Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Newsroom from a report by Property Industry Eye. Read the original article for full details.
Estate agency hiring stays strong with nearly 1,300 live vacancies
Estate agency continues to offer strong career opportunities across England, with almost 1,300 roles currently advertised despite a subdued housing market. Analysis commissioned by eXp UK identified an estimated 1,274 estate agency vacancies on recruitment website Reed, suggesting employers are still recruiting across the sector.
Where the vacancies are
London offers the greatest number of opportunities, with an estimated 413 positions advertised within the search parameters used. The capital accounts for almost a third of all vacancies identified, at 32.4%.
Birmingham ranks second, accounting for 7.6% of advertised roles, followed by Manchester at 3.5%, Bristol at 3.2% and Nottingham at 2.4%. Leeds represents 2%, Bradford 1.8% and Liverpool 1.6%.
A positive signal for property professionals
The level of recruitment gives people considering a career in estate agency a positive signal. It also points to opportunities for existing property professionals, including letting agents and inventory clerks, looking to make their next career move. The activity comes despite softer housing market conditions during 2026.
Adam Day, head of eXp UK and Europe, said it was "somewhat surprising to see traditional estate agencies crying out for staff to this extent, particularly when the market itself has been operating at a more measured pace". Day suggested recruitment levels may also reflect changes in how estate agents choose to work, including the growth of self-employed agency models.
Important caveats
The figures provide a snapshot rather than a measure of total recruitment demand. The analysis only covers vacancies advertised on Reed, and does not show whether positions are newly created or replacement hires. Some may also be longstanding vacancies.
The research was produced by eXp UK, which operates a self-employed agency model. The analysis examined current estate agency vacancies advertised on Reed, with searches covering 15 major cities using the recruitment platform's default 10-mile search radius.
Source: Property Industry Eye