THE CHANGING STRUCTURE OF ESTATE AGENCY

This article examines some of the causes and consequences of the recent merger boom and slump in the estate agency market. A case study of the market changes in Plymouth between 1987 and 1992 is presented and contrasted with a recent Tyneside study. It is shown that whilst the merger boom changed the structure of ownership in Plymouth it did not significantly affect overall market concentration as national chains concentrated their take-over strategy on local chains. However, national chains have increased their dominance during the recent slump as the result of the exit of many independents from the market.