From the lowest to the highest – how high street agents’ fees add up across the country

High street agents’ fees vary from city to city, from a low of around 0.8% to a high of 1.7%, while online firms have pushed up their prices by almost 40% in the last two years.

According to estate agents comparison website NetAnAgent.com, high street agents in Leicester and Glasgow have the lowest average fees, while London has the highest average fees.

The table below shows the lowest and highest percentage fees, and what that on average works out to, based on Land Registry prices as at the second quarter of this year.

Lowest traditional estate agent fees in the UK

1)    Glasgow and Leicester 0.84% (£1,042) and (£1,577)

2)    Edinburgh 0.89% (£2,127)

3)    Hull 0.91% (£1,086)

4)    Bradford 0.94% (£1,555)

5)    Liverpool and Bristol – 0.95% (£1,424) and (£2,852)

Highest traditional estate agent fees in the UK

1)    London 1.70% (£10,877)

2)    Sunderland 1.33% (£1,885)

3)    Manchester 1.31% (£2,5,95)

4)    Birmingham 1.25% (£2,568)

5)    Leeds 1.18% (£2,444)

The statstics also reveal that, overall, traditional estate agent fees have fallen across the UK property landscape since 2016.

Leicester saw the biggest reduction in fees going from 1.41% in 2016 to 0.89% in 2018, a drop of over 40%.

However, an exception is specialist agents selling properties in high-value areas like N1 in London contributing to a hike of 45% (from 1.5% in 2016 to 2.18% in 2018)

NetAnAgent.com CEO Alex Thorpe, said: “It’s no surprise that, over the last few years, traditional agents have increasingly brought fees down to compete with online and hybrid agents.

“However, we have seen that high street agents have continued to evolve their service to justify the extra fees with more focus on service along with an emphasis on helping to manage the entire process from marketing to completion.

“We provide a level playing field for both traditional and online agents, so sellers can find the best option for them.”

The same research also shows online estate agents fees have increased 37% over the last two years.

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21 Comments

  1. Robert May

    When I mentioned in 2012 the affects of allowing dead file data to be shared with  agents’ competitors via AVM’s I specifically said  it would enable hapless agent wannabes to feign  competence and  compete with the agents who are inadvertently providing comparables to their competition. I specifically said that would erode fees. Experience tells me that’s how poor quality agents win business.
     
    It would take about 3 months to reverse fee erosion; blinding the competition who are eroding fees by denying them access to your data  would render them clueless, vulnerable to claims of negligence and liable for losses of their clients.  Bad advice on a falling market gets very expensive very fast!
     
    A lot of the competitive nouse  I had to learn to win profitable, saleable instructions seem to be absent in the industry today.  Turning off 3rd party data dissemination through service suppliers would restore that advantage. I have a trial agent who reports a 0.2% increase in average fees.  It doesn’t sound much but if the profit on 1.2%  is 0.2%  adding another 0.2% just doubled their margins.
     
    Previously when I’ve mentioned fee erosion I got quite a lot of denial and anger thrown my way, perhaps now someone else is reporting what I predicted there might be some acceptance of what needs to be done about an inevitable change.
     
    Do not sign a service agreement with any supplier who wants to share your data with anyone you don’t want it shared with.  Certainly know and understand who the unspecified 3rd parties are and the effect that has on your business. Stop data dissemination and  give yourself the advantage of your #local knowledge, experience, sales successes and failures (which are  a valuable indicator too)

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    1. Lil Bandit

      Everyone is a genius in hindsight…..

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      1. Robert May

        I think you have missed the fact I predicted the consequences and the fact I was castigated  for it

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    2. cyberduck46

      >I have a trial agent who reports a 0.2% increase in average fees.  It doesn’t sound much but if the profit on 1.2%  is 0.2%  adding another 0.2% just doubled their margins.

       

      Am I right in thinking you are selling something on the basis that you can double an Agent’s margins?

       

      Can you provide any proof that this is likely? What happened for the other Agents in the trial? What was the average increase? What about the number of sales?

