Can You Beat The Estate Agent?

[The Colour]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6172846.stm

Property prices are continuing to boom, but house sellers are increasingly reluctant to pay an estate agent a percentage of their house's value.

Last year, we paid agents £2.5bn in commissions.

Now, however, newer and cheaper ways of selling your home are springing up.

...

Martin and Debra Bell are trying to sell their substantial house in Northumberland.

They left their high street estate agent after a year because they were not getting any potential buyers, despite paying for expensive newspaper adverts.

Because Housenetwork does not run a chain of expensive shops, it has cut costs. It charges £199 plus VAT when you sign up and the same amount once the sale is completed.

By comparison, the Bells' original agent would have charged a commission of £10,000 if it had sold their property.

After three months with Housenetwork, the Bells have had only one viewing.

...

In the north-east of England, and now spreading to other regions in the country, supermarket chain Asda is selling homes.

Asda is charging 1% commission, compared with a national average of 1.5%.

Andy Lee, who lives near Newcastle, was attracted to it because he found his traditional agent intimidating. The company says that because people do not always trust estate agents, its brand will help it get into the market.

Sixty thousand customers a week walk past its in-store displays. But after three months with Asda, Andy had no offers and has now signed up with a traditional estate agent.

...

Peter Bolton King, the head of the National Association of Estate Agents says that despite the growth of the internet as a way of finding properties, there are still many good reasons to go with an established estate agent.

He says an estate agent brings a list of potential buyers to each sale. He also points out that viewings and negotiations are best handled by an experienced professional.

Edit: £2.5Billion *COUGH*

Edited November 24, 2006 by The Colour

[tenroom]

So are the BBS saying that the new internet agents are sh*t or that those properties are just not selling ?

[crashmonitor]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6172846.stm

Edit: £2.5Billion *COUGH*

Obviously EAs have had a good run on commissions with the tripling of prices in the last ten years.However,there comes a point when sales begin to dry up because high prices restrict movement within the market.Transactions are currently running below trend,and I think EAs are in for a rough time in the next few years.Commissions are 1% in the E Midlands pretty much across the board(except the budget specials like Your Move).I gather commissions are higher in the South and other countries too.

See you're experimenting with your poster(The Colour)preferred the Cat.(from a few weeks back)

Edited November 24, 2006 by crashmonitor

[The Colour]

Obviously EAs have had a good run on commissions with the tripling of prices in the last ten years.However,there comes a point when sales begin to dry up because high prices restrict movement within the market.Transactions are currently running below trend,and I think EAs are in for a rough time in the next few years.Commissions are 1% in the E Midlands pretty much across the board(except the budget specials like Your Move).I gather commissions are higher in the South and other countries too.

Commisions are 1.5% national average.

Not sure if the beeb are saying that houses are not selling, just that alternatives to EAs are crepe.

[tenroom]

Obviously EAs have had a good run on commissions with the tripling of prices in the last ten years.However,there comes a point when sales begin to dry up because high prices restrict movement within the market.Transactions are currently running below trend,and I think EAs are in for a rough time in the next few years.Commissions are 1% in the E Midlands pretty much across the board(except the budget specials like Your Move).I gather commissions are higher in the South and other countries too.

Damn right . . . Foxtons charge 2.5%

I quite like that housenetwork.co.uk business model. I reckon the people who've been trying to sell that house in Northumberland have either been asking too much or the market's dead up there. I was thought the guy selling through Houseweb might be being a little greedy. After 30 viewings in 3 months - considering Houseweb can't advertise on Rightmove or the other main sites - surely he's been offered what the gaff is worth ?

[PropertyGuru]

beat an estate agent....

* with a stick?

* with a sock containing a billiard ball?

* at noughts and crosses?

The answer to all the above is YES!

[DTMark]

You probably could beat an estate agent.

But one of those "taser" devices would be a lot more fun.