Six in 10 estate agents are experiencing burnout, with 44% calling it an ‘ongoing problem’, the Alto 2026 Agency Trends Report from Alto has found.
The situation is even worse for mid-sized agencies, where one in three say recruitment and retention is one of their biggest challenges, as they struggle to retain staff.
Industry leaders warn that agencies in 2026 are drained, overstretched and short-staffed, with many teams already “running on fumes” before the next wave of compliance, admin work and economic pressure lands this year.
Riccardo Iannucci-Dawson, CEO of Alto, said: “Agents are tired, and that’s understandable.
“The workload is relentless, the paperwork keeps rising, and teams are being hit from every direction.
“Mid-sized agencies are in the toughest spot of all. They have enough volume to generate real pressure, but not enough staff to absorb it. Unless they modernise quickly, many will reach breaking point.”
Agents cite rising admin, heavy compliance demands and constant task-switching as key drains on time and morale.
Many say a typical day is now dominated by repeated data entry, chasing paperwork, and managing compliance tasks.
Alto says this pressure is exactly why agencies are now turning to AI-driven tools.
Iannucci-Dawson added: “AI is the pressure valve this industry desperately needs. The real shift we’re seeing is that AI is starting to manage work, not just data. It can spot what matters, guide agents through complex tasks, and keep processes moving automatically in the background.”