1 APRIL 2018 MY PROPERTY, MY HOME


NEW BUILDS & DEVELOPMENTS 17


Why are more people turning towards online estate agents?


O


ver the past few years there’s been a shift towards people using online es- tate agents rather than their tradition-


al high street counterparts — but why? The biggest reason is simply down to price. A high street agent will charge you commission in the region of 1.5% plus VAT (which equates to £4,051 on the average house price in the UK of £225,081), whereas an online agent, such as propertyeagle.co.uk, will charge you a fixed fee of £399 plus VAT, regardless of your home’s size or value. But how does that work? Propertyeagle.co.uk says the only real dif-


ference is that the homeowner personally shows the prospective buyers around their home. “We believe the owner is the best person to show a buyer round, as they know the prop- erty and area better than any agent would,” says Melissa Chuck, director of propertyeagle. co.uk. She adds: “As long as a property is mar- keted well on Rightmove and Zoopla, buyers will see your property; we find desirable prop- erties always sell quickly once they’re added to these sites.” Is selling a home as simple as putting it


in front of the buyers? Melissa says: “Buyers know what they want; you can’t make people buy something that isn’t right for


them, no matter how good the sales patter. Technology is making it easier to view prop- erties online 24 hours a day. I struggle to un- derstand why the local agents still charge so much, it’s obscene.” Is estate agency moving in the same way


as the holiday and insurance companies that were once so commonplace on the high street, but are now almost exclusively online; and is this good for the consumer? Looking at these two examples then the answer has to be yes; without the high overheads that come with running a shop, the customer gets better val- ue for money in both of these examples. Does Melissa think the service a customer


ultimately receives would be affected by the lower fees? She says: “Not at all. You’ll always have good estate agents, as well as ones that have room for improvement; but again, the internet has helped us with this too, with re- view websites for pretty much everything. At least now, upset customers who feel they hav- en’t received the service they deserved have a voice, and others can read this feedback be- fore signing with that agent. “Overall, I believe this opens the market so


that sellers have more choice, and if companies like propertyeagle.co.uk continue to deliver an equally good service for £399 plus VAT then I think the market is ready for a shake up.”


For more information please visit propertyeagle.co.uk


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