The decisive result in the General Election has provided a welcome fillip for the UK estate agents. Uncertainty surrounding mansion tax, controls on rents and the banning of tenant fees has dissipated and comparatives are set to ease in the second half of 2015.
While the near term news is positive and the listed players have diversified into areas with more stable revenue streams, we believe the sector faces longer term headwinds. It is still largely exposed to the highly cyclical nature of housing transactions and the growth of fixed price online estate agents is likely to lead to downward pressure, possibly significant, on industry fees and profits.
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