Mortgages.scot

Ipos have carried out the Veracity poll since 1983 making this its 40th year. It looks at the likelihood of certain people, telling the truth in their jobs. Two roles which are relevant when it comes to property are Estate Agents and Bankers. There is rarely much movement across the index and it should be no surprise that public events sway the public's general feeling of trust.

The index

The most and least trusted

Perhaps unsurprisingly Nurses, Doctors, Teachers, Engineers and pilots are amongst the most trusted. Also not surprising is that politicians and government ministers are right at the bottom.

Estate Agents

Estate agents are close to the bottom at 5th last with 28% expecting them to be truthful. In the last poll, they were 4th from the bottom but had slightly higher trust at 33%. Bankers were 9th from the bottom at 39%, a bit down from the 41% last time.

To put this in a bit more perspective Estate agents in 2015 were 3rd from bottom at 25%, barely more trust than politicians. So it's better than it was but with new entries coming into the report over time I suspect that there is less change than it appears.

Private Landlords

A new entry in the last review was Private Landlords who were 6th from bottom at 39%, which has fallen to 34% in the most recent poll.

Why are Estate Agents in particular so untrusted?

Too many operate and act in a way that creates distrust. Over my 25 years in the industry, I don't trust them either! Why? Politely, they are often economical with the truth when it comes to both selling and buying. I have often found that they favour individuals for a purchase and therefore give them more information than other interested parties. They have been known to tell sellers their property is worth far more than it is just to get the opportunity to sell it.

Whilst it may sound harsh I do find that estate agents are staffed by inexperienced people, more like it was an admin role than a professional service.

A colleague who worked in the industry made a passing comment many years ago that she saw more brown envelopes passing through than properties.

Of course, I am focussing on the negatives but then that is why Estate Agents stay so close to the bottom of these types of polls consistently. Whilst the public changes their views consistently depending on what they experience and read in the media, their views on Estate Agents never changes.