OFT looks to open up the estate agency market
The Office for Fair Trading (OFT) has today refused to tighten regulations within the UK estate agency market despite calls for change. There had been a growing momentum in favour of further regulation and further qualifications for those operating within the market but this has been replaced by the injection of further competition to assist consumers in the future.
It is believed that the OFT move could allow the likes of Google and Tesco to offer rival property services and look to "shake up" the sector. There was a feeling within the regulatory environment that traditional estate agents still have more than a fair grasp of business in the sector and there is a need to introduce a new style of estate agent to take into account the likes of the Internet and the changing home buyers' market.
Current legislation can be traced back to 1979 and many believe this is now out of date and needs to move with the times. Despite renewed calls for further regulation and further qualifications for those operating in the sector the OFT is of the opinion that the current regulations offer more than enough protection to consumers. Are we about to see the traditional estate agency market change forever?
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