Would you pay more for a regulated estate agent?

For the last few months, The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has had a working group, chaired by Lord Best, trying to determine how best to advance standards in the property buying and selling market.

They’ve decided it’s time to regulate Estate and Lettings agents. Indeed, they’ll be regulating anyone who has a customer facing bit of their business, so that will include auctioneers, property managers etc etc.. What they won’t be doing, for now at least, is regulating the half of the lettings market that seeks to DIY, which is about 50% of it. Word is the regulator’s remit will widen to include them in due course, which makes sense. ETA is two years – but subject to slippage I reckon.

I’d be fascinated to know how many Silversurfers would feel happier if they knew their selling and letting agent was regulated even if they had to pay a little more?

Personally, I have been campaigning for years for it. I sat on the board of The Property Ombudsman for ten years, and still advise on their industry forum, and although I think redress has its place, I can’t help feeling that a basic level of competence is a prerequisite to advising anyone on such an important move.

Many already pay more for what they perceive as a more upmarket agent, and although in the old days operators at those businesses had to be members of the RICS, it’s no longer the case – so why might you pay more to a big brand.