Selling property in the UK ten years ago was different than five years ago and especially very different today. Luckily, the most beneficial fact is that it is different in an effective way for both the sellers and the buyers.
As most of us now know, there are thousands of properties for sale being advertised on the internet. Some of them are being advertised by estate agents on property portals, but there are a growing number of websites out there allowing people to cut out the middle-man and market their own property for sale.On top of that there is a new breed of estate agent; online agents, who charge a one-off fee to advertise property, and then allow sellers to tag on additional services like viewings, and negotiations.
All this is good for sellers, because it gives them more choice and better value for money — it can also increase their chances of getting a good price for their home.
In a large-scale study the Office for Fair Trading conducted recently regarding home-selling in the UK, 32% of those asked stated that they feel the charges the real estate agents receive is slightly poor if not very poor value for money. The results caused the OFT to suggest to sellers to bargain for a lower fee for their agent and look for better prices.
The main result of the OFT study recommends that the market must be adaptable enough to make room for new models of business. A suggestion that was outlined was that those websites who simply introduce the potential buyers to private sellers must not be mired with unnecessary rules.
OFT Chief Executive John Fingleton said:
‘In the present economic climate it is more important than ever that people get a good deal when buying or selling a home.
‘Encouraging new business models, online estate agents and private seller platforms could put useful competitive pressure on traditional models and lead to better value for buyers and sellers. The Government can help this process by updating legislation and making sure regulation only applies where it is essential to protect consumers.
‘We also encourage home sellers to negotiate hard on commission fees and consider using alternatives to traditional estate agents.’
The OFT study learned that private sales portals like The Little House Company were unable to advertise on the UK’s largest portal Rightmove, and several other portals which banned private sales websites out of loyalty to estate agents, which made up their core market.
The OFT have not suggested the formation of bodies that pertains to private sales but it will certainly be a very good idea for the future of private sales. Estate agents unite with the National Association of Estate Agents and bodies like this can be use to apply pressure to sites like Rightmove.
The best thing is that there are now options. Property sellers can now choose not to use real estate agents and do the research of their property value and sell their homes for a vey good price. Buyers will have the ability to directly negotiate with the sellers for a fair price without any motive plus they can instantly view the property online. Consumers should always have choices helping to make any industry work, including home-selling.
Let us wait for the OFT findings to be acted upon and hope that UK property selling may have even more choices and that it’ll be completely different five years from today.
Now that you know the challenges you face in the current property market, visit the our website and read our expert guide on how to find the best mortgage deals. Gavin Brazg is editor of www.TheAdvisory.co.uk – the UK’s largest free resource of free expert advice for UK property sellers.
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