Urban housing mix forces estate agents to work harder
The latest market analysis from eXp UK has revealed that estate agents operating in more urban, built-up markets are often required to work significantly harder to generate comparable earnings, due to the dominance of flats within city housing stock and the far lower commission secured per sale when compared to detached homes.
eXp UK analysed the average estate agent fee achieved across each region of England before applying this fee to the average sold price of each property type, in order to understand how agent earning potential differs depending on the type of stock being sold and the regional housing landscape.
The analysis shows that across England, the commission secured from the sale of a detached home is, on average, almost 73% higher than that achieved from selling a flat.
The South East sees the largest disparity in earning potential between property types. Here, a detached home secures an estimated £10,641 in commission for the selling agent, compared to just £3,278 from the sale of a flat. This represents a 105.8% difference in earning potential, meaning agents operating in more urban parts of the region would need to sell more than three flats to generate the same commission as a single detached transaction.
The West Midlands region follows closely, where the commission secured from a detached home is almost double that of a flat, with a 99.7% gap between the two property types.
In the East Midlands, the commission difference between detached homes and flats stands at 96.1%, while in the North East it reaches 95.4%. The South West also records a substantial gap, with agents earning 95.2% more from selling a detached home than a flat.
London is home to the smallest gap in commission earned by the two property types, largely due to the high value of flats in the capital.
Even so, the commission secured from a detached home in London remains 91.2% higher than that achieved from a flat, underlining that agents still need to work considerably harder in flat-heavy markets to match the returns generated by larger family homes.
Adam Day, Head of eXp UK and Europe, commented:
“Agents working in urban markets are often dealing with higher volumes of flats, which on the surface can look positive, but the reality is that the commission secured per sale is significantly lower than for detached homes.
In many regions, an agent needs to sell more than two flats, and in some cases closer to three, just to match the commission earned from a single detached property transaction. That has a real impact on workload, time pressures and long-term earning sustainability.
Even in London, where flat values remain high by national standards, the gap between selling a flat and a detached home is still substantial. Understanding how local housing stock shapes earning potential is critical for agents when building a business that balances volume, value and personal capacity.”
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