How many times have you heard someone say "it's impossible to walk down the high street without passing an estate agent's? Well it's more than just a turn of phrase - it's gospel. And it seems to apply not only to high streets, but to pretty much any road with shops on it, according to the figures compiled by online estate agents HouseSimple. Get ready for this week's number-filled blog.
London has nearly 3,000 estate agents, which averages 83 in each borough. The one with the most is Westminster with 179, despite the fact that it covers areas like Covent Garden, Oxford Street and the West End, where few people (apart from the select lucky, i.e rich) live. But the most densely packed are Camden Town, Walthamstow and Borough. In the case of the last two there are 18 within a quarter of a mile of the tube station - that's just a five minute walk.
Over 200 opened last year, which is the equivalent of a new opening every one and a half days. Not even Costa Coffee can boast these figures.
Estate agents make £1.1 billion each year in the fees they add on to the sales of homes. If you do the math it means that each individual branch makes around £420,000. To add insult to an already sore injury, HouseSimple have calculated this equates to less than four sales per month, so to paraphrase Donna Summer, they don't work hard for the money.
With this much income it's no surprise they get the best spots on the high street. There are now more estate agents than independent butchers, grocers and fishmongers all put together.
Have you got more estate agents than shops to buy a loaf of bread from in your neighbourhood? Leave us a comment on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.
