Estate agents are dedicating more time than necessary to producing valuation reports for clients, according to new research from CRM platform Street.co.uk.
A survey of estate agents found that 82% believe creating, customising or rebranding valuation reports takes more staff time than it should, highlighting the administrative burden involved in preparing one of the industry’s key sales tools.
Branding challenges
The research revealed significant inconsistencies in how agencies approach valuation report branding. Just 31% of agencies said their valuation reports are fully branded to match their business, whilst 35% said they are only partially branded. A further 21% admitted their reports are not branded at all, and 13% said they do not routinely provide valuation reports to prospective clients.
Heather Staff, Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive of Street Group, said: “Our research shows that agents understand just how important valuation reports have become, but too many are still spending valuable time trying to adapt documents that weren’t designed to reflect their own brand or way of working.”
Operational obstacles
When asked about the biggest challenges involved in producing valuation reports, agents cited tailoring reports to individual vendors at 28%, maintaining consistent branding at 23%, ensuring consistency across branches and valuers at 20%, and producing and sending reports quickly at 18%.
The findings come as the property sector continues to adapt to changing market conditions, with investment property purchases driving growth in certain segments of the market.
Despite the operational challenges, 80% of agents surveyed believe greater control over the branding, content and layout of valuation reports would help them win more instructions. The time-consuming nature of report production represents a potential efficiency gap for agencies operating in a competitive market, particularly as transaction timelines face pressure from various regulatory and market factors.
The research suggests that whilst agents recognise the commercial value of professional valuation reports, many continue to face practical difficulties in delivering them efficiently whilst maintaining brand consistency across their operations.
