Real estate agent morale barometer: towards the end of the tunnel?

In this particularly tense context, how are real estate agents adapting and how do they view their future? Partner of 8.000 real estate agencies in France, Opinion System surveyed them to have a vision as close as possible to realities on the ground.

Between pessimism and hopes

Since the last edition of this barometer in May 2023, the morale of real estate agents seems to have deteriorated significantly. Thus, 68% declare themselves pessimistic regarding the market outlook (+14 pts). Anxiety is gaining ground: 73% say they are worried about price stability (+16 pts), 75% about the state of mind of sellers (+20 pts) and 72% about that of buyers (+ 13 pts).

The subject of all the tensions, the borrowing rate granted to buyers has recorded a significant increase to approach 5% at the end of 2023.

If 81% of real estate agents say they are concerned about the conditions of French access to credit (+1 pt), the hope of a favorable outcome seems to be reborn thanks to a slight drop in rates noted by many professionals .

This good news for the market is also good news for thousands of households who could see their files cleared, with gains of up to several tens of thousands of euros over the duration of the financing of their project. Finally a little hope on the horizon? Although it is still early to draw definitive conclusions, real estate agents show a certain optimism with 52% of them anticipating an unblocking of the market in the next 12 months.

Sellers are sticking to their positions in the face of ever fewer buyers

In May 2023, one of the lessons from the previous barometer alerted us to the mentality of sellers refusing to lower their selling price. Six months later, the situation has not changed, and has even strengthened. 86% of sellers maintain their sale price (+7 pts), more and more often higher than the estimate made by their real estate agent. Will the recent drop in rates be likely to comfort them?

While it is easy to understand their motivations, the situation can be surprising for buyers. There are still so many agents who note the difficulties they encounter in obtaining credit (88%), to the point that 92% of professionals say they have difficulty identifying potential buyers for the properties in their portfolio.

However, buyers seem ready to make some efforts and concessions by, for example, increasing their contribution, a fact observed by 67% of professionals. Their expectations, born during confinement in terms of outdoor spaces, also seem less decisive (74%, -8 pts).

Energy performance of housing: less decisive for buyers, more restrictive for agents

Progressive ban on the rental of thermal strainers, obligation to carry out an energy audit... the Climate and Resilience law introduced a series of measures with the aim of accelerating the energy renovation of the French housing stock. The entry into force of the first measures, including the ban on the rental of the worst thermal strainers from 2023, has led to an acceleration in the sale of the most energy-intensive housing.

During the previous edition of the barometer, 60% of real estate agents noted the growing importance given by buyers to energy performance, and 47% declared that it had even become an argument for negotiation. Less significant considerations today, with 44% of agents who note a major interest given to the energy performance of goods (-16 pts), and 24% who note its weight as a negotiating argument (-23 pts). Now, only 27% of agents believe that buyers are ready to exclude a property from their selection due to poor energy performance (-10 pts).

In a context of market blockage, the view of real estate agents is also increasingly mixed on these measures of the Climate law. 8% think that it is a good initiative in its spirit and its execution (-7 pts) and 71% that it is a good initiative in the spirit but not in the execution. On the other hand, more than one real estate agent in 5 (21%) thinks this is a bad initiative, up 8 points since the previous edition of the barometer.

Adapt so as not to suffer

Worried, but combative. This seems to be the current state of mind of a majority of real estate agents. While more than 1 in 2 agencies (58%) fear for their economic development and the maintenance of their jobs (figure up 19 points in the second half of 2023), a significant proportion of them have broadened their scope of action with its customers (20%). If transaction and rental activities were to seize up due to market conditions, diversification into rental management and, to a lesser extent, the trustee is a guarantee of security. Note, however, that 2 out of 5 agencies (42%) have opted for the status quo and are focusing solely on their current scope. A potentially risky strategy if the market blockage continues.

For Jean-David Lépineux, director of Opinion System: “The first lesson from this second edition of the real estate agent morale barometer is clear and reflects the situation of the real estate market in recent months. After several years of euphoria which sparked vocations among many professionals, real estate agents are bearing the brunt of a situation which is weighing heavily on their activity. However, like the very recent drop in rates, we are detecting some signals on the ground which suggest the possibility of a resumption of activity. Among the positive lessons, we note that a significant proportion of professionals have chosen to broaden their scope of action to maintain an activity and no longer depend exclusively on transactions and rentals. This barometer also demonstrates that the real estate skills of professionals and the support of clients are more essential than ever, whether to enable buyers and sellers to better take into account the current context, but also the new environmental requirements and ambitions that will come into play. part of conditioning the market of tomorrow. The time has come to return to the fundamentals of the real estate agent profession. »

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.