Agent confidence hits three year high says Zoopla

In its latest State of the Property Nation report, which questions over 650 agents and 6,000 consumers, Zoopla says 55 per cent of agents feel either ‘very confident’ or ‘somewhat confident’ in the strength of the market. 

This follows a three-year consecutive decline in agent confidence, down from 79 per cent in 2016 to 51 per cent in 2018 – the three years of uncertainty following the EU Referendum result.

From a regional perspective, agents in the north are registering the highest levels of confidence in market performance for 2020 at 57 per cent; meanwhile, agents in the south come in at 53 per cent and demonstrate the highest turnaround in sentiment, up from 46 per cent a year ago.

Some 52 per cent of agents expect to see an increase in the supply of stock coming onto the market over the next 12 to 18 months. 

Additionally, 45 per cent believe that there will be an increase in the number of property transactions that take place across the year ahead.

Some 54 per cent of agents expect to derive increased income from property management fees, 50 per cent from property sales and 45 per cent from lettings fees in 2020.

The report also shows a high reliance on referral fees - 43 per cent of agents believe that there is scope to increase earnings by recommending mortgage lenders or brokers, and 42 per cent by recommending legal services.

But there remains what Zoopla calls “a tangible nervousness” around some aspects of the future with 47 per cent of agents unclear on the realities of the new government’s housing policy.