One in six estate agents closed

One in six estate agents has closed for business over the last year thanks to the recession, according to research by The Local Data Company.

The research revealed that 142 estate agencies closed between October 2008 and October 2009, representing 15.8% of the total market.

Chains of five units or more were worst hit, losing 54 outlets (16.8%), compared to 89 independents (15.2%).

A spokesperson said:

"As the symbol of ghost town Britain with swathes of unsold flats, Leeds was the worst hit with 26% of outlets closing, Bristol, Liverpool, London and Glasgow all followed with 16.%."

Taking into account figures for the entire country, rather than just the top 10 cities, the research showed that Halifax suffered the greatest number of closures, shutting 30.6% of its estate agency branches. The closures took the number of Halifax offices from 147 to 102.

Bairstow remains the most biggest agency, with 174 outlets now open compared to 218 in 2008, a drop of 20.2%.

Savills closed just six of its 80 branches – a cut of 7.5%.

Meanwhile, on a positive note for the sector, the UK’s largest estate agency, Countrywide announced this week that it is to employ between 250 and 300 new negotiators in 2010.