The New Normal!

Fri 15 May 2020

It has been quite a week! with the revision to Health England parliamentary document allowing Estate agents in England to resume activity from Tuesday this week I have been staggered by the volume of calls and emails. It is fantastic to see the customer appetite for both buying and selling.

The challenge has been ensuring the safety of our staff, our vendor/clients and prospective buyers moving forward. The safety of which is paramount.

The government along with NAEA Propertymark (National Association of Estate Agents) have liaised with the law society, the lending sector and removals sector to ensure a common goal of getting the property market moving again in a safe manner.

Stepping up to this challenge our Kidderminster branch will reopen Monday 18^th May. The office will be open on an appointment only basis to commence and social distancing rules apply within the office. For viewings and appointments there is a protocol we need to follow and staff will run through each aspect when you phone or email.

Looking at the positives the market for first 2 months of this year was stronger than it has been in past 2 years as we experienced the ‘Boris bounce’. Interest rates are at an all time low and we continue to see under supply to housing with great demand.

The lockdown has brought with it many challenges to overcome and at every stage I feel we have conquered those challenges. For me, the key goal was to provide updates and news to my Vendors both on the market, SSTC and under offer. Whilst we worked remotely communication became key. One vendor commented on my week 7 update entitled ‘positivity’

Dear Zoe, Great to see your positive attitude  to the current hitches in the property market…….carry on with your optimistic view of things it does you great credit!

It became apparent news and regular contact was crucial.

Communication also crucial for me liaising with my team. We have a WhatsApp group that we use to communicate outside of work. Prior to lockdown this was changed to ensure if lockdown occurred all updates were posted on this group. This worked so well and I have to say I am extremely proud of all my staff pulling together communicating, assisting each other - it is truly inspiring.

We now have numerous WhatsApp groups for different challenges, which different staff join in. We encourage and have featured on social media the challenges our staff have encountered and indeed how they are coping to overcome. Communication and positivity is key. We do have this in buckets!!

We have celebrated all positives that occurred during lockdown - for example completions, viewing requests and so on. Birthdays have been celebrated despite lockdown via messages and pictures. All these little things go a long way!

We move forward together.

Zoe Herbert DipREA FNAEA, Partner - Kidderminster Office
 

• SHARE
• 
• 
•