Fee Estate agent fees range from around £299 to a fixed percentage of the final selling price, up to 3%. Some fees are charged upfront, others at point of completion. The average estate agent fee in Great Britain is 1.1%.
Property Portals There are two major portals, controlling the majority of online property listings. By far the largest is Rightmove - almost every agent will list property on Rightmove, ensuring you reach the largest possible number of vendors. Zoopla is the second largest portal, offering a similar service for vendors packaged in a different way.
Viewings Showing potential buyers around a property is an important part of selling a property - it allows any nagging questions to be answered and gives a buyer the chance to picture themselves living in a property. If an Estate Agent accompanies viewings, it allows them to use their sales training to understand a buyer’s intent and work to deliver you the best offer possible. Most local agents will include viewings as standard - some will even run open days, delivering a number of viewings on one day. Online agents put the responsibility for viewings into the property owner’s hands, although some offer viewings for an additional fee.
Local Knowledge Every agent in your local area should have a working knowledge of the buying and selling trends that affect your home. Some will have a better understanding than others, either through selling similar houses in surrounding streets or because they analyse data and trends and understand what buyers are looking for in your town or street.
Additional Services Estate Agents offer a number of additional services over and above those covered by their fee, including glossy property brochures, 3D walkthroughs of property, video tours, aerial drones (for larger properties) and more. As technology develops, estate agents, especially those in bigger cities, are able to offer a number of new ways to make your property stand out from the crowd.
Chemistry There’s one thing not even the market leading agent comparison site (that’s us) can tell you and that’s how well you’ll get on with an estate agent. The agent you choose will work with you from the moment you meet for a valuation to the point at which they hand over the keys to your new property. Sometimes, they’ll even help you with issues after the sale.