The year was 1996.
The Spice Girls were topping the charts, Euro ’96 was in full swing and if you were selling your home in Guildford, the process looked very different to today.
There was no Rightmove.
No social media.
No video tours.
No WhatsApp updates.
Just local knowledge, newspaper advertising and a lot of mileage.
For many estate agents, the day began behind the wheel of a Ford Fiesta with an A–Z map book on the passenger seat and a mobile phone the size of a house brick within arm’s reach. Learning your patch meant driving every road, understanding every village and knowing every shortcut. If you didn’t know the area, there wasn’t an app to help you.
Property marketing was equally different.
Homes were advertised in local property papers, displayed in estate agency windows and promoted using printed particulars. Photographs were developed, brochures were assembled by hand and communication relied on phone calls, answerphones and message pads.
And yet, despite everything that has changed over the last thirty years, the fundamentals of selling a home remain remarkably similar.
People still want honest advice.
They still want the best possible price.
They still want an agent who understands the local market and knows how to guide them through one of life’s biggest decisions.
The tools have evolved dramatically.
The objective hasn’t.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll be looking back at how estate agency has changed over the last three decades and exploring why today’s sellers benefit from modern marketing, instant communication and better access to buyers than ever before.
Selling Homes Today
Today, a home’s marketing campaign can include lifestyle photography, cinematic video, social media advertising, digital buyer targeting and instant communication with sellers throughout the process.
The goal remains exactly the same as it did in 1996.
To connect the right buyer with the right home.
The difference is that today’s sellers have access to tools that simply didn’t exist thirty years ago.
The advice hasn’t changed.
The tools have.
Coming Soon
Over the coming weeks we’ll be exploring how these aspects of the industry have also changed in the last 30 years:
Local Knowledge
Buyer Database
Property Brochures
Communication
Finding Your Next Home
Curious How We'd Market Your Home Today?
Thirty years ago, selling a home relied on local knowledge, basic printed particulars and a lot of legwork.
Today, sellers benefit from lifestyle photography, editorial brochures, video, digital marketing, buyer databases and instant communication.
If you’re considering a move, we’d be happy to show you exactly how we’d position your home in today’s market.