Are upfront fees in estate agency dead already? Online estate agents may have established their businesses based on low upfront fees, however, new research suggests that may have been a mistake as only 17% of vendors prefer the cost savings of upfront fees while 60% prefer the lower risk of paying on completion.
LINCOLN, England, May 19, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Online estate agents may have established their businesses based on low upfront fees, however, a new survey from consumer advice website, Property Road suggests that may have been a mistake, with only 17% of vendors preferring upfront fees.
As many as 60% of people already considering using an online estate agent to sell their home would prefer to pay their agency fees on completion of sale. Only 17% opted for the cost savings offered by paying upfront.
That's according to a survey of 2,717 would-be property sellers that were interested in listing with an online estate agent.
The study also indicated 44% are happy to conduct all viewings themselves and 47% value an online agents' ability to achieve the asking price as the most important factor in deciding which one to use.
ONLY 17% OF VENDORS PREFER TO PAY UPFRONT
The significance of 60% of vendors stating they would prefer to pay on completion is higher when you consider only 17% said they would prefer to pay upfront. This was despite it being made clear that paying upfront would result in lower fees being paid. The remaining 22% was made up of people who had no preference one way or the other.
47% MOST VALUE AGENTS 'ABILITY TO ACHIEVE ASKING PRICE'
While estate agent fees are an obvious talking point, especially as the cost of living increases, it seems that for the moment, people still value performance over cost.
When given a choice between five different factors that can help distinguish between estate agents, 47% felt that the 'ability to achieve asking price' was the most important trait they valued.
This compares to 25% who prefer the 'ability to sell properties quickly' and 12% who value 'good customer service' the most. Meanwhile, 'low prices' (9%) and 'option to pay on completion' (4%) were the least selected traits that people looked for.
ONLY 28% OF VENDORS WANT THE ESTATE AGENT TO DO ALL THEIR VIEWINGS
There are signs that attitudes are slowly changing when it comes to homeowners confidence in conducting their own viewings, perhaps partially fuelled by the 'work from home' culture that the pandemic has helped establish.
When asked about hosting their own viewings, some 44% of respondents were happy to conduct ALL viewings themselves.
A further 26% were happy to conduct SOME viewings themselves but would still want an estate agent to do some too. While 28% did not want to conduct ANY viewings themselves.
Reflecting on the results, the founder of Property Road, Paul James said "We've seen the market share of online estate agents stagnate and even drop slightly over the last few years and these results may explain, at least partially, why that might be. The largest brands have poured a lot of money into promoting their lower upfront fee model versus the more expensive, yet less risky, traditional fee model of payment upon completion of sale.
While we have seen many of the big players begin to offer a choice between upfront fees or payment on completion, there are still some, most notably Purplebricks, that seem reluctant to change their approach.
"If only 17% of people already considering using online estate agents prefer the cost savings of paying upfront, it shows the uphill battle online agents still face in convincing vendors to stump up fees before their property has sold."
The full survey results, analysis and further comments can be seen at https://www.propertyroad.co.uk/property-sellers-pay-on-completion/
ABOUT PROPERTY ROAD
Property Road is one of the UK's leading independent property advice websites for consumers. Featuring news, advice, and reviews for property owners, investors, and first-time buyers. https://www.propertyroad.co.uk
Media Contact
Paul James, Property Road, 44 07740195201, [email protected]
SOURCE Property Road
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