In the South East of England I found that estate agents were very proactive, stereotypical Audi TT-driving widemen who wore suits and had good haircuts and would work hard to make a sale. When it came time to sell then I found them to be lazy and almost useless, taking bad pictures, writing incorrect descriptions and showing no urgency. I guess they figure that the house will sell one way or another and the difference between a good or bad listing might only be a few % of the sale price, which means their cut will only change by £100 or so.

Alternately in the North East then I had a much different experience (albeit only on the buying side) - estate agents were almost exclusively women who answered phones, and viewings were done by the sellers themselves.