London’s Five Competition Clusters: Which Property Brands are you Competing with?
The London property market is incredibly fragmented, with a vast number of agencies competing for instructions throughout the capital. When we look at how the market operates and consider the fact that no single brand has over 3.5% of the total market share1, it’s easy to see why the issue of competition has become a complex and somewhat confusing one.
Many London agents operating in today’s market are unclear on exactly who their direct competitors are, and why these brands are the ones they should be focusing on. Of course, almost every agent can confidently explain what their “sweet spot” is, in terms of the value and types of properties that they are best at instructing and selling. But that should not be the sole consideration when it comes to competitor research.
It doesn’t necessarily follow that agents with similar “sweet spots” are in direct competition with each other. It’s hugely important that agents recognise this, and go a step further when thinking about competition and market share.
The London property market has long been something of an enigma, but in today’s age of big data, there's plenty of information available which can be used to help estate agents make informed decisions.
Using data collected via TwentyEA’s targeted Insight tool, we’ve discovered a whole host of intriguing patterns that shine a light on competition in the market. Focusing on the top 50 agents2 in the capital, our research has clearly shown which London estate agents are competing with each other - and why.
The data has been used to inform us on the vendor personas that different brands typically attract, this information has enabled our team to group the companies that are competing for the attention of similar vendors and instructions. Importantly, the data focuses on similarities where the vendors themselves are concerned, rather than comparable property characteristics.
The research shows that the London property market boils down to five different competition clusters.
If you serve the London market as an estate agent, read on to find out which brands are competing with you right now.
Cluster A – High-flyer Owners
This segment contains vendors who tend to be wealthy landlords, or professionals employed in high status roles in the City. Typical instruction prices here are well over £1 million.
Estate agents in this cluster, in order of their size in the territory, are as follows:
- Savills
- Knight Frank
- Hamptons International
- JLL
- Fine & Country
- My London Home
Cluster B – Comfortable Vendors
This segment contains vendors that are more settled and established than cluster A. Whilst they are less wealthy, they are still have high relative affluence. Typical instruction prices are around £685,000.
Estate agents in this cluster, in order of their size in the territory, are as follows:
- John D Wood & Co.
- Gibbs Gillespie
- Curchods Estate Agents
- Langford Russell
- Cubitt & West
- Coopers Residential
- The Personal Agent
- Robsons
- Alan De Maid
Cluster C – Urban Budget
This segment contains vendors that have relatively low wealth and income, with typical instruction prices which reflect this at around £435,000. Vendors tend to be much younger than those detailed in the preceding segments. They are also early adopters of new technology.
Estate agents in this cluster, in order of their size in the territory, are as follows:
- Purplebricks.com
- Haart
- Bairstow Eves
- Robinson Jackson
- Your Move
- Balgores
- Douglas Allen
- Beresfords
- Connells
Cluster D – Mass Appeal
This segment contains a very broad range of vendors, but all have mid to high affluence. Estate agents in this cluster appeal to large sections of homeowners, so it’s not surprising that some of the best-known brands appear in this cluster. There is a wider range of instruction prices here, but the average is around £750,000.
Estate agents in this cluster, in order of their size in the territory, are as follows:
- Foxtons
- Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward
- Dexters
- Winkworth
- Chestertons
- Marsh & Parsons
- Martyn Gerrard
- Ellis & Co
- Ludlow Thompson
- Keatons
- Douglas & Gordon
- Pedder
- Felicity J Lord
Cluster E – Backbone of Britain
This segment contains vendors who are settled within their extended families and live in the suburbs, rather than the centre of the city. Consequently, typical instruction prices are around £475,000.
Estate Agents in this cluster, in order of their size in the territory, are as follows:
- Martin & Co
- Pattinson
- Barnard Marcus
- Streets Ahead
- Chancellors
- Castles
- Hunters
- Yopa
- Kings Group
- Townends
- Andrews Estate Agents
- Acorn
- Mann Countrywide
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Whilst we have found some overlaps in typical instructions across these five different clusters, these distinct groupings provide a real insight into competition in the current London property market. For estate agents, this never before seen information could prove invaluable in helping to guide efficient, cost-effective marketing strategies that really do grow market share.
1 Market share is measured by the number of SALE new instructions between 22/08/2018 and 21/08/2019, divided by the total number of SALE new instructions in inner and outer London regions
2 The top 50 agents were defined by the volume of new SALES listings, for inner and outer London, between 22/08/2018 and 21/08/2019