Online agencies could be costing consumers tens of thousands of pounds!

online only estate agents

Research carried out by ELAA-UK (The Estate and Letting Agents Association of UK) shows that consumers who use the services of online only agencies may be losing out on thousands of pounds.

The research shows that, on average, properties sold via online only agencies achieved prices of around 5% less than those sold via ‘high street’ or ‘traditional’ agents. The report also shows that not only do sellers using traditional agents obtain more for their property but also have more viewings, more offers and more secure buyers. Kimberley Taylor of ELAA-UK says that ‘One of the main reasons for this is that local agents are just that, local. They have an existing relationship with both buyers and sellers and will usually already know a number of people that would be interested in a particular property before it is even marketed on the internet. This knowledge and the relationship between prospective buyers and a local agent mean greater efficiency and helps to get better results for the seller.’

The report is one of many conducted by ELAA-UK as a part of its #AppreciateEstateAgents campaign which it is using to highlight the true value and importance of estate and letting agents throughout the UK.

ELAA-UK which also recently published a report informing people that estate agents fees in the UK are amongst the lowest in the world says that they are leading the way in consumer awareness of the real value of estate and letting agents and are actively demonstrating that using a traditional style agent could actually make you money (you can read the article regarding sales fees at http://bit.ly/2xUZhYs).

The report is well detailed and uses various visual aids such as charts, graphs and images to clearly demonstrate the results. It provides statistics on the number of viewings generated by advertising a property only on online portals compared to those marketed by traditional agents and the results are probably surprising for consumers, particularly those that would normally be inclined to use an online only agent.

‘The report clearly demonstrates that a property being sold via a good estate agent can generate up to double the viewings and offers than a property that is simply listed only on online portals such as rightmove, zoopla, etc. and whilst these portals are a very important part of selling or letting a property it is also very important for consumers to understand that traditional estate agents can obtain a lot more interest in a property resulting in more views and ultimately higher offers.’ Says Kimberley Taylor of ELAA-UK.

The report has also highlighted the upfront costs associated with selling a property as online only agencies usually charge their fees upfront and these are usually non-refundable meaning no real guarantees that the agents will try their hardest to get the best deal for the buyer and explains how traditional fees can incentivise agents to produce better results, ultimately meaning more money for the seller.

The report also clearly illustrates what a small increase of just 5% in the final selling price means for sellers. It provides a number of examples of how much extra money a seller would obtain showing that on a £250,000 sale that would mean an extra £12,500 for the seller and on a property selling for £500,000 it would mean an extra £25,000 and £50,000 on a property selling for £1m. Kimberley states that ‘These amounts are clearly more than the saving in fees between online only agents and traditional agent and we believe consumers should be aware of all these facts before deciding which agent to instruct.’

The report has also detailed some of the additional charges that some online only agencies charge and has shown how little the difference in fees really is between online only agencies and local agents.

The report is available to view by all ELAA-UK members via the member zone at their website www.elaa-uk.org

Estate and Letting agents can find out more about how to become approved by The Estate & Letting Agents Association UK at www.ELAA-UK.org

EAN Content

Content shared by this account is either news shared free by third parties or sponsored (paid for) content from third parties. Please be advised that links to third party websites are not endorsed by Estate Agent Networking - Please do your own research before committing to any third party business promoted on our website. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

A Year on from Reform: Leasehold Practitioners Call for Clarity

A recent survey of ALEP members reveals widespread frustration over unfinished legislation and uncertainty A year after the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act (‘LAFRA’) appeared on the Statute Books, a new survey of property professionals reveals that while reform remains welcome in principle, confusion and delay have left leaseholders, freeholders and their advisers in limbo.…
Read More
Countryside
Breaking News

Countryside charm continues to drive downsizer demand

The latest research from over-50s property specialists, Regency Living, reveals that England’s countryside locations continue to attract strong demand for park home living and lead the way in quarterly growth during Q2 2025. Regency Living analysed current park home for-sale stock listed across every English county, identifying where demand has increased the most since Q1…
Read More
Breaking News

South East tops table for shared living demand

The South East is home to the most competitive house share rental market in Great Britain. That is according to the House Share Demand Index for Q2 2025 from COHO, the HMO management platform, which found that one in five (19.9%) house share opportunities in the region were snapped up by tenants in the second…
Read More
Breaking News

Surge in choice for home buyers drags house price growth down to 1.4 per cent

Zoopla cautions serious sellers to price realistically to secure a sale Sales activity continues to run at the fastest rate for four years, with more homes for sale meaning more buyers looking to secure a sale However, UK house price growth slows to 1.4 per cent as the number of homes for increases 14 per…
Read More
Breaking News

UK monthly property transactions for May 2025

Headline statistics from the latest transactions data include: the provisional seasonally adjusted estimate of the number of UK residential transactions in May 2025 is 81,470, 12% lower than May 2024 and 25% higher than April 2025 the provisional non-seasonally adjusted estimate of the number of UK residential transactions in May 2025 is 80,530, 13% lower than May 2024 and…
Read More
Breaking News

Construction Skills Mission Board (CSMB) shows the Government has a plan

The Construction Skills Mission Board (CSMB) held its first board meeting today (26 June 2025), where it set out a roadmap for recruiting 100,000 more construction workers a year by the end of Parliament. Richard Beresford, Chief Executive of the National Federation of Builders (NFB), said: “The Construction Skills Mission Board (CSMB) is a recognition…
Read More