As an Estate Agent you may consider the ‘December downturn’ the wrong time of year to expand your team. After all, the property market typically slows down in the weeks before year-end, as potential buyers shift their focus to holiday festivities and put their property search on hold until the new year. Poor winter weather can also deter buyers from attending viewings. Many property-related services, such as conveyancing attorneys, wind down and may be closed during the Christmas week and early January. Granted, there are some genuine buyers during December who are committed to moving quickly.
However, looking forward to 2025, this year-end lull is predicted to be short-lived. According to recent forecasts by specialists in the financial and property markets, the UK housing market is going to head into 2025 “on the front foot”, with mortgage approvals set to peak in the first three months of the new year.”1 One reason property sales are projected to spike at the beginning of next year is that people will be motivated to buy property before the rise in stamp duty in April 2025. From this time 83% of homebuyers will pay more stamp duty.
Don’t just play catch up – get ready for a bumper 2025
As an estate agent, you may already find yourself at a tipping point – with a workload that is far too big for one person to manage without cutting corners. Electing to use the December downturn to catch up on what was not accomplished at the end of 2024 is not nearly as effective as getting ready to capitalise on the property upswing so you can grow your business in 2025. The first step to taking advantage of the Q1 upturn is to pre-emptively grow your team, so you can delegate busy routine work and focus on the tasks that will grow your business.
Here are 5 way in which taking on a Virtual Assistant in December makes perfect sense:
- Get a jump on 2025.
Capitalise on the December downturn by using the time to source and thoroughly onboard a Virtual Assistant. Taking the time to properly equip a VA pays incredible dividends. It will provide your VA with essential information and tools to ensure they make an immediate difference to your working day. For a blow-by-blow breakdown on the best way to onboard your VA, read our blog, “How to onboard your new Virtual Assistant in less than a week.”
https://vacentral.co.uk/how-to-onboard-your-new-virtual-assistant-in-less-than-a-week/
- Don’t wait for spring for a CRM cleanup.
Use you VA to prepare your Agency for a busy 2025 by delegating the updating and streamlining of your CRM system. Your tech savvy VA will release you from the time-consuming task of updating information and scrubbing your database. They can:
- Capture missing data
- Get rid of useless information
- Get duplicates under control
- Validate existing data
- Recycle leads
- Use the festive season to connect with new and existing clients.
The holiday season is a great time for estate agents to connect with clients and prospects and attract new leads. In an EstateAgentTODAY article in November 2023, Chris Vile, CEO of The ValPal Network (TVPN) is quoted as saying:
“Lead levels double on Boxing Day and continue to rise until New Years Eve and reach a peak during the second week of January. It’s vital that agents keep their marketing plans in top gear right through December and into the New Year so they can take advantage of the leads that will be generated.”
We recommend delegating the task of creating and posting festive season marketing content to your social media savvy VA.
- Set your marketing strategy for 2025.
In a crowded marketplace property buyers and sellers are “spoilt for choice.” Heading into 2025, effective marketing is essential to capture attention. Consistency is key. Regardless of whether you want to attract new leads, maintain brand awareness or nurture your relationship with existing clients you need to ensure your content is scheduled to the right audience at the right time. This is where being able to hand over marketing to a Virtual Assistant with digital marketing skills can make all the difference.
Read our blog, “Adapting your marketing strategy for the 2025 property market.”
https://vacentral.co.uk/adapting-your-marketing-strategy-for-the-2025-property-market/
- Take a break while your VA holds the fort.
One of the most incredible aspects of Virtual Assistants is our ability to help you achieve work-life balance. Having a Virtual Assistant to manage administration, oversee your diary, respond to client enquiries and generally streamline your working day will allow you to prepare for a bumper 2025 by having time to rest and spend quality time with family. With an experienced VA in place, you can embrace time off, knowing that your business is in capable hands.
Finding the right Virtual Assistant can be a game-changer for your Estate Agency in 2025. Today, Virtual Assistants specialise in various areas. When sourcing a VA, it’s important to understand the range of skills available. There are diverse skillsets enough to build an entire VA team – from Administrators who handle scheduling, emails, and other organisational tasks to Social Media Managers who are experienced at creating, overseeing and growing your online presence to Letting Administrators and Property Managers who are skilled at landlord/tenant liaison and maintenance – or even Bookkeepers to handle financial admin. The key lies in finding the best VA recruitment company to source the right VAs for you.
1https://ifamagazine.com/uk-property-market-poised-to-pick-up-the-pace-post-christmas-lull/
