In 2023, I used an online estate agent to sell a house, and for me: yes, using an online estate agent was definitely worth it. However, it’s not for everyone. It can be more work, and less reliable. But it can save you thousands in fees.
What are online estate agents, and how do they differ from traditional agents?
Online estate agents, like Purple Bricks, Strike, and Yopa, have been around since 2012. They usually operate on a fixed fee model, as opposed to a %, which usually saves the seller money. They also usually offer a less complete service.
You may have noticed I used the word ‘usually’ a lot. That’s because there’s a lot of variation in terms of features.
Whereas traditional estate agents cover your whole sale – taking photos, showing round buyers, doing the paperwork – online agents are a lot more flexible. Most of them will still do all the work, but you’ll have to pay extra (at which point, perhaps it’s better just to use a local agent?). You’ll get the most benefit by using the basic, no-frills service. Take your own photos, do your own viewings, and you can save a lot of money.
How much money can you save with an online estate agent?
We paid £199. A traditional agent would have been £3000+. In the UK the average agent fees are 1.57%, whereas the fixed, basic fees on various online agents look like this:
| Agent | Basic Fee | Fee with Rightmove Listing* |
| Purplebricks | £0 | £399 |
| Strike | £0 | £199 |
| Yopa | £999 | £999 |
It’s pretty compelling, isn’t it? But before you jump, consider the downsides.
Downsides of Online Estate Agents
- You have to take your own photos. And they need to be good, clean photos with no clutter. It’s easy enough, but you need to do a good job.
- You have to do your own viewings. Quite a hassle. You need to be available for buyers, and may need to take time off work etc. Then again, you know your home better than anyone.
- Valuations are hit-and-miss, but you can do your own with a bit of research (use Zoopla’s tool to start with).
- You might need to do the negotiating. Some people love this, some hate it. The online agent did offer to help us with this, but almost certainly a local agent would give you more support.
- Customer service is not always great, as the agents are not on commission.
Caveat: some of these downsides can be solved by paying an additional fee to the agent. Of course there’s still a debate about whether or not an online agent will do a better job than a local one. Believe who you like, my summary would be: it varies.
Do Online Estate Agents take longer to sell?
Personally, I think this is a myth. The argument goes something like this:
‘Traditional estate agents have a list of willing buyers, and will actively reach out to their network to find one for you.’
That may be true in some cases. But the vast majority of people nowadays find your property in one way: Rightmove. And you can get your property on Rightmove using online agents (private individuals can’t use Rightmove – you have to use an agent of some kind). Also, I do mean Rightmove in particular. There are other property portals (e.g. Zoopla) but they are dwarfed by Rightmove in terms of visitors. When we sold our house using an online agent, we got free access to Zoopla, but paying £199 extra for access to Rightmove got us plenty of enquiries.
Apart from attracting eyeballs, the biggest factor in sale speed is price. Increasingly, buyers know what they should pay (thanks to free house price estimators). If your house is overpriced, it will sell more slowly. An agent can have the biggest network in the world, but if they’ve advised a price at the higher end, it could take a while to shift.
What about the numbers? According to Zoopla, the average house takes 185 days to sell in the UK. This, of course, is all dependent on the market. I couldn’t find any reliable data about whether online or traditional estate agents sold faster.
Who should use an online estate agent?
You should consider an online estate agent if:
- You want to save money
- You are confident at photography, and have an understanding of what pictures work on Rightmove/Zoopla
- You are confident taking viewings, and (to a lesser extent) negotiating
- You are reasonably tech-savvy, and confident using an app to manage your sale
- You don’t mind patchy customer service
You should use a traditional estate agent if:
- You want someone to take care of everything
- You are less price-sensitive, but need your time
- You are not confident with photography, taking viewings, or negotiating
- You are selling a property far from where you actually live
- You can hold out for the highest possible price, and don’t need to sell immediately
