The British are famously more destructive than constructive. Good news is hard to come by especially at the moment, in among the closures – and the speculation about who is struggling and about to shed jobs or ‘streamline’ their operating procedures.
So it was good to see Savills taking a positive step despite the general malaise with the launch of its distribution platform. It is clear that Savills is taking steps to ensure it will emerge from the current trading conditions in a position of strength in spite of a slow start to the year. While few brokers have the size and financial clout of a Savills, it should be seen as an inspiration to others that by re-examining business models it is possible to open new avenues.
In slower markets there is a lot of smoke and mirrors with people trying to point out the problems of others to distract from their own. Few people really glory in the misfortune of others, but it seems there is a certain amount of schadenfreude from some quarters whenever a firm gets into trouble.
There cannot be anyone who is not hurting, but we need to look to ourselves and stop expending energy worrying about others. It would be better for the economy as a whole to have a strong mortgage industry; less competition means less innovation. Restructuring is necessary in order to get through this, but we should be concentrating on putting our own houses in order, rather than taking a vicarious pleasure in the suffering of others.
Speaking as someone whose job it is to report what is going on, it might seem a hypocritical view, but we do look for the positives whenever they come along too. Alongside the ‘bad’ news there should always be room to showcase more optimistic pieces, so let’s have some good news, please. If you are taking positive steps then do not hide it away. Let us know – it might help drag us back to a buoyant market. n
