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Construction & Property
Estate Agency
The property industry in the UK is worth a whopping £4 billion with over 1.8 million properties bought and sold every year. Dealing with both sellers and buyers your main duties will be around the valuation of property and the negation of its sale. Also, with the boom in the renters market in the UK you're likely to find yourself helping to manage rented property for clients.
You can expect the hours to be varied and often unsociable, you might find yourself viewing houses after office hours or at the weekend in order to secure a sale but with many posts offering performance based salaries being willing to go that extra mile to secure your bonus is a must.
Working as an estate agent is quite similar to working as a general practice Surveyor. You're likely to be involved in the valuation of properties, which involves looking at the property's condition, comparing this to other properties in the area and applying local market knowledge to value properties. You will also be involved in marketing the property to prospective employers and act as an agent for clients in the purchase, leasing or sale of property and land.
If you're looking for a career in estate agency, applicants with a driving licence are likely to find it an advantage and you'll have to be a smart dresser and well presented as your likely to be dealing with clients on a daily basis. Key skills will include good negation skills as well as being a confident communicator with an excellent sales pitch.
Although you're unlikely to need any specific work experience in the field to go into an estate agency role, experience within a sales environment is likely to look good on your CV as is any experience with dealing with the public.
A degree is not essential for a career in estate agency but due to increasing competition from graduates entering property management, it is an advantage. You will need to have some good local knowledge of the area you wish to work as well as a general understanding of the market conditions and changes in industry practice and regulations.
Wherever there are properties to sell you will find estate agents with clusters of agencies to be found in the major cities and in built up residential areas across Yorkshire. Agencies range from branches of large national firms to local independent firms.
Job vacancies in Construction & Property
Useful links:
The National Association of Estate Agents
The largest professional estate agency organisation in the UK, which offers a wealth of advice and information on topics such as qualifications, short courses and careers.
Association of Residential Letting Agents
Professional body solely concerned with lettings.