Just as TripAdvisor has done for travel and tourism, rating and review websites are set to shake up the world of property lettings and sales. Now property lettings and estate agents are being marked for their performance with clients giving ratings and making comments about the service provided.
Both sellers and landlords can leave reviews either rating or ranting about an agent. Anyone who is thinking of selling or letting their home can look online to find out which is the best company in their area with which to do business.
This has understandably caused some controversy in the property world as the system is open to abuse with the possibility of posting fake reviews.
But these types of sites are widely used and prove popular with consumers who can turn to review websites and social media, together with recommendations from family and friends in order to find the right agent.
Using review websites as a guide
Most people do not solely base their decision upon the content of these review websites but, rather, use them as a guideline. They are astute enough to know that not every review will be 100% accurate but if a business has more good reviews than bad, then they may add it to their list of possibilities.
The reviews can be a boost for hard working agents who give a five-star performance while others can use them as a wake-up call to improve their business.
The best-known site is AllAgents, which calls itself the UK’s largest customer review website for the property industry. It is easy to use as you can search for an agent by name or by district and postcode. There is also a league table for agents in a particular town so you can see who comes out on top.
There is also raterAgent where every review is checked by hand before it goes live on the website in order to minimise any fake data. The site was set up so that customers can find the best local agents through independent feedback and so that high quality agents can showcase just how good they really are.
Reviews can improve performance of property agents
Professional agents will welcome such review resources as it makes them ever more accountable and transparent.
These websites are just another way in which innovation and technology are working together to provide impartial information to customers, thereby incentivising agents to continue to improve performance and innovation.