Estate Agent Fees

Posted 12th Mar 2023

Hello, do you have recent knowledge of what estate agent fees are?

I'm afraid I just hate all those sales pitches.
We really want to move up the ladder

I had an agent come out, they quoted 1% plus VAT.

With the high house prices this seems a lot.
Think I would just prefer a fixed selling fee, however I don't want to use Purple Bricks.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

26 Comments

sorted by

Imogenthat
12th Mar
1% plus VAT is the normal around my area ( east mids) both me and my partner work in housing, so know the rates. This includes photos etc. Don't sign up for longer than 8 weeks. Tell the agent that you won't pay more at the start of any conversation, no negotiation. It's business, treat it as such. Houses are taking longer to sell at the moment but should start to sell soon with spring round the corner and interest rates stabilising. Look at similar houses to yours to see what prices to expect, some agents may go high to get your business but that may not find a buyer, some may go low to get a quick sale.
JimboParrot
12th Mar
1% plus VAT is actually relatively low. Purplebricks are slowly going down the pan so best to avoid. Some agents do charge for photos and brochures in addition so make sure that is clear before signing, also check about multi agency fees etc - ie read the small print!

Yes you could use another online agent, or advertise yourself, but when there's an issue with a prospective buyer just before exchange that is when an agent can be a blessing - they want their commission so will do what they can to keep the sale going.
newbie68
12th Mar
Surely it depends on the house price. Low price then I would be looking a percentage - high value house I would be looking a fixed fee. 1% is decent if the house is say £200k or below - £800k house then 1% is horrible.
bigwheels
12th Mar
I paid 1% plus £350 I think it was for photos.
Well worth it for pictures, they were great.
That was 2 years ago.
Try and find a no sale no fee conveyancing.
Tim2011
12th Mar
If your property is easy to sell, and there is likely to be a fair bit of demand, I would go with Strike who are free.

You can pay for extras if you want, but many people don't.

For a property that is likely to be more difficult to sell, I would go with a traditional high street estate agent and expect to pay 1% + VAT.
tardytortoise
12th Mar
I am very lucky. I live in a property that is within walking distance of a primary and secondary school and bus stops. The town has good facilities less than a mile away with a rail station.
If and when I decide to sell, I will approach both schools and ask them how much to advertise my property in their school magazines and websites. I will shop around for conveyancing.
EdwardtheLocal
12th Mar
Just put ours on and offered £2750+ Vat on a £600k house with 2 week notice period
xxsnowqueenxx Author
12th Mar
Thats interesting thank you. I'd like the room to negotiate!!
So did you sign up for say 8 weeks, and then at week 6 renegotiate the fee?
Pandamansays
12th Mar
I had 3 estate agents around 3 weeks ago.
2 were 1% + vat and 1 was 1.25% + vat.
Top tip - organise your own EPC, ours was less than half of the estate agents price.

I went with the dearer one.

(edited)
psychobitchfromhell
12th Mar
I paid £1500 all in, no sale, no fee last year. That included a video tour, escorted viewings and all advertising. I think I got a bargain. House sold within a week at over the asking price
OfficerDOOFY
12th Mar
Friend of mine used yopa.co.uk/ think he paid roughly 70% less in fees than all the local estate agents wanted. Advert was up pretty quickly on rightmove too, so had literally 9 people looking at it within 3 weeks of it being advertised.

Sold his 'buy to let' within 2 months of advertising for the asking price and has now paid off his mortgage on his main property. Reason he wanted to do this was mainly due to increased mortgage payments saved him a,fortune. This was only 7 months ago too when alot of mortgage rates were getting pulled! (edited)
Gruff__
13th Mar
Getting out of buy to let AND paying off his mortgage was a perfectly timed double whammy. Bravo to your mate! (edited)
TyroneH
12th Mar
Speak to the estate agent directly instore, I payed mine cash to sell my house, £800 .
More_Chips
12th Mar
1% is exceptionally (suspiciously?) low, I’ve paid 3% in the past year which was worth it as the agency had a list of potential buyers and ended up selling the property for 5% over listing price, within three days.

It’s like taking your car to a garage - yes, you could fix it yourself cheaper, yes, you could find someone online who would do it for a lower price, but most of the time it’s worth paying the premium and knowing that the jobs being done by someone who has done it a thousand times before, and who will sort things if anything goes wrong.
PS5
12th Mar
The agency had a list of potential buyers yet originally underpriced it?
I'm fairly sure that 99.% of buyers look at rightmove so I really cannot see any benefit in paying 3% personally?
pekoz1
12th Mar
I have worked in an estate agents before ....and my brother still is an agent

The fees depend on a number of factors ....what area of the country you live in / local house prices / and competition levels between estate agents. Normally competition levels are high ...so fees in my experience have come down over recent years.

i.e. if an agent wants to make a £2k fee + vat .... thats 2% of a £100k house or 1% of a £200k house

Personally I wouldnt use Purple Bricks as you'll probably get a better service from a local independent for the same price.

What people dont realise is how much estate agents pay for Rightmove ....which is passed on to the house seller as part of that fee. If advertising on the Zoopla or OnTheMarket property portals cost an agent £350 a month per branch......Rightmove costs more like £2k per branch per month. The Rightmove cost is basically an extra member of staff....passed directly onto the public. And everyone thinks RM is free....its not you are paying for it.

Around Cardiff 1% + vat would be the norm.

Which part of the country are you in? (edited)
xxsnowqueenxx Author
12th Mar
Thank you. I'm in a village location in Suffolk. I'm expecting that the property should sell quickly based on others that sold recently. I would note these properties needed remodernised and ours has already been updated by us.
Unfortunately the 1% would be bottom line £5k plus vat = £6k. This seems very high when it's likely to sell fast.
Suppose I'm feeling worried that it's a high price for a possible week's work.
Happy to pay fees, but the small amount extra to us would help with double solicitor fees.
mutley1
12th Mar
1% is not bad at all. london and surrey, about 2%, and properties down here are very expensive, so 2% is a significant amount. (edited)
ashmac
12th Mar
I paid £1100 in 2017
SaturdayGigs
13th Mar
That figure is only relevant if the selling price is quoted as well or it was fixed rate? (edited)