Survey highlights lack of consumer awareness about Propertymark

Propertymark needs to do more to promote the value of its agents and to ensure people know it exists, property commentator Charlie Lamdin has claimed.

It comes as a survey on Lamdin’s Moving With Charlie YouTube page highlighted a lack of awareness about Propertymark among viewers.

Of more than 500 respondents, 82% said they had never heard of the agency trade body, 12% said they had heard of it but had no idea what it was, 4% had heard of it but said it was of no concern and just 1% said they have heard of it and said it’s a factor in the choice of agent.

There is no way of knowing where the respondents are from and if any have recently used an agent, which may sway whether or not they have heard of Propertymark.

Lamdin said he posted the survey in response to property TV presenter Phil Spencer’s recent MoveIQ housing market update, which is developed in partnership with Propertymark.

The update highlighted Propertymark data claiming more homes are coming up for sale and that prices are still above pre-pandemic levels.

Lamdin queried if Spencer is risking his audience trust “by promoting the Propertymark narrative at the same time as giving unhelpful views that are not only inaccurate but not his area of expertise.”

He told Estate Agent Today: “Spencer is the undisputed expert of properties themselves, no question. But he’s no expert on the wider market. 

“There is no issue with anyone being sponsored, but when movers trust someone to be impartial, and not only are they not impartial, but they’re used as a trusted mouthpiece to push a very partisan narrative, it’s compounding the public’s mistrust of the whole industry.”

Lamdin described Propertymark as an excellent training organisation but suggested it is a “tired and outdated organisation” from the point of view of representing the industry to the public.

He added: “Other than for training, what have they delivered that helped any agent ever?

“People will never trust the industry as a whole while the mouthpiece is pumping out vested interest guff.”

Responding to the comments, Spencer said: “It’s important to us at Move iQ that we provide home movers with as representative view of the housing market as possible, so people can form their own opinions.

"This is why since our inception, we have, and will continue to, talk to as wide a range of industry experts as possible as can be seen on our housing market update and people in property YouTube playlists, with more to come throughout the year.

"We also make no apology for endorsing Propertymark member agents who take qualifications, regulation and CPD seriously.

"This is of huge benefit to the consumer in a still largely un-regulated industry. We believe it is in the best interests for consumers to work with a professional who is willing to go above current minimum professional standards.

"MoveIQ shares the hope that amplifying public awareness of Propertymark agents reaches a point where public awareness is so strong that not using a member firm feels as risky for example as booking a holiday without using an ABTA/ATOL registered travel agent."

Nathan Emerson, chief executive of Propertymark, added:“Propertymark is a professional membership body and our priorities over the last few years especially have been working predominantly with the UK Government to amplify our members voices and needs when important decisions have been made in what has been an uncertain market.

"We are constantly evolving our delivery to the needs of members and we currently have a huge drive underway to ensure that members are represented in consumer spaces.

"Last year we increased investment into our PR team and as a result our presence in consumer media rose by 178%.

"Many of these opportunities go to agents on the ground within our membership. Since July we have been progressing on an even larger consumer awareness campaign.”

More than 1.2m consumers have downloaded Propertymark and MoveIQ  guidance and market updates since July 2022.

Propertymark was named in national, regional and broadcast consumer media 2,245 times, an average of six per day, the trade body said.