Diary of an agent: Ross Davies and Oliver Beales

With Knight Frank forecasting that the number of home sales in 2020 will decline by 526,000, a fall of 38% on 2019 transaction levels, the expected resumption of restricted house viewings within the next few weeks will bring a new set of challenges.

How has your home working experience been?

Ross Davies - pictured left - (RD) – I’m staying at my mother in law’s because there’s more space. It means I actually have a detached office here. The set-up is ideal as my wife is a veterinary nurse and still working too. My six-year old daughter misses school and we have a five month old son to look after also.

Oliver Beales (OB) – I have a split week. Thursday and Friday I’m working in our loft conversion. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I’m combining home schooling my two children with the job. I go from having a conversation with a client one moment to working out how many of Peter’s 32 pies his six friends will get. 

How have you managed your teams during this time?

RD – We’ve been holding a morning team meeting and an afternoon catch up where we discuss our daily, weekly and monthly goals. We’ve made sure we do some social calls during the week, including a Friday quiz. It helps as the lack of human interaction has been one of the most difficult things during this time. Ultimately, we do this job as we like people and property.

OB – I’ve a mature team, so we’ve found a daily catch up is sufficient. Of course, we’re in constant touch around that. We’ve been holding a social on Fridays where, as long as we don’t talk about work, the staff on furlough can join us. It’s been a fancy-dress theme from movies to the revealing ‘wear something that reflects your personality’.

How has the situation evolved during lockdown in regards the clients?

RD- Initially we spent time coaching the vendors about what we were heading into and what it would mean for them. We’ve used the time as a team to cleanse our data and get everything in as efficient a condition as it can be. In the past week there’s been a big uptick in the number of enquiries, especially from people based in London.

OB – Shock initially, where we made sure we spoke to all our clients and supported them. Next it was about managing expectations and making sure our clients knew we were doing all we could. Now there’s light at the end of the tunnel and growing momentum with the prospect of viewings resuming in a few weeks.

What’s the sentiment amongst clients?

RD – There’s definitely pent-up demand from buyers. Sellers went from being panic stricken to fairly bullish as they realised that while prices may not climb they aren’t going to fall like a stone.

OB – I just took a call from a client looking to sell their property in Beaconsfield and move to London. Generally though I’d say it’s mixed. Some clients have taken the view that the world’s coming to an end due to recession. Others want to get on with things and are more motivated than ever to move.

There’s talk of property transactions starting within weeks, albeit under restrictions. What are your thoughts on the rest of this year?

RD – We have pent-up demand and a shortage of stock, as we’ve not been able to bring properties to market. I believe we are going to see a surge in activity, lasting as long as six months. My gut feeling is that there will then be a return to something much more like normal trading.

OB – We launched a house this Monday and have already had six or seven enquiries about it. If the price correction within the UK market is no more than 5% then buyers will have the confidence to push on. I also believe that if you were looking to move from a city for more space etc lockdown will push people to act.

What’s surprised you most about the last few months?

RD – I’ve lost my hair. To provide context, I’m an ambassador for charity LandAid and agreed to shave it off to raise funds. I’m closing in on my target of £1,000, which is great but I have to say I really liked my hair and just hope that it grows back.

• Read more Diary of an Agent interviews.