Eyeonspain.com members
review and rate 262 real
estate agents and 206
developers in Spain, the first
time anything on this scale
has ever been done and with
surprising results.
For the first time
ever, buyers of Spanish
property have been given the
chance to publicly review and
rate their estate agent in
Spain and, if applicable,
their developer too.
761 Spanish property buyers
took part in the survey
resulting in 262 real estate
agents and 206 developers in
Spain being reviewed and
rated. Agents were rated in
terms of the service provided
during the search for property
and also the service provided
after a deposit was put down
on a property. Developers were
rated in terms of the build
quality and their overall
service.
"Not all estate agents in
Spain are dishonest
fraudsters", says Justin
Aldridge founder of Eye on
Spain. "But many have spoilt
if for the majority. The
number of cowboys jumping on
the bandwagon in the heady
days of the property boom in
Spain 2 - 3 years ago has left
a very sour taste in people's
mouths, as have the town hall
corruption scandals along the
different coasts".
The survey revealed that the
majority of respondents felt
that the service provided to
them by their estate agent was
generally good during the
buying process, but after they
had paid their deposits the
majority of respondents felt
the after sales service was
very poor in comparison.
In fact 48% of respondents
stated that they would not
recommend their agent to a
friend.
"This figure alone is
staggering", comments Justin,
"recommendations are by far
the best form of marketing and
many of these agents are
shooting themselves in the
foot by not providing a decent
level of customer support.
When someone has a bad
experience they generally let
everyone know and then go and
post it all over forums."
Spanish developers didn't fair
any better. 50% of respondents
gave their developer a below
average overall rating whilst
49% stated that they would not
recommend their developer to a
friend.
From a development completion
point of view the results are
what we've always believed,
most are finished late. In
fact 65% of respondents stated
that their development was
either completed late or
behind schedule.
"The results of the survey
simply back up what most of us
in the industry have always
believed", says Justin,
"estate agents generally don't
seem to care what happens once
a customer has paid their
deposit and developments are
mostly completed late and
lacking in the expected
quality. With the recent slow
down in the Spanish property
market it seems many companies
need to address these issues
if they want to survive.
Customers these days are much
more savvy and demanding than
they used to be. "
About Eye on Spain
Eye on Spain (http://www.eyeonspain.com)
was established in 2004 to
enable buyers of off plan
properties in Spain to chat
and share construction photos
with fellow buyers. The site
contains many useful articles
of information about buying
and living in Spain and a
popular general forum.