Why don't estate agents just give-up press advertising altogether?

The reason is two-fold:

1. Sellers who use estate agents expect to see their property in the local paper.
The tendency is for them to feel that their estate agent is not doing his job properly unless a picture of their house shows-up in print
However, these homeowners don't appreciate just how ineffective (relative to the Internet) the local paper is as a marketing tool.Because of this, until home sellers become comfortable with not seeing an advert in print, estate agents will have to keep providing them for fear of losing business.

2. All estate agents know that the local press is where most potential sellers research which agents they'll invite for a valuation.
Estate Agents are scared that if they don't have any presence in the local press, they won't be invited by potential sellers to give any valuations.
They will then loose out on the opportunity to convince sellers to become their clients.

Press advertising has little to do with finding buyers so please have no doubt in your mind....One or more of the major Property Portals, a "For Sale" board (& possibly an advert in "Loot") is all you need! (theadvisory.co.uk)