Traditional Estate Agents vs Online Estate Agents

If you are thinking about selling your house you may be considering whether to use a traditional estate agent or one of the “new breed” of online agents. There are pros and cons to both, and we have outlined some of them in this article to help you make an informed choice.

Online Agents

Firstly, let’s look at online agents.

• Typically, you will pay an upfront fixed fee to market your house. The benefit is that you know exactly what the costs are.
• You may or may not have someone allocated to you as your account manager. If you do have an account manager, they are unlikely to be local but should be able to give general advice to help you sell your property.

If your budget is very limited and you are prepared to put in some work yourself, this can be a good option.

Traditional Estate Agents

When it comes to traditional agents, remember you pay them to sell your house – which means they don’t get paid unless they sell your property. This means they have a vested interest in finding a buyer and ensuring it goes through to completion.

• A good agent will have an active contact list of people who are currently looking to move which means they may possibly be in a position to sell your property before it even officially goes on the market. This can yeild a higher buying price in many circumstances.
• You will have a named contact that you can get in touch with and who will answer any of your queries. Often they will be the person who facilitates the viewings.
• Traditional agents will often seem more expensive that online agents, BUT the advantage is that they will generally be more hands-on. This will usually mean more and proactive regular updates on progress. When you are making your decision, ask about how often they are likely to contact you.
• A good estate agent will be proactive when it comes to dealing with solicitors, will help push things through when blockages happen and will generally help ensure the transaction goes as smoothly as possible.
• You also need to think about the long-term effect of pricing – if an agent charging more commission achieves a higher price for your property you may actually end up better off than using a cheaper agent!

In the end it all depends on what is most important for you. If saving on fees is your most important driver, perhaps an online estate agent will be best for you.

If you’d prefer proactive support in your move, aiming to get the highest price for your biggest asset, talk to one or more local estate agents.

For more advice about buying and selling property in the Shropshire and Worcestershire area, just fill in our enquiry form or or contact one of our offices for more information.