Anya Caine, former manager at the Workington branch of Cumberland Estate Agents, has returned as a valuer after almost a decade.

She took extended maternity leave to give birth to daughter Eliza, now nine, then returned to the workplace with another agent on a part-time basis.

Now she is back with the Cumberland and is delighted to return at what she says is a very exciting time for the business. The estate agency has undergone a significant change in the way it operates in the past 18 months, providing customers with longer opening hours and a seven-day-a-week service.

"The estate agency industry has had to change," said Anya. "I could see that coming when I worked for the smaller agency.

"The way customers search for property is different from 10 years ago. The major property websites like Rightmove and Zoopla have changed the way people buy and sell property with house-hunters typically spending less time viewing and more time researching.

" The modern customer is much more knowledgeable than in the past and once they’ve made a decision to view after their online search, they want the agent to respond quickly.

"The Cumberland are at the forefront of change in the industry in making the organisational changes required to respond to this change in buyer behaviour.

"We have a centralised team of sales negotiators taking inquiries from all over Cumbria and we’re committed to dealing with the incoming inquiries quickly and efficiently.

"And we still maintain the high street presence providing personal face-to-face service in our 34 building society branches. This means customers can still chose how they want to communicate with us be it in person, on the telephone or online.”

In the Whitehaven and Workington branches, someone is always available to discuss estate agency business with members of the public, Anya added.

"And in my role offering valuations I work flexibly and I’m able to provide home owners advice into the early evenings and weekends. I work remotely either in the branch or out at valuations, so also interact with lots of people."

Anya has lived and worked in Workington all her life so has in-depth knowledge of the local property sector which, she says, has been very busy recently.

"Properties are selling again, which is great news, and people have a bit more confidence in the market," she said. "We’ve definitely noticed an upturn in the market since Christmas.

"It’s local people moving around, rather than outsiders moving in. There’s always demand for good family houses, with three or four bedrooms, gardens and a garage.

"Other than these sought-after family homes, Workington has a good mix of properties with investment properties, a lot of terraced houses on the market and also semis and smaller semis. There’s plenty to choose from.

"I’m really happy to be back at the Cumberland - it’s exciting, different and I’m looking forward to cracking on with it."