HUNTERS Residential, the property solicitors, is to open an extra office in Edinburgh this month despite fears that the housing slowdown will force half of UK estate agents out of business.
Hunters, which is part of the law firm Gillespie Macandrew, is going ahead with plans to open a third office in the West End despite a warning from the County Homesearch Company last month that 50% of UK estate agents will be forced to close their do
ors within the next five years. The Edinburgh Solicitors Property Centre has also advised that some of its 230 members are likely to be among the victims.
But Hunters says it has seen average sale prices rise this year, especially at the top end of the market. In the first quarter it saw the average sale price rise by £35,000. By opening an office in the West End, it hopes to cash in on opportunities in the market for properties over £500,000.
"There is still a very good market in the middle to top end and we have to have a presence in the West End to develop that," said managing partner Willie Hunter.
Although Hunter insisted the property slowdown is "nothing to panic about", he said some other estate agents will soon have to shut up shop in Scotland, particularly those that rely on volume selling at the lower end of the market. He said he knew of some firms that were already "looking for an exit".
Earlier this year, Edinburgh-based Stewart Saunders became the first Scottish victim of the credit crunch when it was forced into administration.
Hunter said independent firms also face the threat of competition from large corporates such as supermarkets, which will now be able to enter the Scottish market thanks to reforms to the legal sector which were approved at the end of last month.
Supermarkets such as Tesco will be able to offer conveyancing and other property services under the reforms, which permit solicitors to go into business with non-lawyers for the first time.
Hunter said Scots property solicitors will have to fight the same battle as independent retailers, many of which have found themselves squeezed out by the supermarkets. He suggested that more firms join coalitions so that when buyers or sellers come to them, all services can be outsourced to independent businesses under the same umbrella.
"One thing that will keep us in the market is we have people with knowledge and expertise in the market that the likes of Tesco or whoever enters the market cannot provide," he said.
The full article contains 436 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
