Nestoria Blog

For this month's Nestoria interview we had the chance to chat with a pillar of the UK property blogging scene: Ben Brandt of The Rat and Mouse. For almost two years Ben has been posting observations about London's property scene ranging from the bizarre to the contemplative, but always in an entertaining style.

1. Why do you think Londoners are so obsessed with property?

There are so many reasons. In the last few decades property prices have risen beyond all expectation (and, some might argue, reason), and since we're a nation of homeowners rather than renters our homes have become much more than bricks and mortar. They've become the kind of potential equity that makes middle-income earners feel rich. The result is that the value of our homes (over which we have very little control whatsoever) plays a disproportionately large role in our sense of financial well-being. In London, the effect is exacerbated by overcrowding (it's a glorious city, but financial constraints mean that most of us live in cramped and noisy conditions), and by a market that has priced out first-time buyers. Combine all this with the trend for TV lifestyle shows and newspaper supplements and you have a situation in which property news becomes both entertainment, and a source of gloating (the homeowners) and envy (the ftbs). Every upward indicator has the homeowners rubbing their hands together; every indicator that threatens to pop the property price bubble has the first-time buyers planning a block party. The Rat and Mouse was launched on the belief that there's humour and fun to be had from this.

2. What are some interesting anecdotes from your experiences as a property blogger?

Whenever a Rat and Mouse story has blown up, it's in some way involved an estate agent. Our photograph of a Foxton's Mini, totaled and abandoned in a ditch somewhere in the countryside, became unbelievably viral, and resulted in streams of email. It kind of opened the floodgates for a level of Foxtons's hatred that I hadn't expected at all. Similarly, I was amazed by the response I received after publishing some leaked email exchanges between a tiny niche London estate agency and a disgruntled website user. The infamous "Hey you tossers" correspondence made it as far as New York, where it was featured on a very high-traffic site. But I should point out that the Rat and Mouse wasn't and isn't intended as a site to bash estate agents. Regular readers will know that, although I don't shy away from the occasional exposé, I've a certain amount of sympathy with the good estate agents… the London property market's true foot soldiers.

3. As someone at the intersection of the property industry and the online world, what are your thoughts on the developments in the property search sector in the last year?

The Googlemaps API has really livened things up, resulting in both energetic innovation and a few lazy sites launched on a-mash-and-a-wish. My favourite websites are innovative in their thinking. For instance, there are a couple of websites out there advertising buyers to sellers, rather than properties to buyers, which I find interesting. In terms of conventional property search, I think Nestoria's done well by consistently thinking about what buyers want and need, and providing it in a thoughtful and very user-friendly, uncluttered way.

4. What are the challenges you think a vertical search engine for property like Nestoria faces?

I'm going to avoid the "vertical" word because I've come across conflicting definitions and I'm confused. Otherwise, I'd say "crowding" (it will take consistent and constant innovation to stay ahead of the game). And "Rightmove". What Rightmove lack in UI, they make up for in a giant dataset, and it's hard to get around the inherent advantage that comes from their corporate relationship with estate agents (the agents who own and provide the listings have a stake in the company). It's not particularly healthy, but it puts post-flotation flush Rightmove in a strong position to pay for the innovations they see taking place around them. Ultimately, though, estate agents are in the business of selling houses. And if advanced and slick independent engines can get the right listings to the right buyers, they'll surely get the content.

Many thanks for Ben for your perspective. We advise any reader who's interested in the sometimes absurd, sometimes bizarre, and sometimes surprisingly comical events of the UK property scene to subscribe to TheRatandMouse. Meanwhile, here at Nestoria we'll keep doing our best to focus on what's best for property searcher.