The Collaboration Illusion: Why the Property Industry Is Paralysed — and How We Fix It

At a time when the UK property market is crying out for reform, one word is regularly championed as the cure-all: collaboration.

But the uncomfortable truth is this: true collaboration in our industry is being systemically sabotaged — not by bad intentions, but by entrenched commercial interests and unchecked practices that are quietly bleeding the sector dry.

If you're a buyer, seller, estate agent, conveyancer, or mortgage broker hoping for progress, this matters to you. Because unless we confront three insidious realities in our industry, no amount of legislation or tech innovation will fix the deep dysfunction slowing transactions, fuelling mistrust, and increasing consumer dissatisfaction.

Let's start with the elephant in the room. 

Referral Fees: The Hidden Tax Choking the System  

Referral fees between estate agents and conveyancers are widespread, often dressed up as "introducer arrangements" or "business partnerships."

On the surface, it seems harmless: an agent passes a client to a conveyancer or broker and receives a fee — say, £350 — for the introduction.

But peel back the layers, and it becomes deeply problematic.

Let's assume a conveyancing case brings in £1,000 in fees.

If a law firm is extremely lucky, they might operate on a 35% profit margin. That means their entire margin is around £350 — the exact amount they just handed to the estate agent. In other words: they've just passed their entire profit onto the agent for the privilege of doing the work.

The result?

• Conveyancers are financially throttled.
• They're forced to take on more cases to try and survive.
• Case progression slows to a crawl.
• Communication breaks down.
• Clients suffer delays, confusion, and stress.
• They can't invest in new technology or staff to get the job done quicker.

But here's the even more perverse part:

By Taking That £350 Referral Fee, Agents Are Often Undermining Their Own Fees and pipeline.

It's short-term gain, long-term loss.

Because the very slowdown caused by overburdened, underpaid conveyancers contributes directly to sale fall-throughs — something affecting at least one-in-three transactions in the UK market.

That means the agent isn't just at risk of losing their referral fee…

They're also losing:

• Their sales commission
• Their marketing spend, sunk into a now-failed listing which will have to be remarketed
• Their credibility with the seller

It becomes a lose-lose-lose situation.

Worse still? Most agents don't even realise they're doing it.

Everyone's doing it, so it must be fine…

Right…?

The Weaponisation of Rightmove: How Fee Inequality Is Crushing Independents

The second hidden force tearing collaboration apart is Rightmove's pricing model—and the way it has been quietly weaponised to wage a war of attrition on independent estate agents.

Here's what most consumers don't know:

• Corporate agencies pay significantly less to be on Rightmove.
• Self-employed models negotiate better rates.
• National chains benefit from scale-based discounts.

Meanwhile, independent, local, high-service estate agents pay the most. The very businesses trying to do the right thing by their clients are subsidising their biggest competitors.

Rightmove's price hikes — year after year — only deepen this inequality. The result?

• Small agents are squeezed financially.
• They can't compete with corporates in marketing spend.
• They have less margin to invest in service, staff, and tech.
• Their clients get less visibility — not because of quality, but because of cost.

This isn't a portal.

It's a pressure valve — and the industry is about to blow.

The Consumer Sees It Too — They Just Don't Know Who to Blame…

Here's something we've heard time and again in our informal surveys of home movers over the past five years:

"Did you enjoy your home-moving experience?"

"Absolutely not!"

Then we ask:

"Would you have paid £1,000 or even £1,500 more to remove the pain and get moved faster?"

"Without hesitation."

Consumers are crying out for a better experience.

They don't necessarily care who gets paid what — they care about:

• Transparency
• Efficiency
• Communication
• Certainty

And yet the very professionals who could make this happen are locked into a self-defeating cycle of referral greed, fee undercutting, and portal dependence that slowly strangles everyone's profitability and reputation. 

The Fallacy of "Cheap Wins"

Most agents are locked in a race to the bottom on fees — desperately undercutting each other in fear of losing instructions.

It's madness.

In other Western markets, agency fees range from 5% to 10%.

In the UK, agents struggle to justify 1%.

Yet these same agents will:

• Accept painfully low margins
• Push referral fees that collapse deals
• Accept a 33% fall-through rate as "normal"
• Accept a "gorilla supplier" increasing their fees every year with little improvement in value.

And then they wonder why the public sees estate agency as a low-value commodity and a profession they trust less and less each year according to the Veracity Index.

The Consequences of Silence

These compounding forces — referral greed, Rightmove addiction, race-to-the-bottom fees — are not just frustrating. They are fatal to real industry progress.

Add to this the recent confusion around the guidance on Material Information, and you have a deeply unsettling picture:

• 16 housing ministers in 10 years.
• Constant policy reversals.
• A government unable — or unwilling — to lead lasting reform.

The message is clear:

The cavalry is not coming.

The system will not fix itself.

So if we want better — WE must become the solution.

A Call to Leadership — Not Just Lip Service

It's time for those in the industry who know this isn't sustainable to stop quietly nodding in agreement and start leading.

We need estate agents who will:

• Refuse to take unsustainable referral fees.
• Collaborate with conveyancers for speed and client success — not kickbacks.
• Challenge portal addiction and put their brand and service first.

We need conveyancers who will:

• Stand their ground on pricing and compete on value instead.
• Communicate openly and proactively.
• Invest in smarter tech and smarter partnerships.

We need a shared, industry-wide commitment to putting the client experience above the short-term margin grab.

And we need to finally recognise that doing it right — together — can be more profitable for everyone. And those who take the lead on this will benefit the most.

Why WiggyWam Was Built for This Moment

At WiggyWam, we're not just another tech company.

We're a mission, a movement, and a challenge to the status quo.

Our platform is designed to:

• Unite agents, conveyancers, brokers, and consumers.
• Automate compliance, communication, and transaction flow.
• Empower independent agents with tools usually reserved for corporates.

We're here for the bold ones.

The professionals ready to lead.

The ones who believe we can build something better — together.

The Revolution Doesn't Start With Everyone. It Starts With You.

It starts with one agent who refuses the referral fee.

One conveyancer who says no to being squeezed.

One agency that says, "We don't need Rightmove to be valuable."

If just 100 of us lead, the entire industry will follow.

This industry doesn't need more excuses.

It needs more courage.

Be one of the bold.

Lead the change.

Join WiggyWam. 

"Never underestimate the ability of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has." ~ Margaret Mead 

"There is no power greater for change than a community discovering what it cares about." ― Margaret Wheatley

"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together." ― Vincent Van Gogh

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."― Hellen Keller 

"We must remember that one determined person can make a significant difference, and that a small group of determined people can change the course of history." - Sonia Johnson