PR: Why did you set up Residential People?
CM: I set up Residential People with my co-founder, Nahim Rahman in 2015. Between us, we have with over 30 years of experience in the property and financial services industry for both B2B and B2C. The concept for Residential People initially began when I became frustrated with effectively being priced out of the market by the extortionate fees charged to list my agency's properties.
This frustration regarding lack of flexibility in the portal pricing structures and their lack of compassion and understanding was the key driving force behind creating Residential People. Many of the Residential People team were previously estate agents and mortgage advisers. For us, the Covid-19 pandemic brings back painful memories of trying to operate a successful property business during the 2008 financial crash. That challenging experience has taught us that if we are to get through these turbulent times without more agents going bust, we must provide a high-quality, reliable service to agents that is also economically viable.
PR: What makes Residential People different from other property portals?
CM: Residential People is a free-to-list property portal and at present, we have approximately 1,800 agents that have already joined the platform and we’re actively looking for more to join our disruptive crusade. We are genuinely passionate about providing long term solutions to fully supportive of agents’ needs. This is why we have decided to give agents the chance to own shares in Residential People and steer the business in a way that suits their needs.
As well as being free-to-list, we are currently developing a powerful database marketing tool, that will give consumers the best possible journey when looking for their dream home. This innovative service (which we will offer free of charge) will put agents at the forefront of our thinking and will enable the consumer to tell us all of their property requirements, thus allowing agents to do what they do best - help consumers find their dream home.
At Residential People, we believe that agents should be part of these conversations at every step of the way as the best person to sell a property is the agent themselves.
We have just launched a new legally binding contract, which signifies our commitment to continue to deliver a free advertising solution in these troubling economic times, but more importantly in perpetuity.
We are investing heavily in the portal to further develop our offering, so that we can deliver more to agents through an innovative marketing platform. We will be helping agents become more informed about the individuals who have an interest in moving within an area and delivering key insights such, as renewal dates for mortgages, potential moving timeframe and much, much more. All gathered information will be passed directly onto the agent, giving them the opportunity to showcase their brand in front of this audience.
To further enhance the search for finding a home, we’ll be introducing a bespoke service that will allow the home seeker to find their perfect home without having to spend endless hours searching. Enquiries of this nature will be passed directly onto the agent to help them monetise additional revenue streams. We are also incorporating Fintech into our platform to help consumers be aware of the true costs of moving. We’ll be improving the user journey by surfacing key information at the right times, this will include giving them tailored mortgage rates and insurance products for their needs.
PR: How are you helping agents through Covid-19?
CM: The Coronavirus has had a drastic impact on the livelihood of estate agents and businesses across the UK, so we have made all our premium features, free of charge, for every estate agency wishing to join. Residential People’s ‘featured property’ listing offers agents the ability to exclusively advertise within the desired location on a first come first serve basis. Agents will also have free access to our marketing suite.
We are allowing agents to enjoy all our premium features and advertising for free whilst the pandemic is ongoing - additionally, existing customers will have their contracts extended. There are measures in place to ensure that all agents are treated equally. We are not in the business of favouritism – regardless of how big the estate agency brand is. Plans are already in place to extend this offer, should the pandemic worsen.
PR: What do you think are the biggest challenges for the property market in 2020?
CM: Figures from March’s Halifax House Price Index reveal a slight increase in the annual house price compared to the previous year before the market was effectively suspended. Banks are no longer lending and the housing market is effectively frozen. Another challenge caused by the pandemic is the employment uncertainty with many people worried about their jobs, or even if they have a job to go back too. This will almost certainly have an adverse effect on the amount of mortgage lending is done.
The one saving grace is the bank of England base rate is at an all-time low, so although I expect that 2020 is going to be very slow. I do think it will bounce back early next year. In the meantime, we will do everything we can to win as much business for our agents on the platform as possible.
PR: What do you love and hate about the property market?
CM: I love the property industry as it is so fast-moving and I like the people in the Industry - they are all so entrepreneurial and competitive, so never a dull moment. I am also competitive, but what I like the most about my involvement in the industry is how we can change people lives with new innovations and there are no ceilings on just how much quicker and easier we can make things happen as technology is forever moving forward. We make peoples lives much easier.
I hate the fact that big corporates try to stifle innovation by offering incentives that help to control their distribution, at the expense of agents.
