5% better price with High Street agents

Deciding to sell your home is, for many, one of the biggest financial undertakings we do and, rightly, a lot of thinking goes into whether to sell, when to sell, where to move to, which schools your children will attend, what to do with redundant furniture once you move and so on. All important factors. But the most important decision you have to make when selling your home, is choosing the right agent.

This decision can mean a difference in thousands of pounds gained, or thousands of pounds lost. It can also mean the difference between being able to secure the next home you want or missing out. Timings are crucial, and you want to do everything you can to ensure the quickest sale, to the right buyer, for the best price.

A recent study by The Advisory, an independent consumer advice group for house sellers, revealed compelling statistics to back up what we at Hunters already knew to be true – traditional high street agents achieve more viewings, more offers, and in almost three-quarters of cases, a 5% better price for your property than online-only estate agents.

Put into perspective, on a £250,000 sale, that translates to a loss of £12,500, if an online-only firm has been used. This is a significant sum of money that warrants consideration when choosing which agent to sell your home.

A higher sale price is achieved by generating as much interests in your property as possible and by finding the right buyer for your home; someone who will pay the best price. The research reported high street agents increase viewings by 48% and offers by 64% compared to online-only agents.

Hunters and many other high street agents offer a no sale, no fee policy which means the agency fee is only paid on the successful completion of the sale of your house. This means we will work hard throughout the process to deliver results for our customers.

Online-only agents rely heavily on generating buyers purely from the listings on property websites, they do not have a high street office and they promote low upfront-fee policies which means you part with your money at the point when the For Sale sign goes up outside your house. Whether it sells or not. With limited, or as often reported, no support or motivation from the agent to get your property sold, the money you have ‘saved’ through the lower upfront fee starts to look questionable. As far as the agent is concerned, their job is done, your house is on the market and they have received their fee.

Martin Robinson, Hunters National Sales Director, says “For high street agents like Hunters, this is the point where we feel our job really begins. Our trained agents will work tirelessly and pro-actively to market your property in-order to find the right buyer who will pay the best price for your property and be in a position to proceed quickly, through to completion”.

“Furthermore, as a result of Hunters pro-active marketing strategy, you are in fact 35% more likely to successfully complete your property transaction with us compared to the national average”. 

“Last year, over a quarter of a million new people trusted Hunters with their property needs and many of our customers will be several thousand pounds better off as a result of us achieving a higher sale price for them.”

Choosing the right agent from the start can mean significant savings, less risk of a sale falling through, and less time and money wasted on other agents who may not deliver for you.

Source: research report from The Advisory, an independent consumer advice group for house sellers, published October 2018  https://www.theadvisory.co.uk/estate-agents/online-vs-high-street/

*National fall through average: 38.8% - source Property Wire, April 2018.