Data-Driven Estate Agent Comparison.

The property industry is a British obsession. Major newspapers rarely go a week without a story promoting our combined lust for bricks and mortar.

But in the middle of all this reporting of price rises and extreme property transactions are estate agents.

One of the biggest threats to traditional estate agents is that anyone can become one. In London alone, there are approximately 5,500 estate agency branches, with on average 100 agents listing in every postcode.

Vendors simply have too many agents to choose from. And with little differentiation between the players, the estate agency business has become commoditised (hence the rise in online agents). Traditional estate agents are often left competing solely on fees or by over-valuing properties. Neither of these helps either the agent or the vendor.

So how can good agents stand out and prove their worth?

Use objective data to rank agents by their past performance. Collect, clean up and analyse property sales data from various sources to create a transparent measure of agent performance. Vendor’s provide a few basic details, and then use this information to shortlist the top 6 local agents for them. Provide them with various insights – including each agent’s average sell time, portal usage, % of asking price achieved, price drops and more. These agents are invited to submit quotes, and the vendor can then arrange a valuation visit with those they’re interested in. This is an exciting development for top agents, as their fee is contextualised and justified by their performance.

 

Alex Evans

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Section 21s continue to rise ahead of looming ban

The latest research industry insight from LegalforLandlords Section 21 “no-fault” evictions continued to rise in 2025, increasing by 1.7% following a sharp 20.4% surge the previous year. This sustained growth highlights landlords’ continued reliance on Section 21 notices, raising important questions about how possession will be regained once they are outlawed under the Renters’ Rights Act,…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

Rightmove house price data showing a 0.8% month on month increase

Commenting on the latest Rightmove house price data showing a 0.8% month on month increase, Daniel Austin, CEO and co-founder at ASK Partners, said: “Today’s rise in UK house prices points to underlying resilience, but momentum remains constrained by affordability pressures and a ‘higher for longer’ interest rate environment. While recent rate cuts signal easing…
Read More
Breaking News

Canary Wharf tops the London Marathon route

The latest insight from property management specialist Rushbrook & Rathbone has found that E14 is the strongest postcode along the London Marathon route for landlords looking to invest in the capital’s rental market, delivering an estimated average yield of 6.6%. Rushbrook & Rathbone analysed current asking house prices and rents across postcode districts spanning the London…
Read More
Breaking News

46% surge in remortgaging activity in Q1

Stonebridge Mortgage Market Index    Overall mortgage activity rose 24.6% in Q1 while applications for home purchase softened Stonebridge today relaunches its Mortgage Market Briefing as a quarterly Mortgage Market Index   The volume of remortgage applications surged 46% in Q1 prompting overall mortgage activity to jump by a quarter, Stonebridge can reveal. The mortgage…
Read More
Rightmove logo
Breaking News

Housing market remains steady despite higher mortgage rates

The housing market remains steady so far in April despite higher mortgage rates due to global uncertainty. Average new seller asking prices rise by 0.8% (+£2,929) in April to £373,971. This is consistent with February and March, but is below the long-term average for April. The average two‑year fixed rate has risen to 5.42%, from…
Read More
Breaking News

Housing market springs back into life

The latest research by Yopa reveals that as Spring begins, 6.3% more homes are on England’s housing market today compared to the start of the year, with some counties seeing increases of more than 16%, showcasing growing seller confidence in a market that is on the up. Yopa has analysed residential listings data from March…
Read More