This compares to just 5.7% four years ago, when Metropix undertook the same analysis in June 2012.
Brian Farrell, Director of Metropix, a supplier of floor plan based products to the residential estate agency market, had this to say: “The appeal of floor plans continues to grow with letting agents who are looking to differentiate themselves from competitors. It’s a clear instruction winner and agents are really seeing that they matter to both landlords and tenants. As a judge at one of the major forthcoming letting agency awards, I was interested in seeing that many letting agents that entered are now using floor plans as a key point of difference.”
Research from Rightmove backs this up, as their last study in 2015 found that 1 in 5 buyers and tenants said they would ignore a listing without a floor plan, or only return if nothing else caught their eye. On top of this 37% of landlords would not invite an agent to value their home, if they did not provide floor plans as standard.
Concludes Brian Farrell: “The tide continues to turn as letting agents look for a unique selling point for their own organisation. Our complementary Space Planner tool is growing in popularity too as it helps agents offer an interactive service so prospective tenants can plan the layout of furnishings in a home: ideal for those looking to rent who may already have belongings and would prefer not to have to re-purchase new sofas or wardrobes with each and every house-move!”
