asked which professionals have their confidence.

UK estate agents have tended to attract varying responses in terms of trust and it’s important to assess how the current economic climate is affecting these attitudes when evaluating how people feel about professionals.

Residential Buyers And Sellers

When approaching this subject, it makes sense to analyse how residential buyers and sellers of property view estate agents. In the latest Ipsos Veracity Index¹, only 32% of people polled said that they believed estate agents generally told them the truth.

Adding to this picture, Move iQ² discovered that only 14% of 2022 survey respondents trusted estate agents, particularly to inform them about the negative aspects of a property.

Lower Trust In Estate Agents

People will often have personal reasons that affect their faith in a professional. However, looking at trends and commonalities enables us to develop a more concrete, holistic picture.

There could be many factors involved in forming viewpoints in regards to estate agents: feelings fostered after personal experience, media representation or stereotyping in society.

Perception and perspective are relevant here. A popular opinion of estate agents reported in the media is that they are opportunistic and sales driven. Yet, sellers who had a recent interaction with an estate agent report a substantial amount of satisfaction in the process and in the professional.

This can be evidenced in a DBEIS³ (Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) report that researched the process of buying and selling UK homes. This study shows 79% of sellers questioned believed their estate agents were working in their best interests.

In fact, the DBEIS found that 81% were satisfied with the support they received from an estate agent during negotiations, contrasting sharply with the perceived view in both the Ipsos and Move iQ research.

Why is there such a disparity between how people view the profession generally and the way they feel after personal contact with estate agents?

One answer would be the positive impact of developing a value-laden relationship between agent and client, as suggested by Sharma & Patterson, 1999⁴. Increasing the quality of communication and delivering a personal service also create more successful interactions.

Providing more insight on this issue, Crosby et al (1990)⁵ state that when professionals, such as estate agents, are involved in the marketing of more complex products they often take on the role of ‘relationship manager’. The ability to produce a sale or purchase can depend on the levels of trust and satisfaction that are encouraged.

Relational selling behaviours can also help us to understand the connection between estate agent and customer in more detail. Boles et al (1997)⁶ suggest that agents who concentrate on developing good relationships with their clients at first, rather than pressing for a quick result, generally have higher customer satisfaction levels.

Cost Of Living Impacting Housing Market

There’s no doubt that the cost of living crisis has compressed the UK housing market. A post-pandemic slowdown had been long predicted, but the September mini-budget created a sudden industry shock, resulting in an abrupt acceleration in mortgage rates and a sharp -0.4% decrease in October house prices, according to the Halifax.⁷

As householders and renters are spending a higher proportion of their wages on mortgage and rental costs, the stakes of property sales are raising ever higher for all involved. There is evidence that the housing market will slow towards the end of 2022 and into 2023, with annual rate of growth dropping to +8.3% from +9.8%.⁷

Nevertheless, there are useful strategies estate agencies can put in place to improve trust levels and enable a smoother buyer-seller experience.

Improving Trust In Estate Agents

Flexibility and adaptability are skills that will definitely support better relationships between customers and estate agents towards the end of 2022 and going into 2023. As reported in the media, house buyers and renters are spending more of their income on mortgage or rent payments.

Being aware of the changing market is key to ensuring that the right person is matched with their ideal property longer term. It’s likely that those that pay attention to their clients’ needs and try to secure a property within clients’ means will have a greater chance of securing that sale.

Demonstrate Property Energy Efficiency

Rising energy prices have been a real issue for many during 2022. Sharing the Energy Performance Certificate⁸ with clients can increase understanding and enable people to calculate if they will be able to afford current and future energy bills. In turn, this will provide stronger levels of trust between estate agent and client with a policy of energy transparency in place.

Offer Virtual Viewings

As people return back to the office or deal with increased workloads, there is a real need online tours so people can see what properties are available and create a shortlist. If the process feels easier and smoother, then people may tend towards increasing trust in their agent.

Regular Contact

If there is one behaviour that will improve trust levels, it’s regular contact between agent and client. This may be by phone, in person, digitally or a mix of all these forms.

At the end of the day, communication is critical if a sale or purchase is to go ahead as planned. Showing customers that agents can be trusted through honest interactions can empower agents to grow customer confidence levels.

References