These days everyone has access to the internet. How we search for houses has completely changed and online property portals such as Rightmove have revolutionised the estate agency industry. Gone are the days where you had to nip down to the local estate agents’ shop to thumb through the particulars. Now you can search for your next house from anywhere in the world, anytime. This revolutionary new way of searching has paved the way for online estate agents.
Sitting down for an evening’s episode of Emmerdale you are bombarded with the latest online agent’s television advertisement, advertising ‘no commission’ and ‘cheap fees’ to sell your home. The rise of the online agent has certainly ruffled the feathers of many traditional estate agents. This is not a bad thing. Many agents have had to up their game to compete against the online agent. They have had to ensure that their fee is justified and that they offer good value for money. A bit of healthy competition of course benefits the consumer. Change is good, change pushes progress along and we embrace this. But are online agents worth all the hype?
First off we prefer to refer to online agents as ‘DIY agents’. After all, all estate agents should be online. You cannot operate as an agent these days without being so.
A DIY agents cheap fees are understandably very attractive, however, if you scratch below the surface you will discover that all that glitters is not gold. The service that an online agent and a traditional or full-service agent offer is very different. The cheap fees cover the basics – advertising on Rightmove, a For Sale board, and sometimes (not always) a single visit to your home by a ‘local expert’ to talk about the asking price.
But surly that is all you need these days, right? Get your house on Rightmove and it will sell itself? You could save a fortune!
There is no doubt that online agents are cheaper that most full-service agents. You possibly could save money. But you pay for what you get – pay cheap, get cheap. There are a number of areas where online agents differ hugely and why we believe ‘DIY agents’ is a more accurate description.
Quality of marketing
A full-service agent like Alexander Gibson will usually offer a far higher level of quality marketing than a DIY agent. Many DIY agents rely on the homeowner to take their own property photographs and write their own description or at very best one of their ‘local experts’ will take the shots. Your property marketing, especially your photographs are key in attracting a buyer to your home. If they are not good enough then a buyer scrolling through Rightmove will skip on by your home’s listing.
Here at Alexander Gibson, we commission professionals to do the job. Whether it is the photos, the brochures, video walkthroughs, or the floor plans, we believe that high quality marketing commands the attention of buyers - attracting more people to your home. There is a huge difference in quality between a DIY agents’ marketing and our own. This is why we are worth our higher fee. If you cannot attract a buyer to your home because your marketing is below standard, you will not sell your home. (By the way, if we don’t sell your home, you won’t pay us a single penny. Try and find a DIY agent that can say the same.)
Experience in valuing
DIY agents are often run from a national hub – a call centre. When valuing your home, DIY agents rely heavily on online tools that take data from the Land Registry to come up with a value. Whilst online valuation tools are great as a guide, they are not accurate. To understand the true value of a home, an agent will need to see it with their own eyes.
Local knowledge
Some DIY agents do send out a ‘local expert’, however this expert usually has a large area to cover so isn’t as knowledgeable on the area as a true local estate agent. When considering selling your home through an online agent, always check what local support is available and how experienced they are.
A traditional agent is usually part of a local village or community. This local, expert knowledge of the housing market will ensure you get the best estimated value of your home.
Expert presentation of your home
Estate agents are trained and experienced in showing buyers around a home. They will have thought about and discussed a viewing strategy with you beforehand. Your agent will know the best bits of your home and know how to present your home for maximum appeal. A good estate agent will also know how to read buying signals from your viewer and work with these signals.
Most online agents leave viewings to the home owner to conduct or if you want to a professional to conduct your viewings, you have to pay extra, and the costs start to rise.
Skilled negotiators
Ultimately you pay your estate agent to sell your home and get the best price for it. A huge part of this is negotiation. An excellent estate agent is a skilled negotiator. There is a lot of negotiation involved in selling a home, it is not just down the price you get. There are many areas along the way that require thought out, careful negotiation between the seller and their buyer and this is where excellent negotiation skills come into their own.
The majority of DIY agents do not include offer negotiation as part of their fee. Many rely on online systems where a buyer will put forward an offer online that will either go to the customer direct to accept or predetermined built-in value threshold will automatically reject or accept. Either way, rarely a conversation will take place between the agent and buyer to negotiate the offer. It is usually a flat out yes or no.
Sale progression
The hard works starts when an offer has been accepted. 30% of offers do not make it through to completion. There can be many reasons for this, a common one is lack of communication or a misunderstanding which leads to frustration on both sides. This can be enough to end the sale. It is critical that the lines of communication are kept open with the estate agent being the conduit. Most DIY agents require the seller and buyer to take this into their own hands, whereas your full-service agent will have complete sight of each step of the process and will communicate progress to all parties on a regular basis. It is this care and attention during the latter stages of the sale that mitigate the risk of the sale falling down. A full-service agent will offer you help and guidance right from the very first time they meet you through to when you move into your new home and beyond.
DIY agents provide a cheaper way to sell your home but you pay for a bare basic service. It’s like comparing Aldi with Marks and Spencer. They both do a job but the quality, service and all-round customer experience of sampling both foods and shopping in the different supermarkets is completely different. There is so much more to selling a home than simply putting it on Rightmove and hoping for the best. At Alexander Gibson we think about every step of the process and wrap our service around you. From your marketing strategy and viewing plan through to our expert negotiation skills and experienced sales progression, we consider your goals and desires at every point and do everything in our power to make your selling dreams happen. We believe that this level of service, experience and passion is quite simply priceless.
If you are considering selling your home, take a look at our helpful guides;
Choosing an estate agent checklist
For more on online agents see our blog
If you would like to speak to one of our experience agent about selling your home call us on 01423 563077 or email talk@alexandergibson.co.uk