Local estate agent or online agent like housenetwork.co.uk?

iandv

In the Sunday Telegraph there was an article stating that by 2015 many more of us could be using online estate agents, similar to what has happened with the travel industry and online bookings. There are still traditional travel agents but if you put the effort in looking you can get better deals online - cutting old the middle man.

This is the conclusion I am coming to. On an average priced home of £165,000 in the UK based on the average commission of 1.75% + VAT for a no sale no fee contract sole agency you would be paying

A traditional estate agent = £3392
An online estate agent would cost = £395

If the majority of vendors now look online for homes what are we paying the extra £2997 for ?

Just to have if shown in the estate agents shop, every 4-6 weeks in the local paper and to have them show vendors around the property?

I am meeting with a traditional estate agent tommorrow regading my property, any ideas on what questions I should be asking him, especially with the rise of these online agents?

googler

You're not comparing like with like.

You're comparing a full-service agent who has a website as part of their service with an Online Agent, which IS just a website. The second one is cheaper, but it's not the same as the first.

1.75% is optimistic too, with the OFT survey concluding that average rates in England are 1.60%, in Scotland 1.10%, but.....

"Just to have if shown in the estate agents shop, every 4-6 weeks in the local paper and to have them show vendors around the property?" ....

and the EA's buyer base, their contacts, their links with other businesses, etc etc.

With the current scenario, where the public expects free valuations, free advice etc from EAs, and where the EA is spending a proportion of their time on work which won't bring in any income, and where the EA only gets paid at completion, on a successful sale, then the income from the completions has to support the cost of the non-completions.

It might be different if high-street agents charged upfront, but how many of the public would pay them this way?

googler

Someone set me off on another train of thought from another thread - on housenetwork's site, it says they have 'National coverage' (as any website should) 'but with agents in Manchester, Birmingham, London, Surrey, Yorkshire' . Headquartered in Essex.

So, if you're selling in ....Glasgow, let's say - their agent will travel from somewhere in England to value, photograph and describe your house.

If it doesn't sell, will anyone in these locations really care?

If you've hired a local agent, and your house doesn't sell, don't you think the local agent will consider his/her standing in the community, be aware that the lack of a sale will be noticed more, and essentially - care more?

Richard_Webster

Some of the issues are discussed in this thread:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=2225937

Even the Telegraph article about Tepilo failed to mention that there was more to selling a house than simply finding a buyer who would agree a price acceptable to the seller.

What about making sure the chain below is together and that the buyer can get the mortgage he says he needs?

eglons

Hi, I know the ins and outs of Housenetwork quite well especially on the technical side so will try and answer your questions.

googler wrote: »

What else does housenetwork do apart from "just upload your home onto their website and rightmove" ???

You are correct that housenetwork dont do the local paper or hard copy brochures, but you are wrong that they dont have a buyer list, there are many buyers registered and many properties sent out weekly to buyers to match their requirements.

You are also correct that Housenetwork are an internet operation, but as such they can offer a heck of a lot more than the local agent in terms of technological selling tools, like virtual tours, virtual walkthroughs, 3d floor plans, in general a much better and more comprehensive set of photos, instant changes of details, prices etc (hard to do on printed matter) and they get the property online to well over a 100 partners within 48 hours of the agent visiting.

googler wrote: »

and are unlikely to have agents close to your home?

Every property is visited by an NAEA qualified agent, who takes the photos, writes the details and answers any questions. After that the property is handed to the head office which is manned by a team of NAEA qualified agents. So whilst you are correct that there aren't agents calling round regularly there are quailified people involved in all stages of the property lifecycle including offer negotation and the sale chain through to completion.

eglons

googler wrote: »

"Clearly that sort of buyer is going to be web-savvy, so it's a toss up between the traditional agent and the online vendor."

Why? Are you suggesting the web-savvy buyer will ONLY find the online EA's website? Or are you suggesting that the traditional agent DOESN'T have a website?

ALternatively, are you suggesting that the online agent's website will gather more web traffic than the traditional EA's ???

Rightmove is the 8th largest website in the UK and 80% of property buyers go there. So the agent site is "found" via the Rightmove listing, which means they are all equal in that respect, the difference then though is in the quality of the EA's site and the quality and speed of the staff dealing with it. That's where Housenetwork aim to differentiate themselves.

eglons

googler wrote: »

Someone set me off on another train of thought from another thread - on housenetwork's site, it says they have 'National coverage' (as any website should) 'but with agents in Manchester, Birmingham, London, Surrey, Yorkshire' . Headquartered in Essex.

So, if you're selling in ....Glasgow, let's say - their agent will travel from somewhere in England to value, photograph and describe your house. ?

Just to clarify Housenetwork don't value your house, you do. They will provide an estimate using the tools available from places like the land registry but in general YOU know the value of your house best so pricing it yourself makes sense.

Also should mention that National refers to England and Wales, Scotland's legislation is too complex at present and so isn't covered by Housenetwork

googler wrote: »

If it doesn't sell, will anyone in these locations really care?

If you've hired a local agent, and your house doesn't sell, don't you think the local agent will consider his/her standing in the community, be aware that the lack of a sale will be noticed more, and essentially - care more?

:rotfl:You must have dealt with different agents to the ones I've used!

googler

eglons wrote: »

:rotfl:You must have dealt with different agents to the ones I've used!

Maybe we have a better class of EA up here..... we definitely have less of Rightmove.

eglons

googler wrote: »

Maybe we have a better class of EA up here..... we definitely have less of Rightmove.

Yeah, sorry I dont mean to have a go at agents, like every profession there are good and bad out there. The fees they charge really do irk people but for the reasons you mentioned they have to charge them to sustain the business model. There will always be people who want to be completely hands off and who want local support, the agent gives them that at a cost, others will see the benefit of a little self-effort in terms of several thousand pounds. Both sets of people choose the right agent for them.

Personally I cant see the current bricks and mortar agent model working long term, more and more property stock is going to the internet agents and there will be a tipping point where the bricks and mortar agents cant sustain the model... it's pretty much happened in the states already... whether it's a good thing I think the jury is out as it will adversely affect those who really need local support, but maybe the rebalancing will create a new competitive market for online agents and create some sort of local presence hybrid... who knows. All I know is that I wont be using a High Street agent again, too many bad experiences, I'd rather have a bad experience and save thousands!

googler

eglons wrote: »

..... there will be a tipping point where the bricks and mortar agents cant sustain the model... it's pretty much happened in the states already...

Is there a verifiable source to support this statement?