London homeowners pay millions of pounds more than necessary to estate agents, in order to sell their properties. This is despite the fact they could take advantage of the internet and social media for a fraction of the cost.
Complaints about agents to the Property Ombudsman rose by 12 per cent last year. The
Evening Standard this week reported that more homebuyers are willing to go online to sell their properties to save money and, in many cases, save aggravation as well.
The article cited recent research by online service
eMoov, which found that last year Londoners paid almost £23.5 million to high street estate agents in percentage-based fees. In the same year, eMoov sold 520 properties with a combined value of £170 million, saving the sellers about £2 million. It currently has 850 properties on sale.
Online agents such as eMoov charge vendors a one-off fee of to list their property on the major property portals such as
Zoopla and
Rightmove. Such agents provide all the services supplied by traditional agents: valuation, energy certificates, floor plans, professional images, viewings and negotiations.
Savings on every deal
London fixed-fee estate agent OliverFinn, is a hybrid between the two business models. Vendors receive professional help with viewings and negotiations whilst enjoying the benefit of a highly reduced fee, says owner Christian Harper: “I don't really know were to start in terms of savings - we offer savings on every deal.
The percentage commission charged by high street agents is linked to rapidly rising house prices, so the sales fee is astronomical, from 1% to 2.5%.
"We sold a large house on Homefield Road, Chiswick, W4 for £2.6m that was previously for sale with another local agent," says Harper. The other firm would have charged 2% - which would have meant the client would have paid £46k + VAT. We charged just £6k. How about that for a saving!
"We don't consider ourselves to be better than our competition, however the fact is that enquiries from potential buyers come form the same sources - so one agent does not have any advantage over the other in the W4 market.
"I am certain that the only reason that we don't get all the business in
Chiswick, is that some people still believe that milk bought from Fortnum & Mason is better quality than the milk bought from Tesco, when in fact they probably come from the same cow!"
OliverFinn fees and services.
Complaints about agents to the Property Ombudsman rose by 12 per cent last year. The Evening Standard this week reported that more homebuyers are willing to go online to sell their properties to save money and, in many cases, save aggravation as well.
The article cited recent research by online service eMoov, which found that last year Londoners paid almost £23.5 million to high street estate agents in percentage-based fees. In the same year, eMoov sold 520 properties with a combined value of £170 million, saving the sellers about £2 million. It currently has 850 properties on sale.
Online agents such as eMoov charge vendors a one-off fee of to list their property on the major property portals such as Zoopla and Rightmove. Such agents provide all the services supplied by traditional agents: valuation, energy certificates, floor plans, professional images, viewings and negotiations.
Savings on every deal
London fixed-fee estate agent OliverFinn, is a hybrid between the two business models. Vendors receive professional help with viewings and negotiations whilst enjoying the benefit of a highly reduced fee, says owner Christian Harper: “I don't really know were to start in terms of savings - we offer savings on every deal.
The percentage commission charged by high street agents is linked to rapidly rising house prices, so the sales fee is astronomical, from 1% to 2.5%.
"We sold a large house on Homefield Road, Chiswick, W4 for £2.6m that was previously for sale with another local agent," says Harper. The other firm would have charged 2% - which would have meant the client would have paid £46k + VAT. We charged just £6k. How about that for a saving!
"We don't consider ourselves to be better than our competition, however the fact is that enquiries from potential buyers come form the same sources - so one agent does not have any advantage over the other in the W4 market.
"I am certain that the only reason that we don't get all the business in Chiswick, is that some people still believe that milk bought from Fortnum & Mason is better quality than the milk bought from Tesco, when in fact they probably come from the same cow!"
OliverFinn fees and services.
