10,000 UK Estate Agents to lose their jobs?

photo credit: buster19761976

The next time you pick up the phone to call an estate agent and they fail to answer, the lack of a response may not be just down to rudeness and disorganisation, for once. According to the Times, fears are growing that as many as 10,000 agents could lose their jobs by the end of 2008 unless the UK market picks up in the coming weeks.

But don’t laugh too loud – they aren’t ALL bad, and no work for them means one thing – banks still aren’t lending mortgages, which means if you are selling a house, you probably can’t shift it, and if you are buying one, you may not be able to borrow the cash.

Redundancy via eBay

Still, I’d like to propose every estate agency in the country launches an eBay-style bidding site if they are forced into job cuts. Disgruntled buyers and sellers could then vote or ‘bid’ on which members of staff should get the chop – whoever gets the most votes or bids gets handed their notice first.

Imagine the unforgivable tales of lost deposits, missed appointments and botched sales which would come crawling out of the woodwork – a gigantic cupboard full of ugly property skeletons never given a proper burial.

Discounts mounting up

Seriously though, jobless estate agents, while bitterly amusing to some property investors, is only a sign of a market so flat that someone’s grandma could sprinkle it in Jif lemon and serve it up on Shrove Tuesday.

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors pitched in this week with the latest plea to the government to help the situation. We watch and wait because, truth be told, the cuts and discounts are mounting up – all that’s needed is an ease on lending criteria and the sales doors can open.

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