The Times and Sunday Times Lettings Agency of the Year Awards 2011

The Times and Sunday Times Lettings Agency of the Year Awards 2011 were held on Tuesday 7th June at the Lancaster London Hotel. Organised by Estate Agency Events, the day started with a series of talks in the morning, with the awards ceremony held in the afternoon after lunch.

As always it was interesting to hear from a variety of people working in the industry. Ben Harris presented a session of his Top 20 ideas to take away, which always get you thinking about new and exciting ideas.

The guest speaker this year was Dame Kelly Holmes, whose motivational presentation was nothing short of inspiring.  Her dedication to reaching her full potential, pushing herself to the limit to achieve the Olympic double Gold at the Athens’ Games, despite injury after injury, was simply amazing.

Buy-to-Let Lives On

There was an article on the Sunday Times yesterday saying how Buy-to-let lives on. To me this seems a bit of a non story.

Over the last few years commentators have been speculating that buy-to-let does not have a future. Do these people not take note what is happening in the real world.

A few months ago we at Young Group wrote a paper which looked at the demographics of the UK going forward. One of the most obvious findings was the increase in ‘solo’ households – in 2006 it was 6.8 million, forecast for 2031 by the Communities and Local Government is for it to rise to 10.9 million, a 60%+ increase. This is driven by a selection of factors, including increased immigration, people marrying later, higher divorce rate, and importantly individuals wanting greater flexibility.

These points coupled with a growing population/households (in the same 25 year period, UK households are set to increase from 21.5 million to 27.8 million), lead to a need for more housing. However, many of these groups are unable to afford to buy – especially with the current difficulties in raising funds – therefore they look to the rental market.

The term buy-to-let came about in the late ’90′s when the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) worked with some lenders to offer more widely investment mortgages. However, there were many investors who had been doing this for years, it was not a new phenomenon but one that in many ways was just a case of rebranding.

For all the years I have been going to property events (MIPIM, Property Week’s Resi, etc) there has been a lot of talk about institutions such as Aviva, Legal & General, etc investing in residential property as was the case early in the last century. Apart from a few funds this has not materialised. It does make sense for them to invest in this asset class – and many are currently evaluating this as an option – but no action has taken place.

This has to be the biggest asset class where the individual investor has greater exposure than institutions. Despite the headlines of the last few years most who have invested in residential property are committed to it. Our recent Young Index survey shows that 98% of investors surveyed intend to hold for the next 12 months, with almost half planning on holding for at least the next 10 years. There are good returns to make out of this sector, seeing it as a long term investment is important.

So, let’s stop trying to kill off one of our oldest and most fundamental industries, and encourage it, as it is paramount for the future growth of the economy.

Young London Win Best Small Lettings Agency Award

Wow, what a day Friday was.

I attended the Estate Agency of the Year awards, sponsored by The Sunday Times. The event was at Stamford Bridge, and about 500 people attended. Around 40% of all estate agency branches in the UK were represented.

The morning was a session of seminars. Then a lunch, followed by the awards ceremony. Young London was nominated for Best UK Small Lettings Agency. More about how we got on later!

I attended the Future of Estate Agency Seminar. It started with Julian O’Dell, a trainer, he used his time well, giving some very simple but effective tips – a good start to the day. Then Dan Hare (Editor of The Academy) and Ben Harris (social media expert) gave a clear overview of the opportunities that social media gives. The last session was then held by Peter Knight and was structured around ‘top 20 tips’ –  a really useful 20 mins!

We then convened for lunch, and then onto the awards…

Penny Smith presented the awards, and she kept them flowing really well. Most shortlists had 4/5 companies, although our category had 8. Of course our name was mentioned last – really chuffed to be on the shortlist.

Bronze award went to Roberts Newby from Gerrards Cross, and the Managing Director – Simon Roberts – was sitting next to me. Then a joint silver went to Newmans Property Service & Fleetmilne Residential. I spoke to Nicola from Fleetmilne later – good luck setting up the Bristol office!

Then the gold award winner was announced, and I was delighted when they said YOUNG LONDON! The judge’s comments were as follows:

“ This Agency really impressed the panel with their attention to detail and excellent standards of service, setting them apart from many of their competitors.  Directors are extremely hands-on, recognising landlords and tenants have a choice of agents.  Their knowledge and authority on industry developments and their local knowledge is extremely impressive, as is their monthly market report which is sent out to landlords and tenants.  An especially nice touch is a welcome pack at each property including a Molton Brown selection and a copy of their hardback book “The London Companion”.  The professionalism of each member of Young Group forms the backbone of their business; they have an analytical approach to evaluating the market and investment opportunities reaping them well deserved rewards.”

We have an excellent team who are dedicated to customer service.  We do realise clients – whether they are landlords or tenants – have a choice, and we respect that.

It was a good event, congratulations to all the other winners.