How do the Digital Marketing Practices of Estate Agents Influence Different Forms of Rural Gentrification? A Comparative Study of Three Rural Parishes.

Estate agencies play a critical role in attracting potential homebuyers to rural areas through their marketing strategies. The digital marketing of real estate has become a central part of the industry, as in this current age of digitalisation, estate agencies have ‘found a home online’, with the adoption of digital marketing technologies becoming one of their most significant avenues in engaging homebuyers and ultimately attracting custom. Studies investigating the digital marketing strategies of estate agencies have not been widely investigated in the context of rural areas and in particular studies surrounding rural gentrification.

The digital marketing of rural properties is critical to the process of rural gentrification as it is often the first step in the movement of people to these rural areas. Through the use of interviews with estate agencies and local Parish Councillors, alongside the use of secondary data, this research draws upon the experiences of three rural parishes in the UK who display different forms of rural gentrification. It is argued that four central facets influence the differential production of rural gentrification in these parishes, that being: the type of estate agent, digital marketing practices, the geographic location and form of rurality.

Finally, it is found that each parish was experiencing different forms of rural gentrification, and that estate agents continue to hold an influential position in attracting and guiding gentrifiers to these areas, through their adoption of the latest digital marketing technologies. Overall, this thesis contributes much needed research to contemporary studies of rural gentrification and the role of estate agents, and the digital marketing practices which they use in influencing these processes.