PEOPLE in York mostly think that estate agents are a rip-off, greedy, corrupt, or that they are cowboys or sharks.

These negative descriptions were used by 78 per cent of nearly 1,000 people interviewed in a detailed study carried out by Questions Answered, the York research and marketing agency.

The damning phrases topped the table when it came to finishing the sentence, "In my opinion estate agents are..."

The research, claimed to be the first of its kind, and actually endorsed by some of the city's estate agents, was the basis of two reports produced by the agency under the label York Insights - the other was on attitudes towards solicitors.

Negatives about York's estate agents included "expensive", "badly marketed", "arrogant" and "boring". But perceptions were not completely bleak, with ten per cent describing the city's estate agents as helpful or useful, and 12 per cent seeing them as "adequate".

In its conclusion, the report states: "York estate agents, along with those around the country, would benefit from a public relations exercise to improve their image in the minds of the public."

Peter Harrington, managing director of Questions Answered, said: "We weren't setting out to damn estate agents, or to draw damaging comparisons, however, we weren't going to set out to hide the truth."

He said that for any single estate agent to have undertaken research into people's views would have been costly. This was designed for all estate agents, with findings that could be used by them all.

"The aim was to examine in detail the house-buying process by capturing the views of the local community on local service providers, solicitors and estate agents involved in the house-buying process.

"The York housing market is both lucrative and competitive, so gaining customer insights can give these businesses the edge they need."

Levels of awareness were also examined in the study, which asked people if they could recall the names of three estate agents in the city. The top three turned out to be Hunters, mentioned 351 times, the Halifax, 320 times, and Hudson Moody, 266 times.

The report observes that Hudson Moody was named far more than a number of other, substantially larger, agents in the city, possibly because of its logo which seven per cent said "stood out from the crowd".

Kevin Hollinrake, director of Hunters, said: "We have bought this report and it is excellent.

"The Government has always tried to avoid regulation of estate agencies and as a result any unqualified person can set up shop, which means cowboys entering a buoyant market and a worsening perception of what we do.

"We are here for the long haul and 60 per cent of our work comes from recommendation."

Other findings show that

- Those using estate agents believe communication is of the greatest importance - being kept up to date with developments and having their needs heeded

- Estate agents are chosen on best value price, reputation and friendliness of staff

- Websites are not viewed as crucial, although younger clients saw the medium as "important"

- Nearly two-thirds (57 per cent) of people interviewed said they would recommend their own York estate agent.

Updated: 10:59 Tuesday, February 18, 2003