According to a report published by accountancy firm Moore Stephens in July (reported in the Independent), a total of 19 per cent of estate agents – or 4,928 out of the 25,560 across the country – are showing signs of financial insolvency.
There are two major factors behind the figures
Online Agents
The growth of agents like Purple Bricks, Right Move, Zoopla and others.
The offer lower fees and easy access which is putting high street agents under pressure to cut their fees.
Reduced Activity
The volume of house sales.
The level of property sales is still below where it was before the 2007/8 financial crisis. In the year to March, 1.2 million properties were sold, marking a 32 per cent decrease on the pre-crash high of 1.7 million. [Independent]
