THEY were once stalwarts of the high street, standing proud alongside the butcher, the bank and the local grocery shop.
But just as those businesses have slowly retreated from formerly vibrant town centres, it now appears that estate agents are following suit.
New research has found that failures among property businesses are on the rise in the UK, with more than 50 going bust each year in Scotland since 2013.
Across the border the situation is even worse, with 2,446 estate agents in England and Wales closing their doors during the same time frame as they come under pressure from rising costs and competition from the internet, according to research by property management firm DJ Alexander.
And it may be that office-based estate agents are going for good, with researchers finding "generational" shift in the way people look for property.
David Alexander, managing director of DJ Alexander Ltd, explained: "For most people under 40-years-old, the idea of wandering from shop to shop in city centres’ is alien to them and they conduct many of their purchases on their phones, tablets, or computers.
"This situation is only likely to continue, and we can see that High Street outlets such as estate agents are suffering as a result and will continue to suffer over the next few years.
"Online competition has had a dramatic impact on the High Street with its lower cost base and its generational and cultural shift from on street to online shopping.
"The internet has undercut much of the High Street in the retail and other sectors over the last five years and this is likely to continue.”
The research covers a period when exclusively online estate agents such as Purple Bricks became established, proving that the model does work.
By cutting out bricks-and-mortar premises and handling everything electronically, firms such have these have been able to cut costs while serving clients needs, Mr Alexander said.
He added: "The loss of the High Street estate agent does not mean less service, in fact it means more, with a greater focus on the needs of the client.
"The online client is simply using a different method of accessing the housing market, but their demands remain as high, if not higher, than before.
"But the market remains buoyant for those offering clients an up to date online service fully catering for all their needs from initial advice, consulting, managing, advertising, and promoting with their key legal and financial needs met.
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"It is a brave new world but one in which estate agency will continue to exist but not in the way it has in the past and these failures are a sign that there will be closures along the way as the market adjusts.”
Gavin Mochan, Sales Director for s1Homes, said that the rise of online estate agents had gathered pace in recent years.
He said: "Initially, when online portals came to pass the pure online agent seemed inconceivable given some of the key ingredients were missing.
"A great example of a missing fundamental was data. Back then finding out how much your house was worth was reliant on the local knowledge of your estate agent and the process was purely physical.
"These days portals such as s1homes can tell you the purchase price of every house in the street giving you very credible estimates."
However, he said that the estate agents who are doing best are those who have developed a hybrid approach using both an online and a physical presence.
Andrew Perratt, Head of Residential Property at Savills in Scotland agrees, saying that even with their wide-reaching work on the web, there is little substitute for a face-to-face meeting.
He said: "Savills is currently seeing the strongest market in Scotland for a decade and having a powerful website with global reach is more important than ever.
"That said, it is ultimately about listening to our clients and our research tells us that they continue to want the convenience of their agent on the high street.
"The most successful agents are combining the benefits of powerful online marketing with a first class personalised service from people they can actually meet face to face.
He added: "You can’t do that by hiding behind a pc. As long as consumers want the convenience of speaking to a local agent with in depth local market knowledge, we’ll continue to offer a branch network which puts our agents at the heart of their local communities."
Malcolm Leslie, Head of Residential Agency for Strutt & Parker in Scotland, said: “There is no doubt that businesses across every sector need to adapt to a changing marketplace and find ways of responding to new challenges.
"The residential property sector has recently been going through a visible period of disruption and change, with the ‘online’ agency models reaching the headlines, and ‘proptech’ companies appearing at a rapid pace.
"To ensure we stay in touch with our clients’ needs and expectations, we are responding and adapting to those challenges through the use of that technology."
He added: “We think there is a place in the future for both online agents and traditional agents.
"There will be sellers who choose to market their properties online, which realistically allows vendors to sell their home themselves, and those who are willing to pay for a complete service, with the additional hope that having a dedicated expert will result in a better sale and higher price.”
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