Times are tough for estate agents...why it seems like every estate agent is now doing lettings.

Look around a small town like Bexhill and you'll notice just how many estate agents there are, 14 at the last count! With a population of approximately 41,173 and only 9.3% of the population living in rented accommodation, why are all estate agents turning to Lettings.

The sales market is stalling, Brexit uncertainty has crushed confidence in the property market, according to the official surveyors’ body, with buyers evaporating, prices falling and sales taking a record amount of time to complete. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said the time taken to complete a property sale has widened to 19 weeks, the longest duration since it began collecting data.

It seems that estate agents up and down the country, unable to sell property, are pouring into the lettings business instead. Like rental properties themselves, the market for letting agents is now saturated. 

Of the 14 agents in Bexhill only one estate agent does not do Lettings alongside their sales. So this must be good news for landlords? More competition means better deals and reduced  fees surely? Not so, the influx has been so great that the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) has warned about a flood of "unqualified" agents without professional qualifications or standards hitting our high streets.

So yes, you might get a great deal, but will your letting agent be up to speed on all the relevant legislation, know what notices need to be served and when and have in-dept knowledge of the lettings market? Or will they simply be an unqualified sales agent trying to boost their income at the expense of landlords and tenants.

Choose a letting agent who is well established, knows the business and the town and most importantly is qualified in Lettings.