The commission charged by estate agents varies widely across the country, with London unsurprisingly commanding the largest estate agency fees, reflecting the high cost of buying property the city.
Hybrid estate agency Strike, formerly Housesimple, has calculated the average fee charged by agents in each area, with a view to producing a list of the top 10 cities with the largest estate agency fees.
They are:
London – £6,573
Birmingham – £5,622
Southampton – £5,481
Bristol – £5,316
Belfast – £4,667
Norwich – £4,338
Liverpool – £4,221
Edinburgh – £3,690
Sheffield – £3,405
Glasgow – £3,273
The ‘top 10’ table has provided the company with a fresh opportunity to take another swipe at the fees charged by traditional agents, which was its purpose, as the hybrid agency looks to generate fresh publicity and ultimately win greater market share.
The company has undertaken research designed to show that some high street agents are overcharging vendors for what they imply is a substandard service.
Sam Mitchell, chief executive officer at Strike, which covers home sales in the north of England, told the press over the summer that high street agents typically “overcharged and underwhelmed” when it comes to selling homes.
The latest study by Strike claims that 44% of UK sellers were unhappy with the service provided by their high street estate agent, with the greatest level of dissatisfaction in Belfast, where 58% said they were unimpressed.
Some 1,000 people who have sold a property in the last decade were surveyed, with 58% claiming that they had to pay more than they had expected, while 34% said that they were charged significantly higher fees than they had budgeted for.
Mitchell commented: “Estate agent fees are often the most significant expense when moving house, especially with the current stamp duty relief.”
He added, and here is the blatant marketing plug: “At Strike, we help people sell their homes for free, which saves them thousands of pounds, no matter where they live. With no estate agency fees, you have more money to spend on the things that really matter, like your new home.”
Yawn…
Stike aren’t estate agents…
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How can 1000 people be representative of all different parts of the UK?
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It might carry some weight if Sam’s company made a profit and did not run at a loss.
Why not start up a restaurant chain next free for people to eat but ask them to use your taxi service home that you charge for.
Shows how silly the concept of Strike is.
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Someone please switch off the life support.
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Incredible, their Accounts up to March 19, they probably daren’t publish their latest ones, only showing a modest loss on their P&L of £38,000,000 ! Fools and their money………
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Imagine having a £38 million injection into your firm…. Heck even 3.8 million would increase, share, turnover and profitability if used wisely.
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