10 Years of Redmove

Redmove entered the market in 2006. Michael and Yvette Redmond set-up Redmove with the intention of building a company with a reputation for great customer service. Their aim was to provide the people of York with an estate agent they could really trust and therefore would use their services time and time again for selling or renting their home.

We took on our first full time member of staff and then….the recession struck! It wasn’t great timing but it was the beginning of a big lesson in how to weather the storm!

2008 saw the launch of Zoopla. This was big news for the industry who had previously only been able to use Rightmove. The portals were of great benefit to smaller agencies such as ourselves by allowing them to advertise properties nationally. The increased media coverage for both Rightmove and Zoopla saw a change in how people go about searching for a property.

The end of the recession. Hooray! This came about when we were barely a year into the business so we didn’t have lots of experience like some of our competitors at the time. One of the impacts of the recession, which we hadn’t anticipated previously, was the lack of first time buyers.

1 year on from the recession, we experienced growth and lots of enquiries. We started to develop our team and processes in advance of buyer confidence picking up.

The number of first time buyers began to pick up again. After this, we not only survived, but thrived. We get an average of 98% of the asking price and above, unlike many agents who overvalue properties in order to get more sellers. The demographics of first-time buyers has seen a shift, with the age significantly increasing.

This year, 4 years into the business, we had the usual ups and downs of a company ready to get to the next level. As always, we came out of it well and continued to grow.

We won the best estate agent for Yorkshire & The Humber at the ESTAS, this was really significant as it was based on customer feedback rather than the opinions of the judges.

Online-only models of estate agents first began entering the market in 2014. This put added pressure on high street agents to become more digital savvy. It is important to have a strong web presence. We also take a cohesive approach to ensuring everything is linked – for example our computers are linked to the phone systems so we can quickly access customer data and profiles and offer a much more tailored service to each person.

In January, we moved into our new home at Monks Cross, which is much larger than our old place and allowing for future expansion.

Redmove have invested in a new website and are touching up on their core brand identity. As a longstanding provider to the people of York, the new tagline ‘Helping York move for over 10 years’ was developed. The new website is responsive and works using the latest technology to stay ahead of the competition.