Chesterton Humberts has appointed Nick Barnes, a highly respected expert in international property research, to head up a new in-house research department, which will be opening in August.

Having held the position of head of international commercial research at DTZ and head of international residential research at Knight Frank before starting his own consultancy in 2009, Barnes brings over 20 years of experience to the company and will oversee the production of regular research reports.

Robert Bartlett, CEO of Chesterton Humberts, says that research is increasingly being seen as an essential part of estate agency,

“This appointment represents a major step forward for Chesterton Humberts. With Nick on board, we will be better positioned to keep our clients and the wider public informed of what exactly is happening in the exciting market in which we operate.

“We have recently completed a strategic review of staffing and are focusing on reinforcing key growth areas of the business. We have also brought in a new IT director to further strengthen technology capabilities, an in-house PR professional, and will be opening a number of new London branches.”

Nick Barnes says, “The residential property market remains characterised by considerable uncertainty and buyers and sellers are demonstrating increased appetite for reliable factually supported market information. “Chesterton Humberts has a vast amount of untapped data and I am looking forward to utilising this to produce some high quality and insightful research for the benefit of our clients.”