Embracing technology boosts local lettings business

Despite growing competition in the lettings market and the tough economic climate, one Evesham based letting agent has continued to grow its property management business.

Letting and property management specialists, Johnsons Chartered Surveyors have been managing residential properties in Worcestershire, Warwickshire and The Cotswolds for landlords since 1999. However, over recent years, despite a rise in the number of letting agents in the area and a fall in the number of buy to let investors, Johnsons has continued to increase the number of properties that they have under management.

"Increased competition in the local lettings market has had a positive effect on our business and has encouraged us to constantly review and enhance our services" explains Tom Tarver, Partner at Johnsons. "We are always seeking new ways of improving our offering to landlords, particularly through the use of new technology."

Technology has played an important role in the growth of 'Evesham's premier letting agent' over recent months. Since introducing a revolutionary new property matching and marketing system in 2010, Johnsons have been able to ensure instant marketing of properties online and to the hundreds of registered applicants on their rental database. "Within 10 seconds of setting up a new property on our system, it is live on our website and all matching applicants are notified by email or SMS. Shortly afterwards, the property is listed on every major online property portal" Tom proudly claims.

More recently, Johnsons have launched a new mobile version of their website, in response to a significant increase in the number of visitors to the site using mobile devices.

January will also see the release of the new Johnsons iPhone App, which has been developed to allow users to search and view rental properties and buy to let investments on the go.

Tom explains that "...in recent times, many landlords have been squeezed by increased costs and falling house prices and are naturally looking for greater value from their letting agent. By embracing advances in technology, we are able to become more efficient and continue improving our offering."