Sixth Form Economists Get a Crash Course on the Housing Market from Guest Speaker

On Tuesday, Mike Robson, from Avocado Estate Agents, paid a visit to Farnborough Hill to meet with the Sixth Form Economists.  Mike explained the impact of COVID-19 upon the property market and property prices, outlining the reasons why the government kept the housing market open during the pandemic and the implications of changes to stamp duty upon government tax revenue.  Mike contrasted the economic and financial differences between renting and homeownership, touching on the cultural differences too that explain different home ownership patterns in other countries and the varying levels of intervention taken by governments around the world to shape their housing markets. 

Personal finance was a particular area of interest with students keen to know the best way to save for their first property and the typical age they might step onto the property ladder.  The monopoly is a prominent topic in A level Economics and Mike identified the features of a monopoly that could be also seen with Rightmove.  Finally, we considered the potential influence that AI might have upon the housing market and employment in the future, given the importance of gathering information efficiently and accurately throughout a housing transaction.  Mike held a belief that where building a relationship with customers was a fundamental part of a job, perhaps AI would not replace those workers.  To that end, the consensus was that the future for teachers and estate agents would be secure.