Slick, well-dressed, and widely loathed, real estate brokers prospered in Britain's galloping property market for much of the past decade.
But with prices dropping and sales volumes shrinking, the brokers, known here as estate agents, are having to work harder to cut their deals. Many have already lost their jobs.
Now that the global squeeze on credit has burst Britain's property bubble, many brokers find themselves facing hard times.
Brokers' incomes are falling, according to Trevor Kent, a former president of the National Association of Estate Agents and a well-known property pundit. Kent estimated that the average agent might have started off making 50,000 pounds ($100,000) a year in boom times - most of that on the 2 to 3 percent commission brokers make on sales.
"Suddenly they're down to 30,000 pounds ($60,000) or 25,000 pounds ($50,000)," he said. "Some agents have not made a sale in two months."
The Council of Mortgage Lenders said Tuesday that lending to first-time buyers and existing home owners in the first quarter dropped to the lowest level in 30 years, reflecting a sharp drop in the number of homes changing hands.
