MARKETING


CONFLICTING VIEWS Those residents that have the ban in place in their area – mainly streets Kensington and Chelsea, Fulham, Camden and Brighton and Hove – are generally delighted. Others who live in similar areas that still permit boards are not so happy. And agents in affected areas have strong views; in Brighton & Hove, the Council wanted to extend their ban to all conservation areas but following an appeal from Brighton and Hove Estate Agents Association (BHEAA), Government officials were brought in to make the final decision, and the extension was ruled out. Phil Graves, president of the BHEAA, said, “It is clear from the inspector’s direction that the council’s objectives to totally ban boards and in all conservation areas were wrong. It was not properly thought out and required much further consultation with the parties who were to be affected – the estate agents themselves.” In London, some agents are in favour of


a total ban, but interestingly, they still use boards themselves. Director of Hurford Salvi Carr, David Salvi has said, “We believe that all boards should be banned across London – they are unsightly, cause damage to buildings and also encourage illegal ‘fly boarding’ where agents erect signs outside properties they are not even marketing.


Less is more is a good mantra when designing a board, just give the contact details clearly!


In London some agents are in


favour of a ban but still use boards themselves... “Estate agents’ boards are totally


unnecessary in today’s market when most buyers rely on the internet to seek out properties. Around 95 per cent of new enquiries come initially from the internet and there is no place for estate agents’ boards in London in the 21st century. We operate in a highly competitive market place and until there is a level playing field created through an outright ban on boards, unfortunately our business has no other option than to continue to use them to promote our clients’ properties.” While earlier this year, speaking to the


Evening Standard, Ed Meade, of Douglas and Gordon, said it was time to accept that boards were no longer needed in the internet age. “My view is very strongly that


boards should be banned – period. I think they are a blight and they are just used to advertise the agency. Why on earth, at a cost of £6 a board, should an agent be able to blight a street when everything is done on the web these days? A ban would get rid of much of the stigma attached to the estate agency industry.” And Peter Rollings, MD of Marsh &


Parsons, said boards served a purpose. He said, “If you are not selling you hate them, but if you are, you love them. If you took them away I wouldn’t be distraught, it would level the playing field.” But David Adams, head of residential at


national agency Chesterton Humberts, thinks that many buyers are inspired by seeing a board. “For us they are a necessary evil,” he said. Matthew Rothery, of Kinleigh Folkard &


Hayward, agrees. “They can be particularly useful when a property comes up on a desirable road where it is rare to see properties for sale. It increases word-of- mouth enquiries, where a person who is not seeking to buy themselves points out a property to a friend or relation.” Whatever your view, it seems that until


there is a law to ban boards altogether (which seems unlikely under the current regime at any rate), every agent, whether in favour of boards or not, will continue to use them; if only because otherwise they are at a disadvantage in their local market. What is your view? Join the debate, email Sheila@propertydrum.com


30 DECEMBER 2010 PROPERTYdrum


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