Lettings will be safety net for agents hit by major downturn - claim

Agents should look to lettings to protect themselves when the sales market is hit by the coming recession and drop in transactions. 

That’s the view of respected PropTech voice Neil Cobbold, managing director of automated rental payment provider PayProp.

He cites HMRC data, showing that the number of property transactions fell by a third in September, and recent gloomy forecasts about transition numbers and house prices as evidence of the coming storm.

Cobbold says: “Having or adding a lettings department may add an edge of resilience to agents’ businesses by adding a predictable monthly income stream – especially when technology, such as PayProp, can improve efficiency and cut the costs of administration.

“Investing in the right processes and tools will free up time to facilitate the provision of higher-value activities such as first-class customer service, as well as saving agents hours every week on admin.”

Cobbold argues that many businesses focused on sales would massively benefit from either scaling up their lettings offer or by starting one from scratch.

“It is likely that the rental side will become even busier than it is now, because those who thought they would be able to enter the market as buyers may find their pathway blocked by high interest rates” he said.

He says a deterrent for many agents has been that lettings have been bureaucratic, complicated and with a high ‘chore’ element - but according to Cobbold, what used to be one of the most time-consuming parts of the process is now a non-issue so long as you have the right tech in place.

And he insists that the technology saves hours for agents, from generating professionally branded statements and invoices to send to  landlords and tenants, sending out payment reminders to all non-paying tenants via text and e-mail. 

“From the outset, this visibility and access to data immediately demonstrates transparency and this, in turn, generates trust – something agencies' clients crave” says Cobbold.