Neilsons Solicitors and Estate Agents have processed sales of almost £200m between 1st April 2020 and 1st April 2021 with sales at the firm rising +33% compared to the same period in 2019/2020. New property sales listings have also risen +38% in 2020/2021 compared to 2019/2020 at Neilsons.
Neilsons have recruited nine more staff in 2020/2021, to satisfy the seller and buyer demand for professional and innovative Solicitor Estate Agency services. From 1st January to 31st March 2021, compared to the same period in 2020, Neilsons have recorded a substantial +93% increase in service requests from new clients.
Jenna Spence, Operations Director at Neilsons Solicitors and Estate Agents, said: “We are delighted that Neilsons have had a record-breaking year after all the hard work we have put in to get to this point, working tirelessly throughout the pandemic for our clients to come up with creative and helpful solutions.
When the first Scottish lockdown was announced in March 2020 along with the furlough scheme, it was clear that there was a large groundswell of demand from sellers and buyers to keep things moving despite the restrictions in an entirely safe but progressive manner.
For 14 weeks, Neilsons were one of just a few firms – including the firms involved in Edinburgh Pro-Active Property Group (EPPG) – who decided we owed it to our clients to keep moving whilst operating in a safe remote and digital environment whilst always following all necessary and required public health and social distancing measures.
During the 14-week lockdown last year, some of the features that are now deemed as essential in property marketing, such as virtual viewings and virtual appraisals, were pioneered by Neilsons and the rest of the EPPG months ahead of other firms in the local market.
Unfortunately, we quickly realised at this time that the news that was being publicised about the effect of lockdown on the Scottish property market was being widely misrepresented and nobody was hearing about the actual market activity first-hand from the few Solicitor Estate Agents that were working at the forefront of activity.
Neilsons, both as a firm and a founding member of EPPG, released 25 helpful blogs helping buyers and sellers navigate and understand the dynamics of the market at that time and we are continuing to release helpful content to this day.
Neilsons have also recorded a 172% increase in social media engagement over the past year. We have long recognised the importance of social media, having established our Facebook and Twitter accounts 10 years ago in 2011, and it’s excellent to see our clients benefiting from our expertise in this area and the vital marketing exposure it provides.
Very few residential property firms took the same approach as us in spring 2020, instead opting for the easy commercial decision – to shut up shop for the entirety of the restrictions on the property market and save on all operating costs.
I will always be proud of how Neilsons – and of course the wider EPP group – remained open, helpful, and visible – virtually and remotely, helping clients non-stop throughout the entirety of 2020.
On 23rd April 2020, I released a blog which you can view here about huge pent up demand bubbling beneath the surface. It was no surprise to me how busy the market has been since the property market in Scotland was able to re-open more fully – with the appropriate safeguards in place – from 29th June 2020 last year.
In addition to changing needs and requirements of home movers, attractive government schemes and good mortgage options with low interest rates stimulating the market, we have always asserted throughout the pandemic along with EPPG that the Edinburgh and Lothians property market is incredibly resilient and dynamic. It is certainly proving to be just that, and I am pleased that Neilsons as a firm continues to lead the way in the local market no matter what hurdle or challenge we are presented with.”
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