The Intermediary – August 2025 - Flipbook - Page 39
Gerard Boon, managing director of Boon
Franks says: “There are lots of good estate
Brokers, sees conditional selling as corrosive to
agents out there. I've worked with them, and they
trust, saying: “This undermines confidence in the
are very good. They are a vital part of a property
entire house-buying process, and that can deter
transaction regardless of what anybody says, but
people from putting homes on the market or
at the moment, people see them as a necessary
trying to get a foot on the property ladder.”
For Boon, the real danger lies in how these
practices quietly distort competition and leave
evil. That’s because there are a few out there that
are tarnishing the name of the good ones.”
Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark,
consumers in the dark. He adds: “Conditional
suggests that some of this public cynicism stems
selling damages public trust by creating
from the inherent dynamics of the job.
barriers to fair competition and perpetuating
He explains: “When you're buying and selling
misinformation by barring impartial advice.
a house, there’s the financial adviser, the person
Simply put, conditional selling results in buyers
who needs to buy, and the person whose house
feeling coerced and confused.”
is for sale, and the agent is in the middle. Myriad
He argues that the recent news should serve as
things can go wrong. Buyers and sellers can
a rallying point for both brokers and regulators
pull out at will, and you can have chains falling
to insist on greater clarity for buyers and sellers
through. People often look for somebody to
at every stage.
Rhys Schofield, founder of Peak Mortgages and
Protection, feels a certain vindication that the
issue has been exposed in such a public way.
“The issue has always been getting someone
blame, and very often, because the person they've
had the most communication with is the agent,
blame falls upon them.”
It is the visibility of the agent, Emerson argues,
that means that regardless of actual fault, they
on record to talk about it, because the people
are often left fielding frustrated phone calls.
who are the victims don't want to risk losing
Changing that perception will require a greater
the house, because they are by definition in a
emphasis on transparency, accountability, and
vulnerable situation,” he explains.
demonstrable professionalism – not just doing
Indeed, Schofield points out that the
homebuying process is already unfamiliar and
the right thing, but being seen to do it.
“We need to get to a point where the public can
stressful for most buyers: “People don’t do this
have the same trust in an estate agent that they
very often, they don't know what they're looking
do in their solicitor or surveyor,” Emerson says,
for and what are the pitfalls.”
For Emily Franks, director of Emily’s Mortgage
Services, the programme only reinforced what
she had already experienced. She says: “Having
worked in a corporate estate agency, I am not
surprised by it. Being outside of a corporate for
the last four years, it really just cemented the fact
that I needed to really give a voice to this.”
She stresses that referrals themselves are
not the issue, adding: “The corporate culture is
about getting profit by any means necessary and
that's what needs to stop. If a client walks down
pointing to the role of qualifications, regulatory
oversight, and consistent service standards in
building that trust.
Mike Robson, managing partner and finance
director at Avocado Property Agents, believes
cultural change within agencies is key. He says:
“If we want to rebuild trust, it has to start with
transparency. People are far more forgiving if
they feel they’re being dealt with honestly, even
when the news isn’t good.”
Some agents are already shifting towards
models that allow them to build long-term,
to an estate agent after meeting with me and
relationship-based business rather than chasing
rings me back and says: ‘I've just met the broker
quick wins. The growth of self-employed agent
in the estate agents; I really like them. I want to
models is helping to humanise the profession.
work with them. That's who I'm going to use.’ I'd
understand that I'm probably not the right broker
Robson explains: “What the documentary
highlighted wasn’t the work of a few rogue
for them. But it's the ones that are forced into it;
branches, but a deeper cultural issue. A system
that needs to stop.”
that prioritises upsells and commission stacking
Public opinion
Public perception of estate agents has rarely been
over what should be a simple objective: helping
people move home with clarity and care.
“That’s exactly why we built a different kind of
glowing. High fees, aggressive sales tactics, and
model, one that allows agents to focus entirely
an alignment with sellers over buyers have all fed
on the client without being pressured by referral
into a certain wariness among the public. Indeed,
quotas or scripts.”
polling by Ipsos as part of its Veracity Index for
Without tackling both the real and perceived
2024 found that just 37% of the public expressed
conflicts of interest that conditional selling can
confidence in estate agents.
represent, the sector will ultimately struggle to
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August 2025 | The Intermediary
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