Trust, branding, and the estate agent’s dilemma

It’s been a bruising few weeks for the estate agency sector.

First it was Panorama on BBC 1, then You and Yours on BBC Radio 4 — both highlighting examples of agents prioritising their own commission over the customer’s best interests. Secret recordings, hidden incentives, questionable advice. The kind of behaviour most sellers assume just doesn’t happen anymore.

And that’s the real issue: people expect more. More honesty. More integrity. More respect. After all, selling a home is often the biggest financial transaction of a person’s life. The idea that an agent might treat it as just another deal — or worse, a chance to push an in-house mortgage — rightly shocks people.

The challenge is this: People have to trust you before they’ve even met you.

Your brand is what makes that possible.

A brand isn’t your logo. It’s your reputation — the sum of what people see, hear, and feel when they come across your business. It’s the first impression and it’s a lasting one. And whether you like it or not, customers use it to build their shortlist long before they pick up the phone or visit your office.

If your branding looks vague, dated, or inconsistent, it sends a signal: “We’re not professional”. That’s why strong, up-to-date and consistent branding isn’t a luxury. It’s a business essential. About as fundamental today as having a website.

But good branding can’t just say, “We’re professional.” It needs to show how you’re different. Because if your promise is the same as every other agent — local knowledge, friendly service, great marketing — then the only thing left to compare is your commission rate. And that’s a race to the bottom.

What you need is a clear, credible promise of a better experience — and a brand that helps people believe in that promise.

That takes strategic thinking, not just a new layout of your homepage. And it takes more than a web design agency. You need someone who can help you define what makes you different, articulate it convincingly, and express it consistently across everything you do — from your logo to your tone of voice to your sales materials.

If you’re serious about building trust, defending your margin, and standing apart from the agents who give the industry a bad name, let’s talk.