Agency SPECIAL
Estate
Ennis heads a London-based new
homes and investments team of 25. “We’re used by volume housebuilders to drive sales rates and they expect us to maintain their high sales throughput. “Larger housebuilders are
predominantly intro only and that hasn’t changed over the years. With smaller sites, it’s an entrepreneurial builder who comes to us. They’re the experts on building and we’re the experts in selling.” Ennis adds: “It’s very, very hard to
buy in London at the moment. It’s fast paced with a lot of energy in the market.” His team has just launched a scheme of 20 units in Balham: “Nine were sold in the first weekend of which only one had been on the housebuilder’s database.” Foxtons is certainly keeping busy
with sales alone. The firm has 1,400 applicants seeking one-bedroom flats just through their Balham office, with many more across the SW London network. “There will be some overlap but that still gives us the best part of 5,000 applicants, so we do a lot of pre-marketing,” says Ennis. Using agents’ offices and support
to pre-market sites has become increasingly popular with developers of all sizes. “The big plcs use us for a lot of
pre-marketing using our offices ahead of establishing a permanent sales presence on a site,” says James Poynor, managing director of Countrywide Land & New Homes. “At a site in Doncaster we achieved two sales before they’d even broken
ground on a site which launches this year.” The changing market has also
brought smaller developers into the arena, able to compete directly with the major housebuilders. “As a result we are now providing staff and support to a wider cross section of developers,” says Poynor. “We provide access to applicants they wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach and those applicants are gift-wrapped with a mortgage agreement in principle when they visit site.” Countrywide’s in-house mortgage
brokers qualify buyers at an early stage and the Help to Buy scheme means they can be introduced to new homes, which they may not have previously considered.
THIS PIC Oakford Homes’ Centurion Fields, Chichester
BELOW LEFT Countrywide’s James Poynor
BELOW RIGHT Oakford Homes’ Chris Coates
“We want a high street presence and working with well-known, established agents helps establish our credibility in developing in new areas”
“But there’s no getting away from it, land is the lifeblood of the industry so that relationship between land and sales is constant,” says Poynor. “With 1,300 branches, you wouldn’t believe some of the opportunities that walk through the door – perhaps an elderly lady with a bungalow sitting on 10 acres.” Demand for sales services has remained constant according to
Poynor, with developers’ increased sales targets to be met. “We have 22,000 new applicants every week coming through our portals and we genuinely provide footfall. Developers see it as a great way to kick-start sales in an improving market.” Some developers have seen clearly
the benefits of using agents from the outset.
Oakford Homes uses agents on
every site it develops, as managing director Chris Coates explains: “We only launch from a show house and all our developments are manned seven days a week. We also want a high street presence and working with well-known, established agents helps establish our credibility in developing in new areas.” Any concerns about the calibre of staff are addressed through Oakford interviewing the sales team as part of the appointment process. “We consider they form part of the Oakford team,” says Coates, echoing Iain Berry from Connells, “and, as they are the face of Oakford to our purchasers, it’s very important that they are professional. We do an induction and home demonstration for the sales staff to make sure they understand how everything works so they sell the benefits.” Oakford Homes’ sales process
is deliberately simplified, avoiding customer choices and extras. “Agents
52| January 2014 showhouse
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