Nearly one-third of public say high street letting agents are outdated – claims online firm

Nearly one third of people think that using a high-street letting agent is outdated.

The claim comes from an online business, LetBritain, which also says that 25% of UK adults prefer to use web services such as Airbnb, Gumtree or Spareroom.

LetBritain says that in London, 50% of tenants rely on online services, many citing lack of time to visit physical offices.

The business surveyed a sample of 2,000 adults and found that 51% rely on online solutions generally, with Londoners being the most enthusiastic online shoppers

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10 Comments

  1. Jrsteeve

    Make housing law side with the landlord more favorably and speed up the eviction process for tenancy breaches and we’ll talk.

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  2. NewsBoy

    Online Agent says online is best.  Sounds a bit like man bites dog to me.

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  3. Estate_Agent_Memes

    People have to get off their a*se to view a property whether buying it or renting it. If they want to secure that property 9 times out of 10 they will then visit the agent’s office to start the buying/letting process.

    Amazon is opening bookshops again #justsaying

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  4. RichardHill61

    What a load of rubbish!

    Where’s the survey stats to back up the rubbish you’ve written!

    A high street shop is just a premises for staff to work from! It just happens to have a shop window most of the time. Good advertising space for the local market I say! Most larger firms need a premises for their staff to operate from!!

    Lettings is very labour intensive and always will be. All agents advertise online and use tech!

    If a third think they’re rubbish why are 95% plus using them!?

     

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    1. GeorgeHammond78

      And the ones who don’t, all fly under the radar and would fail miserably if going via a decent agent. So, no wonder such people prefer scumtree, airyfairyBNB and the like; they know they have more chance of success.

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  5. SJEA

    I love this type of obvious comment.

    Most people do not spend the time and money visiting a place that they do not have to.

    What this online only agents forget is that every business I come across has an online presence and are becoming more effective online every day.

    The major advantage already highlighted is we have both ! We have online for those that want convenience and for those that want a more personal service, we have high street offices.

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  6. janeearley

    Over 66% of people still believe High Street Estate Agents are the best way to buy & sell their homes!

    Why isn’t that the ‘news’!?

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  7. HITMAN32

    I surveyed 10 people and all said they were unsure whether then loved of hated Marmite!

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  8. Will

    And I was wondering why so many lettings go wrong?

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  9. jeremy1960

    We operate from an office/shop, we also have an online presence by way of a website but we still see plenty of people through the door. We insist that tenants come in to start the process of renting; we can then take the required ID and scan it to satisfy RTR. I’m certain also that tenants feel more comfortable dealing with us in an office rather than in a coffee shop or pub when they pay over rents and deposits and certainly landlords do, on more than 1 occasion I’ve attended an appraisal and the landlord has expressed how impressed he was with the office and the staff who work here. Anyone who has tried dealing with a fully online set up for anything will know the pitfalls as well as the upsides.

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