Vendors are now paying estate agents 1.4% on average to sell their property, new data has claimed.
The data is based on numbers users entered on to a calculator hosted on home removals and comparison website Compare My Move.
The cost of moving house calculator estimates the costs of selling and/or purchasing a property by getting users to enter the commission their agent charges as well as other factors such as the property price and where they are moving to.
A spokesman said 22,000 people have used the calculator since it launched in January 2018 and sellers said they have been paying their agent on average 1.4%.
Users enter the percentage commission charged by their agent themselves so it is unclear if this will include VAT or not as some may choose to incorporate that and some may not.
That is lower than the often-controversially cited 1.8% agency fees figure that has previously been touted by consumer watchdog Which? and used by others.
The Which? figure dates back seven years, although Which? itself has since accepted that the average fee is 1.2%.
It comes as research by Compare My Move found the average home owner spent £10,047 moving home last year, an annual rise of around £500.
This is based on data from its own calculator as well as average property prices from October 2018, Stamp Duty rates, conveyancing and removal prices from firms on its websites and extra payments such as for an Energy Performance Certificate.
Stamp Duty made up around 35% of moving costs on average, the research found.
The cheapest region to move was the north east at £5,148, while it cost the most in London at £27,769, with 60% of this being Stamp Duty payments.
|
Region |
Average House Price |
Cost of Moving House |
Stamp Duty % |
|
London |
£534,907 |
£27,769 |
60% |
|
North East |
£146,124 |
£5,148 |
8% |
|
East Midlands |
£216,902 |
£7,690 |
24% |
|
East of England |
£331,744 |
£14,157 |
47% |
|
North West |
£187,175 |
£6,574 |
19% |
|
South East |
£378,199 |
£17,219 |
52% |
|
South West |
£288,532 |
£11,331 |
39% |
|
West Midlands Region |
£225,058 |
£7,967 |
25% |
|
Yorkshire and The Humber |
£184,495 |
£6,482 |
18% |
|
England |
£281,586 |
£10,887 |
37% |
|
Scotland |
£181,812 |
£6,192 |
12% |
|
Wales |
£186,743 |
£5,561 |
4% |
|
UK |
£268,467 |
£10,047 |
34% |
Is that including VAT?
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‘What users put In’ … they are bound to put in 1.4 because that is what lying onliners say we charge. Everyone can work out 1% .
The trouble with this is. It’s fake news but pie are putting it in the mainstream public domain .
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The fact that this article does not even touch upon the VAT element of fees tells you all you need to know. Amateur hour.
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>The fact that this article does not even touch upon the VAT element of fees tells you all you need to know. Amateur hour.
“it is unclear if this will include VAT or not as some may choose to incorporate that and some may not”
So the question is whether it’s 1.4% or 1.4% plus VAT.
Foxtons charge 3% including VAT. In Woking & Guildford they charge 2.7% including VAT.
I’m not sure the 1.2% figure being touted about includes London agents so this survey of 22,000 people has some value.
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Well the Purple ones own solicitors suggest the figure is 1.3% based on completions. However a percentage of them will be at a higher multiple agency rate which is unaccounted for.
The true average sole agency rate is likely to be much less.
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wardy, I can remember PB’s solicitors saying they didn’t have any Central London Agents in the data they had available. Or that used to be the case anyway.
No figure completely reliable but in my view this figure from Compare My Move can’t just be dismissed.
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1.4% (inc. VAT). Back in October there was a survey that cited 1.18%+VAT as the average. Down 34% in 7 years – https://thenegotiator.co.uk/hybrid-estate-agents-average-fees/
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Without question agency fees are rising – and many well past 1.4% (with or without VAT). Any of the 1000+ people who attended my Rightmove “Psychology of Persuasion” webinar last week will have seem how many agents are easily charging at least 2% (which is still the cheapest in the world!). The point is, especially during these interesting times, the value of an agent’s service is worth far more today than it was in a buoyant market – hence a justifiable increase in commission levels. You just need to know how to present it to the client and still get the instruction without wimping out with a pathetic fee that makes you look pants! Have a great day.
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If only we could achieve those sort of fees, lets be realistic 0.8 + VAT is what I achieve in Southern Hampshire
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We’re lucky to get 1% plus VAT in Yorkshire……..
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A good agent will be proud of the fee they charge (because they will be able to justify it) and the best way of doing that? Google reviews.
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The ‘calculator’ on the site is set to 1.5% as default.
I wonder how many people don’t bother to move it to suit their actual circumstances?
Actually no – I don’t wonder. The result of this “data” give me a fair idea that it’s over ninety percent.
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I have just checked the poll results from the 1000 agents who attended my Rightmove Webinar last week, about persuasive fee-raising techniques, which I’m happy to publish here, as follows:
6% of agents polled charge between 2% and 3%
18% charge between 1.5% and 1.9%
61% charge between 1% and 1.4%
15% charge less than 1%
Conclusion: About a quarter of all agents charge more than 1.5%. That’s 60% more than those who charge LESS than 1%
In my view, for those who charge less than 1.5%, this has nothing to do with location or competition. It’s about skills, attitude, confidence and the deliberate commitment to charge a decent amount of commission in order to secure their future.
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Mr Rawlings
“In my view, for those who charge less than 1.5%, this has nothing to do with location or competition. It’s about skills, attitude, confidence and the deliberate commitment to charge a decent amount of commission in order to secure their future.”
Six percent charge 2%+
Fifteen percent charge less than 1%.
Pray tell – which are making the most profit?
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