Are Estate Agencies Making High Profits From The Housing Markets This Year?
Ever since the global financial crisis hit in 2007, the housing market in the UK has been in somewhat of a slump. As most people didn’t have much cash lying around, they chose to stay put in an attempt to make themselves more secure. However, things are looking up in 2015, and so more people are buying and renting new properties now than at any point in the last seven years. Does that mean estate agencies are once again making a mint from the housing market? We did some research in an attempt to find out. Of course, one of the main benefits of a better financial climate is that property prices are climbing steadily. That usually means more people are willing to buy, sell, or rent.
Home Buying
When it comes to helping people find their ideal property, estate agents tend to make a decent commission. As more people are looking to make a purchase this year, business owners in that industry are rubbing their hands together. While they only take a small percentage from the sale of a home, that could be thousands of pounds depending on the price. Some smaller firms simply add their fee onto any sales, but they are also doing pretty well at the current time. One of the country’s leading estate agency groups recently announced their profits for the first quarter of 2015 look set the break all previous records.
Home Leasing
When finding out a little more about Hamptons International, we discovered that rental rates were also soaring this year. A lot of people simply cannot afford to purchase a property because their wages are too low. While most high street banks are more enthusiastic about lending money these days, you still have to meet certain criteria for a mortgage. That has helped to boost the rental market considerably since the end of 2014. The average rental price in the UK now stands at just over £500 per month. However, people who want to live in the most desirable areas now have to pay a lot more than that.
Home Selling
It stands to reason that most estate agencies will be making more money from the sale of homes this year. If more people are buying, it will encourage more people to sell. When there are more buyers than sellers in the marketplace, prices tend to rise pretty quickly. That means estate agency firms make an even more substantial commission when the sale finally goes through. If you were looking to start a business in that field in the near future, now is the best time to get on-board. Like it or not, there is no way of knowing how things will progress moving forward into 2016.
To answer the question posed in the title of this post, yes, estate agencies are making high profits from the housing markets this year. While it is impossible to work out how things will change over the coming months, most people in the industry are very positive about the future. So, maybe now is the best time to get involved?