"Agents of change': the restructuring of the estate agency industry in the East Midlands in the 1980's

The geography of the estate agency industry in England and Wales has been a very neglected sector of the service economy. During the 1980s this industry formerly dominated by the activities of small local independent firms was invaded by large multi-locational financial institutions. The diversification of financial institutions into estate agency was for the purpose of "originating' mortgage debt and selling financial products. This process of capital concentration and centralisation was exacerbated by the buoyant national housing market in the mid 1980s. From 1988 to the present, the slump in the national housing market has facilitated a marked contraction in estate agency. The corporate chains have rationalised their activities through office closures and redundancies. Many of the small independent firms have survived through diversification into other related activities. This paper sketches out the processes which have occurred in estate agency through a detailed examination of the industry in the East Midlands. -Authors