The future of estate agency: some consequences of the recent acquisition boom in south west England

Abstract

The estate agency industry is experiencing its largest strudural change for decades, brought about by the general deregulation of UK financial markets. Entrance of large financial institutions into the industry has had various effects on its methods of operation and performance. Some of the changes have occurred not because of the changes in ownership status of the operators per se but merely as a result of the increased competition enforced on the market by the merger activity.