Selling your property has never offered so much choice for the vendor with high street, online, and specialist estate agents all competing for the opportunity to list your home for sale.
Many online agents such as Purplebricks, Yopa & Strike offer a fixed fee for marketing your property and can reach nationwide audiences through expensive television adverts that are outside the remit of most local estate agents. This makes them very appealing to vendors who want to capitalise on the value of their property by paying less to their estate agent.
However, figures from property data company TwentyCi highlight that the market share for online and hybrid agents reduced further during the second quarter of 2023. Their market share for exchanges was 6.4% in the second quarter of 2023, down from 6.5% in the first three months of the year and well below the peak of 8.2% of exchanges in 2019.
This goes against TwentyCi’s initial presumption that given the economic climate vendors would prefer the lower fees of these online agents. Their report also found that online agents tend to operate in the lower value categories, but even amongst properties below £350,000 their online market share had dropped by 0.3%.
Their analysis, therefore, seems to indicate the opposite. They concluded, “It is possible that in uncertain times, sellers particularly those concerned with higher-value transactions, are seeking out the advice and expertise of established agents to guide them through the choppier waters.”
Local estate agents offer more than just a listing on their website and property portals such as Rightmove and On the Market. It sounds obvious but knowledge of your local property market is key when selling your home. The media can only report on general property prices on a national scale, whereas your local estate agent knows how much that narrative applies to your specific area and, more importantly, to your potential buyers.
The changing landscape of the housing market means it is even more important to list your property at the right price to achieve your sale. Your local property valuer will use their wide knowledge of previous property prices, in most cases down to street level, alongside an overview of the wider area through activity in their offices and personal experiences of living and working in the area.
If you’re looking to sell your property in the near future tap into the expert knowledge of your local estate agent and contact our team.