FREE E-MAG: New homes for sale from Richard Kendall Estate Agents

WHEN the country went into lockdown in March estate agents, along with everyone else, had to adapt quickly and make sweep­ing changes to the way they worked.
New digital version of Richard Kendall Property Magazine summer 2020 edition - read it free onlineNew digital version of Richard Kendall Property Magazine summer 2020 edition - read it free online
New digital version of Richard Kendall Property Magazine summer 2020 edition - read it free online

Richard Kendall Estate Agents has many decades of experience to call on and was able to react quickly with measures put in place almost immediately to ensure the business would survive and emerge as strong as ever.

FREE E-MAG: New technology has played a vital role like this amazing page-turning e-mag, a digital version of the Richard Kendall Property Magazine summer edition, showcasing a fabulous range of homes on the market – CLICK HERE.

WATCH: Check out the video virtual tours of homes for sale on the Richard Kendall YouTube site – CLICK HERE.

Director Claire Kendall said: “Obviously this was a completely new experience for all of us but we were de­termined to do all we could to ensure the continued success of the business.

“Our staff throughout these past few months have been fantastic. They have all adapted to the challenging circumstances, some having to juggle childcare and home schooling with working from their kitchens and spare rooms.

“Fortunately we already had avery good communica­tions infrastructure in place so we were able to divert phones and set up internet connections within a short space of time.”

As it has for many busi­nesses, the video conferencing platform Zoom has been a vital tool for Richard Kendall.

Claire added: “We have had daily meetings with staff which, as well as being help­ful for business planning purposes has also been a way of keeping morale up.

“We remained busy throughout lockdown, en­gaging with our clients, and doing what we could to assist those who had sales almost at completion.

"We even agreed and number of sales, and let nearly 40 properties from the virtual tours, we have been created in partnership with our tenants, landlords and vendors.

"The expanded use of technology in this way has really opened our eyes to the possibility for the future.

"When the Prime Minister addressed the nation on Sunday, May, 10, he announced that some businesses could open up again but that estate agents were not included.

"However, two days later, that decision was reversed and it was announced they could open the very next day, Wednesday, May 13, subject to adhering to strict government guidelines.

Claire said: "We did not know what to expect when the housing market was able to move again and we were not sure of the confidence of the marketplace.

"However, since May 13, we have literally not stopped.

Check out the fabulous homes for sale in the 40-page property magazine now onlieCheck out the fabulous homes for sale in the 40-page property magazine now onlie
Check out the fabulous homes for sale in the 40-page property magazine now onlie

"in the first six weeks, we:

* Booked nearly 500 valuations.

* Put almost 200 properties to the market.

* Arranged more than 5,100 viewings.

* Received over 630 offers.

* Registered over 3,000 applicants on our mailing list.

The number of new houses on the market is not keeping pace with buyer demandThe number of new houses on the market is not keeping pace with buyer demand
The number of new houses on the market is not keeping pace with buyer demand

* Received 3,319 enquiries from the property portals on top of over 350 enquiries direct from our own website.

" We enter the summer with caution but also optimism that the market in Wakefield and Pontefract can sustain these levels and hope we can all look forward to the rest of 2020."

One unexpected bonus of the lockdown has been that the agency's founder and director, Richard Kendall, who was being self isolated in North Yorkshire since the end of February, has been able to enjoy tending his garden throughout the summer for the first time since he started out in the business, more than 50 years ago - and Claire, who visited him last week, said it is looking lovely.

LINKS:

Twitter: @RKEA_Sales