UK home sellers have seen estate agency fees increase by up to 21% sincde the last genera election in 2019, new data analysis from Open Property Group reveals.
The quick sale specialists has analysed the change in average estate agency fees in the UK and its regions between 2019 – 2024 to reveal how the cost of selling a home has changed over the past five years.
The data shows that back in 2019, the UK’s average house price was £230,612. Meanwhile, the average estate agency fee was 1.53%. As such, the cost of agency fees in 2019 was an estimated £3,528.
Fast forward to today and the average UK house price now stands at £280,311. Over those five years, the average estate agency fee has fallen to 1.42%, but due to the increase in house prices, the pounds-and-pence cost of the fee has actually risen to hit £3,980. This is a five-year increase to the seller of 12.8%, or £452.
However, due to vast regional variations in average house price, there are some parts of the UK in which sellers have seen the cost of agency fees increase significantly more.
In the North West, the average house price has increased from £164,419 in 2019 to £214,592. As such, the average fee has increased from £2,516 to £3,047, This is equivalent to a cost increase of 21.1% for sellers.
Hefty cost increases have also occurred in Northern Ireland where fees are up 20% on 2019 levels, followed by Wales (19.4%), Yorkshire & Humber (16.3%), the East Midlands (15.6%), Scotland (14.8%), West Midlands (14.9%), South West (14.4%), and North East (14%).
Meanwhile, London is the only place where the cost of agency fees has fallen, having dropped by -0.5% over the five-year period.
The CEO of Open Property Group, Jason Harris-Cohen, commented: “A lot of people don’t realise how much it costs to sell a home. Agency fees, which amount to thousands of pounds, are just one of many outgoings that sellers endure, and the longer your property sits on the market waiting for a buyer, the more the costs go up. This is because you’re having to pay mortgage costs, insurance bills, utilities, and so on while you remain the owner of the property.
“But by taking the quick sale option, you are able to bypass all of these expenses. There is no agent involved, so there’s no fees. And the sale processes incredibly quickly which means you’re not paying to run the property while waiting months and months for a seller.
“Furthermore, you still benefit from the value that has been added to your home over the years because Open Property Group always pays 80%-85% of the home’s current market value.
“After a couple of stagnant years, it looks like the UK market is going to pick back up in the second half of 2024, which means house prices will rise pulling agency fees up with them. Sellers should consider going down the quick sale route instead, avoiding all of the covert costs associated with the open market, and getting the transaction completed in a fraction of the time.”
How can the owner be truly realising the benefit of house price growth if they get 80-85% of the value…….that’s a loss of up to £56,000………a decent agent will look to negotiate the best price and probably achieve circa 95-105% of the asking price (assuming priced correctly of course – something agents often get wrong just to win an instruction) for a fee of £3,980. Am I missing something? The reality is that fees in the industry have dropped when you compare to how other costs of running a business have risen and at the same time the service has been cheapened. I applaud any business that is working hard to improve its service standards and proposition and is prepared to command a high fee for it.
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