Traditional V Online Estate Agent

You're thinking of selling your house. Do you choose a traditional high street agent or online estate agent? It can be quite a confusing decision and lots of points to consider. With Online Estate agents growing in popularity, many are enticed by their advertised prices, some prefer the security of dealing with a known high street estate agent.

Online estate agent

Pros

Selling fees can be less than traditional street estate agents.
Some online agents allow you to split the cost or pay later.
They offer a similar service to a traditional agent.
Getting in contact can be convenient as they usually have call centres manned 24 hrs a day, seven days a week.

Cons

Minimal 'face to face' contact with agent.
No local office to call in to.
In most cases vendors have to conduct their own viewings (some online agents offer this but at an additional cost).
A lot of buyers feel uncomfortable liasing with the vendor direct.
Valuations may be carried out using online data rather than using local knowledge and statics.
Online agents won't have the vast local knowledge that a traditional agent would.

Traditional Estate Agents

Pros

Expert local knowledge.
Accompanied viewings included in sales fee.
Sales board included in sales fee.
Personal service / face to face contact throughout the process.
Most agents would operate on a 'No sale-No fee' basis.
Advertising on UK's leading websites (Rightmove, Zoopla, On the market and Prime Location) included in sales fee.
Easy to resolve any issues in branch/Phone.

Cons

Some can be expensive - good to explore / compare costs of a few estate agents.
May not always be convenient to call into the branch in office hours.
Some agents can be stuck in their ways and aren't fast progressing like their online competition
Set opening hours/days.

There is no getting away from the fact that Traditional Agents will find it hard to compete with the fees charged by Online Agents. But, you do get what you pay for. For their fee, what exactly are you getting for your money? Most online agents charge extra for a sale board, an EPC, advertising, a floor plan and even to conduct viewings. What initially seems a very low priced package could end up over a thousand pound, comparable with a traditional Estate agent. Some traditional estate agents offer fixed fee pricing or a typical 1% - 2.5% of the sale price. Due to the new interest in online estate agents, some of the more modern traditional agents are now competing in price and offering a lower cost, but including the benefits the online agents charge extra for. There is some argument that once you have paid your upfront fee to an online agent, what incentive is there for the online agent to secure a sale, seeing as they get to retain your fee regardless of the outcome. Traditional Agents work on a commission / no sale-no fee basis. Two of the leading online agents, offer a 'Pay Later' option. On further reading it became apparent that the fee is still payable even if your house doesn't sell, the fixed contract ends, or you want to cancel the contract. Most people would hope that their property would sell quickly but if it didn't, it could become a very costly exercise, as the vendor would then need to instruct another agent.

With a market share of around less than 5%, online agents are still the minority in the property market. It could be seen to have a positive effect on traditional estate agents as it may make them restructure their fees and services to be competitive however also providing the added bonus of a 'personal touch'.

Both online and traditional estate agents do offer similar services but for different costs. Although some traditional agents are revising their fees to compete.

Some people will prefer to go online, while most may prefer the more traditional face-to-face relationship a traditional estate agent provides.

However, when picking which one is right for you, most people want two things - as little hassle as possible and maximising the best price for their property.

While online estate agents are gaining in popularity it's unlikely that it will lead to a drastic reduction of people using a traditional estate agents. This is mainly because selling a house is one of the biggest financial transactions one can make so many people may feel uncomfortable doing this online. Which is why at H&M Properties we feel that it is important to build a good relationship of trust with our clients, offering help and advice throughout the selling / buying process and we strive to acheive the best possible sale price. We dedicate a personal sales manager to each client so that they deal with the same person rather than many faceless people at the end of a phone in a call centre. Our fair fixed fees are competitive with online agents but with a lot more to offer.

Traditional V Online Estate Agent