On our journeys into the UK rural real estate realm, we’ve noticed an increasing incidence of what we would describe as ‘boutique independent estate agents’.
There typically are:
- sole operators
- from an adjacent career path, or with complementary skillsets
- take a more tech-savvy approach to marketing
- possessing a notion that a personalised service provides superior value
- big on attention to detail
- holding a much smaller pool of properties
- quality over quantity
- focused on relationship management
- local residents themselves with a story to tell
- well-connected locally
- pursuaded their clients need more than just a property, but also access to the community
- not necessarily plugged in to all the usual portals
As a team, we’ve always thought the traditional agency model suffered from a ‘pile-em high’ kinda mentality, which just wants ‘deals done’ and not necessarily lives improved.
Our take on this is that we’re going to see more and more of this approach taken by sole trader trailblazers in real estate, especially with rural property where the needs of a customer who is relocating with a view to integrate into a remote-ish community, differ greatly from someone wanting to dive into an anonymous populous mass.
Anyway, that’s enough from us - what are your thoughts?