Why do larger estate agencies sell fewer homes per branch?

In the world of estate agency, bigger often means better… or does it?

A fascinating trend in sales data raises an eyebrow – if not a full-blown existential crisis—for those looking to scale their business.

The raw data of the sales agreed numbers come from the Kings and Queens of raw property data, TwentyEA, and then myself and my team found the number of branches from the agents websites.

🔹 Agencies with 3-4 branches sell an average of 286 properties per year per branch

🔹 Agencies with 5-6 branches sell an average of 203 properties per year per branch

🔹 Agencies with 7-9 branches sell an average of 143 properties per year per branch

🔹 Agencies with 10-14 branches sell an average of 106 properties per year per branch

🔹 Agencies with 15-19 branches sell an average of 91 properties per year per branch

🔹 Agencies with 20 to 29 branches sell an average of 77 properties per year per branch

🔹 Agencies with 30 to 49 branches sell an average of 59 properties per year per branch

🔹 Agencies with 49 to 99 branches sell an average of 56 properties per year per branch

🔹 Agencies with 100 to 149 branches sell an average of 77 properties per year per branch

🔹 Agencies with 150+ branches sell an average of 57 properties per year per branch

This data only relates to the Top 200 UK Estate Agents in 2024 by volume of sales agreed in 2024.

So, what’s happening here? The instinctive logic says that the number branches should mean more sales per branch (because of economies of scale & other things), but this data suggests the opposite.

Is it a case of:

✅ A loss of local expertise and brand trust as agencies expand?

✅ Is the corporate ‘machine’ slowing down decision making?

✅ Could it be homogenised central based marketing that means they arent selling so many homes?

✅ Are larger networks standardising their offering, so each branch’s uniqueness isn’t allowed to shine through

Or is it something else?

Of course, there are exceptions and these are averages, but this data poses a serious question: At what point does the growth of branches start to hinder, rather than help, an estate agency’s success?

We’d love to hear your thoughts – why do you think this happens?