Estate Agency Events* devised the very first awards schemes for estate agents in 2001, with the goal of raising standards in the property industry.

In 2017, after over 1,400 days of interviews over 15 years, the company drew curtains on the industry’s two biggest awards schemes – The Estate and Letting Agency of the Year Awards, in association with The Times and Sunday Times.

Estate and letting agents that won a gold, silver or bronze medal entered in to a contract that entitled them to display the medal for a period of one year. As of 5th December 2016, all medals for the Estate and Letting Agency of the Year Awards in association with The Times and Sunday Times should have been removed from all marketing materials.

The awards were replaced in the same year by the Best Estate Agent Guide – an ambitious whole of market assessment, conducted by the Property Academy* and supported by Rightmove, in which every branch in the country is compared to determine the very best.

The assessment is based on a combination of performance data analysis – looking at factors including the number of detailed page views and leads generated compared with other agents in the same area, the time to sell or let and the number of fall-throughs – plus a mystery shopping exercise.

The top 20% of branches in the country are published free of charge on the best estate agent guide website. They are also invited to attend the EA Masters – a conference and awards ceremony, where those branches and companies that have achieved the highest scores are recognised.

Whilst thousands of agents put themselves forward for scrutiny by paying to enter the judging process for the previous awards schemes, (which was revered by many as the toughest in the industry), many thousands more did not. By removing the payment barrier and assessing every branch in the country based on a combination of performance data and customer experience scores, the new scheme is much more inclusive and provides vendors and landlords with a more holistic view.

If you advertise on Rightmove, the likelihood is that you are automatically included in the assessment. Visit the EA Masters website to find out more about the EA Masters conference and awards, including how to register to be included if you do not advertise on Rightmove.

If your company or branch is recognised in the Best Estate Agent Guide and you wish to promote your rating using the official winner’s marks, you need to pay a licence fee to do so. Why not discover the benefits of licensed BEAG membership.

*Property Academy is a trading name of Estate Agency Events.

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