Bielby's Blog - A Passion For People

Ask most people what makes a great estate agent and they’ll mutter something about “liking houses” or “a passion for property.” Utter rubbish. Having a passion for property is about as useful in this job as a waterproof teabag. Yes, it helps to know your bay windows from your bi-fold doors, but the real magic ingredient is something else entirely: empathy.

At Barbers, we know this better than most. After more than 40 years in the trade, I can safely say houses don’t buy or sell themselves (though some owners swear their Victorian terrace has “personality” — usually meaning the electrics are older than the owner). What really drives a move are people: the sellers, the buyers, and, just as importantly, the team who guide them through it all.

That’s why, when building our team, we’ve always chosen people with heart. Not commission-hungry robots, but human beings who genuinely care. The sort who feel every bump in the road right alongside our clients, and who also share in the joy when the keys finally change hands.

And believe me, there are bumps. Sales that wobble, chains that creak, buyers who panic at the eleventh hour. It’s a rollercoaster, and we ride it right alongside our clients — screaming on the way down and cheering on the way up. Because that’s what empathy is: living the highs and lows together, not standing on the sidelines with a clipboard.

Of course, we keep our sense of humour close at hand. A well-timed laugh when stress levels are soaring is sometimes the glue that holds a transaction together. Whether it’s poking fun at the avocado bathroom suite that refuses to die, or chuckling with the buyer who insists on testing the shed roof before signing, humour makes the tough bits bearable.

So no, you don’t need a passion for property to be a great estate agent. What you need — and what Barbers has built its reputation on — is a passion for people. Their stories, their dreams, their setbacks, and their triumphs. The houses are just the scenery; the real drama is the lives moving through them.

And after four decades of leading the way, I can tell you this: at Barbers, we don’t just sell property. We walk every step of the journey with our clients — and we wouldn’t have it any other way.