       

       

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      1. Robert May

        No you are not correct.  I advised an agent how they don’t need to be affected by fee erosion caused by faux experts who rely on portal  AVM’s to blag listings

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      2. smile please

        Go Away Duck.

        How about we draw a line in the sand, when Robert fully launches Rummage, if and when there are industry news stories and Twitter campaigns highlighting he has mislead agents you chirp up then and give him a bashing.

        Otherwise naff off!

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        1. Robert May

          Mr. Lawson expressed his envy of agents in a unguarded comment he made about how unfair it was his local agent had a big car and the best house in the area. It has to be expected what I do for agents with the experience I’ve assembled during my career as an agent and  as a service supplier to agency is going to trouble someone like him.

          I am one of the people who make it possible for agents to be better at what they do so it’s no surprise that Mr Lawson would target me for his frustration and envy.

          In the past 4 years you’ve watch me build rummage4 from  an idea and a Dell vostro to something that has the potential to change our industry.  You’ve witnessed and commented on the affects and changes I’ve forced on the duopoly and how I have (with some help) levelled the playing-field for all agents to compete on  the service they offer  and not lies, cheating and false claims they make

          Mr Lawson doesn’t like what I’ve done to the disruptors he was hoping would have his local agent on his knees and destitute. He can’t cope that someone he regards as an amateur can build something he, with all his experience, simply can’t fathom. I’m not a #proptech god or guru I simply know what agents need and have built a system to satisfy them.

          You won’t stop the bloke; envy is a powerful motivator. The best  solution I have is to build something so good and so successful his envy ends up consuming him or he realises how any respect he was due has been eroded  to nothing by his persistent campaign against me.

          It’s the nasty sorts in this world that gives decency its value.

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      3. AgentQ73

        Hi Cyberduck

        A couple of weeks ago i asked a question which you misunderstood, you invited me back to clarify another day. I have done so a number of times but i assume you keep missing them.

        You say you run a proxy to measure the number of new instructions for PB do you also measure how many sell, how many complete, how many reduce, how many withdraw without selling etc ?

        Thanks

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      4. Ostrich17

        CD46

        Following the Patisserie Valerie debacle, do you think Grant Thornton are going to be a bit more thorough with their analysis and very cautious with their opinion of PB accounts in future?

        The £100 fall in average instruction revenue per listing indicates that not all is well and possible reasons are:

        1) PB has refunded £100 to each customer – or £1000 to 10% of customers?

        2) The LPEs have been discounting the std fee to get more listings?

        3) Approx. 8000 of PB listings are actually re-listed from previous years ?

         

        Shareholders have a right to expect Grant Thornton to know the answers, particularly as they have been paid large sums to do other work for the group.

         

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  2. JonnyBanana43

    High St. agents are pathetic about fees.

    Now is the time to increase fees.

    I pitched against a competitor last week who offered 0.75. Thankfully I got the job at 1.5.

    With less houses to go around there is no choice. Increase fees or die.

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    1. londoneye

      We have a few agents around here who charge these higher fees, it usually comes down to them justifing their higher fees by suggesting a higher asking price.

      Of course they have to bring the asking price down once they have the instruction..

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    2. aSalesAgent

      I had two estate agents come to value my flat this week. The first one offered me his minimum fee, £3,000 inc. VAT. The second, who I felt would offer much better service and marketing, dropped her fee on hearing this so to match the first agent – no quibble. I would have willingly paid an extra few hundred quid to use the second agent.
       
      I appreciate it is a tough market and every instruction is important, but how can I have confidence that these agents are capable of negotiating my sale price if they can’t even negotiate their own fee?

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      1. PeeBee

        “…how can I have confidence that these agents are capable of negotiating my sale price if they can’t even negotiate their own fee?”

        A point that I have made countless times here on the pages of EYE, aSalesAgent!

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  3. Hillofwad71

     

    I can never imagine a LPE at Bricks picking up the phone and proactively  saying  this has just come up and “I think this will suit you Mr  and Mrs  Jones”

     

     

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    1. Robert May

      It’s that basic of agency ( the demand side) that’s absent from react to enquiry, internet listers that expose them to duty of care and skill litigation.    
       
