Here at Wangford Holiday Cottages we have our fingers on the pulse of the holiday lettings industry. We all know that the financial crash was bad news for estate agents and homeowners, as thousands of pounds of value were wiped off property, and the market stagnated. Even buyers were hard to find, despite the low prices, as many feared they would tumble even further. The only winners in the property market were landlords and letting agents, as many people chose to rent instead of buy.
However, many smaller, local agencies were unable to capitalise on this brief boom, as prospective tenants looked to the big online companies to find their new rented homes, leaving high street agents out of the loop. What’s more, even the smarter tenants became unlikely to visit a high street agent, thanks to the proliferation of marketplace sites like Gumtree and Craigslist, which let tenants rent properties without agency fees (and without the protection an agency provides).
High street agents have been left squeezed in the middle, between the marketplace sites and the national agencies, left to carve out a living in a shrinking market share. But now, thanks to an innovative piece of programming from CFP software, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. But is the light the sunshine of recovery, or an oncoming train?
In our opinion, CFP have created a game-changer, although the news will not be welcome to the bigger companies. By giving small firms access to the very latest property management software, which includes tools for establishing and maintaining an online presence without the need for expensive IT services, CFP have levelled the technological playing field. Given the choice between the cold, impersonal service of a national company and the personal touch that can only be offered by smaller firms, we know what we’d choose.
By placing customer service and local knowledge back at the heart of the lettings industry, CFP have managed to disrupt the homogenisation of the marketplace, and have returned smaller agencies to their rightful place, as important parts of their local communities.
No matter what size your agency is, can you afford to miss out?
