BANG THE DRUM
Welcome to
T
he property industry is not doing terribly well at the moment – as I’m sure you would agree – so why does it seem like everyone either wants to make your life even more difficult or, alternatively, wants a piece of it? It’s quite bizarre; there are websites trying to cut out estate agents and make money
out of property sellers and landlords (and they must be making money or why do it?). There are international developers offering fractional purchases, snipping away at the already
fragile second home market; which used to provide a good income for UK agents. Then there are the institutional investors carving chunks out of the traditional student house
rental market. The TDS has been responsible for a great deal of angst with it’s drastic increases in fees and we look at the whole debacle plus a review of promises of further legislation for the lettings industry. And then there is Google who (unintentionally, they say) have really worried estate agents with reports of them launching a direct sales website. We have been talking to all of them; after all, knowledge is power. So in this issue we have
Google’s Ben Wood says that they want to work with estate agents, not against them!
some very interesting features as we assess the various situations, report on them and in some cases, in a small way, influence action that helps the property industry. Often the storms are very much of the teacup variety and discussion and explanation help to clear the air. Other issues, when taken up by several ‘stakeholders’, are resolved, to a greater or lesser degree.
So it’s not all bad news in PROPERTYdrum, we have news of a new guarantee for Spanish
Sheila@propertydrum.com
Sheila Manchester
PROPERTYdrum MARCH 2010 3
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