      “I had a look on Zoopla, added a bit to schmooze the vendors ego and whacked it on the  portals” isn’t estate agency.  Not evidencing and not being able to evidence their valuations means such a firm is in breach of their redress  code of conduct.  
       
      An agent who let’s their vendor dictate the price without challenge is acting as a passive intermediary but is exposing themselves to the obligations of agency. That’s why Doorsteps have got it right and others have got it wrong

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    2. NotAdoctor32

      Hillofwad – Hopefully you are one of the agents that use that example in as valuation to keep your fees high.   Plenty aren’t good enough so are driving their own fees down.

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  4. leeblackman70

    I don’t have an issue with Netanagent as such and always enjoyed sensible communication with them but I’ve started a process to ensure I am removed from these 3rd party introduction sites. I have also contacted these sites to ask them to remove their claims regarding their comparison of every agent as I for one will not be on them and having listed the most property in my area during 2018 feel potential customers should be made aware they are not getting the entire picture. This has of course fallen on deaf ears until now.
     
    The issue I have relates more to the claim of saving clients money in their agency fees. I’ve used these sites several times and never offered a discount through them, the only people who really benefit are the website for sending an e-mail and wanting up to a third of the fee. I can only speak for a small sample but I actually know of some agents who quote higher fees through these sites to compensate for the amount they have to give back so in those cases the client is actually paying more than they would be if they’d have gone direct.
     
    This has wider implications across all comparison sites in different industries.
     
    I asked all these sites how they make up their stats regarding the quoted time to achieve a sale and how fall throughs effect their numbers. None of them really knew! Interestingly, I asked one of the well known “award” giving firms the same and after some stuttering got basically told “its a secret”. We were recognised in these awards so there are no sour grapes here but it’s worrying that they don’t understand their own criteria thus reinforcing what a nonsense they all are.

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    1. Shaun77

      I also fundamentally disagree with these sites. Their very model is flawed in as much as they only recommend agents willing to pay their referral fee, so vendors don’t really get a true appraisal of who may be the best agent for them.

      It’s also a nonsense to compare averages as often agents operate in different segments that all move at different speeds. Stating that one agent typically sells in 4 weeks whilst another takes 8 weeks is no real measure of success unless you know the background info.

      Their other failing is that they all take their data from the portals and assume its gospel, when we all know it isn’t. The data can be used to mislead, as we all know, and to present this as indisputable fact on which to base such a fundamental decision is just wrong. Given the financial impact of getting that decision wrong, I’m sure it won’t be too long before someone seeks financial recompense for being steered into a wrong decision by a blind man.

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  5. TwitterSalisPropNews53

    I don’t see estate agents charging much more than 1% outside London these days.
    London is where properties almost sell themselves – don’t be misleading/arrogant to say otherwise – so I would really expect see in a few years a set fee in London, maybe even with interference from the Government, of no more than £ whatever the property value,  as you have to do a shed load of work beyond a RightMove ad to deserve even say £10k, but in the regions, if you pay only 1% (which can be 1500 plus VAT sometimes) you hardly incentivises an estate agent to secure and squeeze the best price from a buyer. £3500 minimum for any property in my mind.
    So going are the days of the %.
    Don’t forget, the pressing and squeezing estate agent will instantly pay their own fee, by getting that extra £5k, £10k, £20k even £50k in the regions.
    But, if estate agents stop cutting their own throats on fees – onlines started it – and model their service on the American agents where you ‘show’ the property to its full glory at all times, offering cleaning, dressing and even basic decoration, and then weekly attendances, open houses etc, then the public should and can expect to pay 3 or 4% or more. But that will take a brave Agent.

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  6. smile please

    Hang on a moment what happened to our typical 3% i keep hearing about?!

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    1. Thomas Flowers

      SP, they must be getting confused with average stamp duty charges of 3% or £8,400.
       
      Should we all report the Government to CMA’s recently announced cartel help-line?

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