AN estate agent has fought off the credit-crunch blues by being named the best in the North-west.
Greenwood James Estate and Letting Agency in Bury Road, Breightmet, was given the honour by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RUCS), having been selected on a points-based system based on feedback from buyers and sellers.
Claire James, aged 37, of Westhoughton, and Suzanne Greenwood, aged 38, of Heaton, set the business up in January last year after leaving jobs with national estate agent Your Move.
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Mrs James said the award was more special because they are a start-up business.
She said: "We made a decision in January, 2006, that we would do this. We had sourced the premises by August that year and left our jobs in October. We prepared the office and then opened on January 2 last year."
The businesswomen are looking to capitalise on the growing rental market, as house sales slow.
They see this as a big income earner for the next year or two as they ride out the credit crunch.
Mrs James said: "The market is tough at the moment and is getting tougher, but we are still making sales and letting properties hand over fist. When the buying market is down, people take properties through rental."
Mrs Greenwood said: "The rental market is very, very buoyant at the moment, so we are going to be driving that side of things. There is a high demand but also a high supply, so it is still competitive."
The criteria for entry was based on completions between January 1 and October 12 last year.
Clients were able to rate the service and whether the agent was informative and helpful.
Mrs Greenwood said that high levels of customer service were critical to winning the award.
She said: "It is nice to be recognised for all the hard work we have put in during the past 12 months. We knew we were good but the proof is in the pudding, the feedback we get is great."
They attended an awards event at the Grosvenor Marriott Hotel in Mayfair, London, earlier this month, where they competed with 400 firms from across the country. They were presented with the North-west award by Phil Spencer, of Channel 4's Location, Location, Location property show.
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